originally posted on 4/14/2025
Spring is near, and soon another year of traditions begins for coaster enthusiasts living in areas with seasons (those in Florida and the Pacific Southwest are exempt from this). Unfortunately, one of those traditions is now the learning of which wood coasters are going to have sections of their traditional stacked wood laminates replaced with steel. In amusement industry parlance, it’s called 208 ReTraK from Rocky Mountain Construction and Titan Track, courtesy of Great Coasters International, Inc.
This has become a sensitive topic for many enthusiasts, and it’s no less delicate to put into words in this venue, because it includes shining what can be perceived as a negative light on some of the community’s favorite amusement parks and manufacturers — all of which are beloved friends of ACE and its members. But I would be remiss if I didn’t speak to what I (and many others) feel is the diluting and marginalization of the wood coaster as it has been known for more than a century.
Years ago, when I was much younger and more naïve, I learned the hard way that despite my passion for amusement parks, they are businesses functioning for the sole purpose of making their owners money. Because of this, the owners didn’t necessarily do as I wished — new additions didn’t turn out quite as I had dreamed, and older machinery was retired instead of receiving additional investments to keep operational. Therefore, a park such as Alabama Adventure (Bessemer) or Silverwood Theme Park (Athol, Idaho) replacing traditional wood track in high-stress areas on Rampage and Tremors with steel facsimiles is entirely understandable from an economic point of view. When Jerry Brick of Palace Entertainment (now Herschend) explained to me that Titan Track being installed on Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce (Bristol, Connecticut) would eliminate emergency maintenance issues that led to weeks of downtime, it was difficult to argue against that kind of thinking. And there are a number of enthusiasts with old-school mindsets finding this novel approach to upkeep makes these rides smoother, faster and a lot more enjoyable.
Because I don’t expect to be able to create some kind of seismic shift in thinking with this column, I hope for two things. First, that these kinds of changes are recognized for what they are as well as what they are not. Because once a wood coaster has its traditional track stacks replaced with riveted and welded steel plates, it is no longer that — a wood coaster. Instead, it is the kind of hybrid that existed long before the term was applied to roller coasters. In my opinion, Lightning Rod at Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) is no more a wood roller coaster than Gemini at Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio) or any wood-structured mine train. That doesn’t mean these amusement devices representing the blending of materials aren’t to be celebrated, because at the end of the day there is every reason to heap praise on amusement parks opting to invest in making rides more dependable and more fun.
Second, it places an increased emphasis on properly acknowledging amusement parks that are “keepers of the flame” — ones that turn to the expertise of their own maintenance departments or The Gravity Group for its innovative Engineered Precut Track. These decisions keep wood roller coasters faithful to the intentions of their designers and preserve what is appreciated by many coaster enthusiasts — all the glorious rattles, all the unspoken subtleties and all the intricate nuances of machinery that’s somehow alive and full of character.
This summer’s Coaster Con 47 is an excellent representation of parks that have supported the traditional aspect of this hobby, from the relocation of Chicago’s Little Dipper coasters to Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois) and Little Amerricka Amusement Park (Marshall, Wisconsin) to the work Indiana Beach (Monticello) has put into its Hoosier Hurricane and Cornball Express. If you’re an ACE member attending the Spring Conference at Kings Dominion (Doswell, Virginia) and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Virginia) or a regional event at Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, Pennsylvania), Waldameer (Erie, Pennsylvania) or Kennywood (West Mifflin, Pennsylvania), be sure to thank someone for ensuring wood coasters are maintained with eyes on both the future and the past.
— Rob Ascough, ACE News Editor
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