Orient Express (roller coaster)
Orient Express was a steel roller coaster located at Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City, Missouri. Introduced in 1980, the ride was manufactured by Arrow Huss and designed by Ron Toomer. The red-orange track was in between the two entrances of the park. The station house is still visible, and contains the park's haunted attraction Lore of the Vampire and Club Blood.
| Orient Express | |
|---|---|
 Orient Express in 2002 | |
| Worlds of Fun | |
| Location | Worlds of Fun |
| Park section | Orient |
| Coordinates | 39.176133°N 94.488338°W |
| Status | Removed |
| Opening date | April 4, 1980 |
| Closing date | October 26, 2003 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Huss |
| Designer | Ron Toomer |
| Model | Custom Looping Coaster |
| Track layout | Terrain |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 117 ft (36 m) |
| Drop | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Length | 3,470 ft (1,060 m) |
| Speed | 50 mph (80 km/h) |
| Inversions | 4 |
| Duration | 2:15 |
| Max vertical angle | 55° |
| Capacity | 1,800 riders per hour |
| G-force | 3.5 |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
History
On November 19, 1979, Worlds of Fun announced that Orient Express would be coming to the park.[1] The ride officially opened on April 4, 1980.[2]
On June 14, 1987, a train that was entering the station collided into another that was loading passengers. A total of 56 passengers were involved in the accident, but only 8 were taken to the hospital for injuries.[3]
On July 17, 1999, the two back cars of the train derailed, leaving riders stuck 35 feet (11 m) above the ground. The accident was caused by a metal fracture in the support structure.[4]
For the 2000 season, the ride was repainted light maroon. It was originally painted dark maroon.[5]
On October 29, 2003, Worlds of Fun announced that Orient Express would be demolished, meaning that the last rides were given on October 26.[6]
Ride experience
Orient Express was the first coaster ever to have a "Kamikaze Curve" element, which was later termed a "boomerang" by Arrow Development and a "batwing" by Bolliger & Mabillard. This element consists of a 90-degree rise to the right or left (similar to half a corkscrew), followed by half of a traditional loop element, then a rising half loop, then a final 90-degree dive sending the track in the same direction it entered the element. This element was common on Arrow's larger multi-element looping coasters and on B&M's inverted roller coasters, as well as on the Vekoma designed Goudurix at Parc Astérix, where it was known as a "Double Sidewinder". Orient Express also featured a tunnel prior to the lift hill that housed the Orient Express Dragon, a wooden sign that had the ride's logo illuminated.
The queue house had a "chicken exit" that guests could take if they chickened out at the last minute. The sign for the chicken exit now resides in the station house for Timber Wolf.
Orient Express was also the second full circuit roller coaster to have interlocking loops, the Loch Ness Monster being the first. Lightnin' Loops at Six Flags Great Adventure, which opened in 1978, was the first roller coaster to have interlocking loops, but the coaster was made up of two separate shuttle tracks. With the retirement of Orient Express, Loch Ness Monster is again the only coaster with this feature.
Circuits
Number of trains: 3
Number of cars per train: 7
Passengers per car: 4
The ride was broken into 3 blocks. Block A was the station to the top of the lift. Block B was the top of the lift to halfway through the mid-course (C-Brake). Block C was from halfway through the midcourse (C-Brake) to the final brakes at the end of the ride. When running three trains, one would be in the station loading passengers while the second would be climbing the lift and the third was out on the track. As the lift train cleared the lift, the house train was released for the lift. This was a fast-paced operation since the car had to enter the house, unload and load all in the span of time it took a train to climb the lift. Shutdowns would happen when the train in the station was not dispatched causing the second train to stop in the final brakes just outside the station and in chain reaction, causing the third train to stop in the C-Brake. This was mainly caused by riders taking too long to exit or load in the train.
Restart after a shutdown required the assistance of the parks' maintenance staff. One person would go to the manual brake release under the C brake while the other ran the control panel brake in the house. One train would be taken to the top of the lift and stopped. The second train would be stopped at the C brake before the second inverted loop. The third train would be in the house. To start the process, the C brake was pulled to release the train for the second loop. The lift train would be released as soon as the C block train was clear of the brake. Once the lift train cleared the house train was released.
Over time only two would run at a time due to the ride's blocking system. If there was a backup in the station it caused a train to stop just outside the station and another train would stop halfway through the ride on the C-Brake. This caused the ride to shut down and the only way to get the train out of the trim brakes halfway through the ride was to have an employee climb up the C-Brake stairs and manually release the brakes.
Demise
Orient Express suffered several malfunctions within the last seasons of its life. It broke down often and in 1999 the last two cars derailed just before the final brake, leaving riders stranded for a couple of hours. Contrary to some rumors, no one ever died on the roller coaster, and it also was never stuck upside-down. The site Orient Express was located on also remains empty, contrary to the belief that Spinning Dragons and Patriot replaced the roller coaster. Behind Spinning Dragons, the ride's old station still remains.
References
- "Orient Express - Worlds of Fun.org".
- "Defunctland: The History of Worlds of Fun's Destroyed Classic, The Orient Express".
- "Investigation of roller coaster mishap begins". UPI Archives. 1987-06-15.
- "Coaster Train Derails Stranding Eighteen Riders - Ultimate Rollercoaster".
- "Orient Express - Worlds of Fun.org".
- "Orient Express Retired as Spinning Dragons Introduced - Coaster Globe".