It Isn't

Thanks to Mike Funyak of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (A.C.E.) group for identifying the mystery coaster 1941 in my previous post. Mike wrote, "It looks like the Dips at West View Park. They look like the Vettel Trains and train. The Dips at West View also had the train ride next to the ride. Look closely and you can see the tracks next to the large drop which was the first hill."

Looking through Charlie Jacques's book on West View, I did see the train tracks next to the coaster, the wooden arched light fixtures, and this exact same section of coaster track which Charlie refers to as "the homerun stretch." Even the cars are identical. As much as I wanted Rock Springs’ Cyclone to get the credit and to be displayed at the Carnegie Museum of Art, it makes more sense, as Lincoln Highway historian Brian Butko said that it “seems more likely to have been around Pittsburgh.”

Charles (Charlie) J., Jr. Jacques is the father of modern amusement park history books having penned and published his Kennywood Roller Coaster Capital of the World book in 1982, followed by Goodbye, West View Park, Goodbye in 1984. Charlie is the reason Rick Sebak started his local history series on PBS with his first outing “Kenntwood Memories.” As I tribute, I made sure Charlie made an appearance in my book (page 126 and below) and acknowledged him for his sage advice when I was just starting out.

Charles (Charlie) J., Jr. Jacques (left) and Richard Bowker at Hershey Park, PA.

Ride the Dips at West View Park in this video at counter 8:20.