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mmcirvinNear the bottom of this page on the history of Waterbury, Connecticut (along with a lot of other information, including some unpleasant reminders of what things were like in the pre-civil-rights era, and as late as 1968) there's a picture of a 1930 PTC roller coaster at Waterbury's short-lived Lakewood Park, which, according to all available sources, was relocated to Canobie Lake in 1936, where it still runs and (since the 1980s) is known as the Yankee Cannonball.
Two interesting things about the picture:
1. My first reaction was "that's not the Yankee Cannonball." It's hard to tell exactly what part of the coaster that is, but the profile was clearly changed considerably either when it was moved or sometime later on, since there's nothing like that bit where the out and back legs have nearly parallel low hills. I'd heard that it had to be altered to fit into the Canobie site, and there are stories about all the sections being shortened horizontally by six inches. I sort of vaguely imagined it was a proportional shrinkage that kept the shape more or less intact, but it was obviously more complicated than that. Wooden coasters do tend to evolve considerably over time, of course, as they get repeatedly retracked and reprofiled; the lift was even destroyed by a hurricane in 1954.
2. Jeez, look at the bottom of the hill in the foreground. It looks like it'd break your neck! I'm not sure I'd actually want to ride that thing.
I saw another page that had a larger version of the picture and more history about the park, which implied that the coaster actually only operated until 1932, when the amusement park shut down, and was standing-but-not-operating for a few years. But I can't find it at the moment. Update: It's this page of accounts of the park's history. And, for comparison, here's an aerial photo of the modern layout (from a few years ago, but it hasn't changed apart from repainting).
Additional factoid: ACE New England speculates that the Yankee Cannonball may have been the first coaster ever to be relocated, which would be mildly interesting if true. Though they also say it operated for five years at Lakewood, which contradicts other sources.
Two interesting things about the picture:
1. My first reaction was "that's not the Yankee Cannonball." It's hard to tell exactly what part of the coaster that is, but the profile was clearly changed considerably either when it was moved or sometime later on, since there's nothing like that bit where the out and back legs have nearly parallel low hills. I'd heard that it had to be altered to fit into the Canobie site, and there are stories about all the sections being shortened horizontally by six inches. I sort of vaguely imagined it was a proportional shrinkage that kept the shape more or less intact, but it was obviously more complicated than that. Wooden coasters do tend to evolve considerably over time, of course, as they get repeatedly retracked and reprofiled; the lift was even destroyed by a hurricane in 1954.
2. Jeez, look at the bottom of the hill in the foreground. It looks like it'd break your neck! I'm not sure I'd actually want to ride that thing.
I saw another page that had a larger version of the picture and more history about the park, which implied that the coaster actually only operated until 1932, when the amusement park shut down, and was standing-but-not-operating for a few years. But I can't find it at the moment. Update: It's this page of accounts of the park's history. And, for comparison, here's an aerial photo of the modern layout (from a few years ago, but it hasn't changed apart from repainting).
Additional factoid: ACE New England speculates that the Yankee Cannonball may have been the first coaster ever to be relocated, which would be mildly interesting if true. Though they also say it operated for five years at Lakewood, which contradicts other sources.