Coaster Enthusiasts Support and Rate Rock Springs Park Book

If it wasn’t for coaster enthusiasts, Images of America: Rock Springs Park might not have been published.





While in the proposal process, I contacted a member of ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts) to get some feedback on the groups’ interest in a book about our beloved Rock Springs. ACE president, Bill Linkenheimer, told me he and many other coaster enthusiasts devour books about amusement parks, specifically those containing information on and images of classic coasters. In fact, one of the main goals of ACE is to raise money to restore and revitalize classic coasters and historic parks. ACE’s mission statement includes “fostering and promoting the conservation, appreciation, knowledge, and enjoyment of the classic wooden roller coaster.” The best advice I received from my inquiry with Bill, besides his suggestion to seek support back home from Chester-area residents, was a lead he gave me from another member and friend, Jim Futrell. Jim suggested I contact ACE Member #10, Richard Bowker, who was described as a huge fan of Rock Springs Park, a suggestion which literally made the book possible. I soon discovered that Member #10 had 7-8 photograph albums containing, what turned out to be, the largest private collection of Rock Springs pictures and postcards out there. Thanks ACE!

Now a coaster website hosted by Andy Shine and described as a “Roller Coaster Media Library”, has added and rated Images of America: Rock Springs Park. Shines rating scale is based on a book’s coverage of coasters. Books specifically about coasters are often rated as “recommended” or “excellent”. Rock Springs Park received a rating of “good’, as it has a limited number of coaster images and information.






So, how many coasters did Rock Springs Park have over the years? 5.

1. Figure Eight (1897 – 1905)
2. World’s Greatest Scenic Railway (1906 – 1920)
3. Leap the Dips (1906 – 1921)
4. Scenic Railway converted into a more modern coaster (1921 – 1926)
5. Cyclone (1927 – 1970)

The World’s Greatest Scenic Railway Debuts

Friday, May 24, 1907

The Rock Springs Park Scenic Railway opened on this date in the park's history. It was built at a cost of $35,000 according to Roy C. Cashdollar’s A History of Chester: The Gateway To The West. It was also reported that a section of the scenic railway was blown down shortly after its completion by a great wind storm and had to be rebuilt at a cost of $4000.Read more at http://rockspringspark.blogspot.com/2011/03/accidents-and-injuries-at-rock-springs.html.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Most of us understand that not everything we read, especially on the internet, is true. As a teacher, I believe everyone should read, and read a lot. But don’t just take the author’s word for it. Don’t think that just because it’s published that the ideas were necessarily vetted.

The clipping above is a nice encapsulation of this lesson. It shows the midway of Rock Springs Park at the turn of the last century, including owner C.A. Smith’s crown jewel “The World’s Greatest Scenic Raiway” (right). A few of the caption facts are accurate, like the detail about the slow moving scenic ride being replaced by The Cyclone Roller Coaster and the fact that Smith owned the traction company, but many other “facts” are misleading or utterly wrong.

Here’s a few examples:

1. This photograph could not have been taken in 1898 as The World’s Greatest Scenic Railway was not constructed until 1906.

2. The Cyclone was profitable, but not for Smith. It was built as part of the park’s revitalization under C.C. Macdonald in 1926.

3. C.A. Smith sent park manager Mr. (J.H.) Maxwell not “Mr. Michaels” to Philadelphia for the plans for the Scenic Railway ride and not The Cyclone.

4. It was the Scenic Railway and not the Cyclone which cost 5 cents a ride and made back Smith’s investment in its first year of operation. The Cyclone cost three 5-cent tickets or in some cases "two nickels and a bottle cap" per ride.

Fans of Rock Springs Park appreciate any coverage the park receives in local newspapers and most especially seeing wonderful images of the park such as this one. But when it comes to the facts and details of the park’s history listen to your grandpa and “Don’t believe everything you read.”



Basketball in the Park

Most people, who are familiar with Rock Springs Park, will know that part of the upper park grounds included a baseball field and large grandstand for baseball games and other outdoor events during the C.A. Smith Years, 1900 – 1925. (See Images of America: Rock Springs Park, pp. 42-43.)

The ball field was located where the old Chester High School would later be built, next to Smith's World's Greatest Scenic Railway.

But few may realize that basketball games were also a regular feature at the park and more surprisingly that for a time some games were played inside the carousel pavilion. These games would have been held in the off season, of course.

Author and Chester historian Roy C. Cashdollar wrote in his History of Chester: The Gateway to the West, "C.A. Smith sponsored a professional team at one time and not only were games played here (in the carousel pavilion pictured below) but also on the third floor of the Bank Building (in Chester)."

Carousel Pavilion being razed in 1974

In a feature found in The Pittsburgh Press dated April 2, 1905, the hoped-for upcoming baseball season is referenced in the first paragraph with “Prospects are more encouraging than ever for the formation of a first-class baseball team in this city”, but the last paragraph references the end of the1905 basketball season and an East Liverpool team backed by Smith who played their home games in Rock Springs Park.

The Pittsburgh Press - April 2, 1905 – The basketball game to be played at Rock Springs Park on next Tuesday evening by the East Liverpool and South Side teams promises to be the most interesting event of the year in basketball circles. East Liverpool appreciates the fact that South Side is the strongest team that it has ever played with, but after a patched-up team, local people are expecting a victory on Tuesday.

I know that in later years, and during WWII when the park was closed for a time, portable rides were stored inside the boarded up carousel pavilion. I always assumed that the Dentzel Carousel, installed in 1927 under the ownership of C.C. Macdonald, was left intact and the portable rides were placed around it on the deck of the waiting platform, but Cashdollar’s statement indicating that basketball games were played inside the carousel pavilion, suggests that, at least at one point during the Smith years, his carousel was completely removed and stored in another building and the games played under the octagonal roof of the carousel pavilion. This is conceivable considering the crowd could have watched the game sitting in-the-round on the loading platform, but I still have a hard time picturing it.