originally posted on 6/4/2021 3:50:38 PM
Photos: Courtesy of the NRCMA. View full-sized image.
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Historic Arrow Development Videos Have Been Transferred
As pioneers of the amusement industry, the Arrow Development company built some of the most legendary roller coasters ever created from 1959 to 2001. Now, the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives (NRCMA), the world’s largest collection of amusement ride vehicles and blueprints, will soon debut never-before-seen, recently preserved test footage from their Arrow film collection.
“To be able to preserve and then share this footage with fans around the world is an absolute thrill,” said Richard Munch, NRCMA historian and ACE cofounder. “By digitizing these incredibly rare films, we will be able to tell the history of the roller coaster much better to a much larger audience than ever before.”
Tapes and films in the NRCMA collection.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
ACE Association Manager Jeffrey Seifert has spent countless hours digitizing much of the collection.
“The Arrow collection has some unique, historic footage, as well as promotional tapes,” Seifert said. “Ranging from speed tests on Matterhorn to spectacular slow-motion footage of Big Bad Wolf — there’s really a lot to savor.”
Seifert also adds that there is more than just the Arrow collection. The S&S collection also has numerous manufacturers’ work on tape.
Tapes and films from the Arrow Collection are in the process of being transferred to digital format.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Special Premiere Event
The Arrow film collection, which will debut as part of ACE South Central’s West Texas Roundup event, consists of film reels, tapes and DVDs. They were donated from roller coaster manufacturer S&S-Sansei of Logan, Utah, which purchased Arrow’s assets in a bankruptcy sale in 2002. There are hundreds of hours of donated footage still requiring digitalization and preservation.
Information regarding registering for West Texas Roundup can be found on the ACE Events calendar on the website. The event will include a visit to the NRCMA facility in Plainview, a tour of Larson International (on which grounds the NRCMA building sits), Wonderland Park in Amarillo and Joyland Park in Lubbock. The event takes place July 3 and 4.
The NRCMA is an unaffiliated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of historic roller coasters and amusement park artifacts and memorabilia to document and archive the history of the amusement park industry in a dynamic environment while providing the most complete repository of information and documents regarding the amusements industry.
— Pete Owens, National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives, and Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
#ACENews