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Roller Coaster UL?

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OldTimeRadio

Gone But Not Forgotten
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A close friend of mine, a highly-educated woman with considerable university faculty experience, tells me the following story, which she claims she read about 1950 or 1951. She says that she most likely read it in READERS DIGEST, CORONET or PAGEANT magazines. (CORONET was a slightly poor man's version of RD and PAGEANT a markedly poor man's version of CORONET.)

Here's the story: A United States amusement park (probably on the East Coast and possibly in New Jersey) decided to launch its new roller coaster by having the ride's designer, the chief engineer, the park owners and one or two other dignataries (about 6 men in all) make the first ceremonial ride.

When the coaster car returned to the starting position, the assembled crowd surged forward to inquire how the ride had been.

But there was no answer from the men sitting in the car.

All were dead with their necks broken.


Now I have all sorts of problems with this story. But one thing I ABSOLUTELY believe is that my friend READ it around the time she claimed. I've known this woman for more than 35 years and she DOESN'T make things up.

So any clues as to the origin of this story?
 
Readers Digest is full of anecdotal tales , so it is possible that rather than referring to a real event , it is an early form of a FOAF tale .Stiill interesting though - haven't heard that one before.
 
Probably a publicity stunt. Nothing gets kids onto a roller coaster like a story about someone dying.

Me, personally? You couldn't get me on one of those things no matter how many people died on it.
 
I heard a somewhat similar story about the Space Mountain ride at Disney World. Supposedly a group of astronauts were given the honour of the first ride; they returned safely but recommended that the ride be slowed down as it was too wild for the general public.
 
Roller Coaster ULs

Littlegreylady said:
"Snopes.com has loads of stories about fairground rides which were too scary and had to be toned down (normally after someone dies in shock)....Most are ULs though. there have been some deaths but normally due to misadventure/ignoring safety..."

Yes, I am aware of the Snopes items, plus I have downloaded every chronological history of amusement park tragedies I have been able to find on the Net, without unearthing any accident which resonates with the story with which I opened this thread.

Thus I am fairly convinced that my roller coaster story IS nothing more than an Urban Legend. In fact "UL" is the very term I used for the title of this thread.

But I am STILL looking for the original source article my friend read around 1951. After knowing her for 35-plus years I am certain she didn't make this up.

P. S. The genesis of the legend that Walt Disney's "Haunted Mansion" was originally "too scary" and had to be toned down doubtless lies in the fact that some features included in the original pre-production sketches WERE deemed "too scary," and were so deemed even by their suggestors. They were never even included in the formal plans, let alone in the finished product.
Click to expand...
 
Have just been surfing the web and I came across this fascinating article about roller coasters and deaths

http://www.popsmear.com/popculture/feat ... aster.html

it does focus on the real deaths/accidents rather than ULs but makes for very interesting reading IMHO

I searched for broken necks roller coaster adn got a number of interesting links -
Also - in relation to the story your friend may have heard, the following link is about the actual science of roller coasters. For those who don't want to read through the waffle, the line that got my (and Google's) attention reads

On some of the early round loops, the riders actually had their necks broken as a combination of the sudden rise in the loop as they entered at an extremely high rate of speed
Click to expand...

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Pav/Science/Ph ... /home.html

Sadly there is no mention of where and when. Maybe there is some basis of truth then?

Another site about roller coaster safety mentions some cases of individuals who had broken their necks on rides. http://www.saferparks.org/are_rides_saf ... atrons.php

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/ ... eline.html
look at 1895 Again no details though - maybe this incident triggered the UL/story?
 
By coincidence, today I was looking at sites about Disneyland and fond this -

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002340112_thrill18.html


ORLANDO, Fla. — If state inspectors who regulate Florida's thrill rides want to look into why a 4-year-old boy died this week after going on "Mission: Space" at Walt Disney World, they are going to need permission from the theme park.

That is because Disney World and the state's other big theme parks are exempt from most Florida laws governing carnival and amusement-park rides.

"We don't have the authority to close the park down or close the ride down," said Rob Jacobs, chief of the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection.

Given the theme-park industry's political clout in the state, there is little chance Florida's lawmakers will undo the 1989 law that protects it. But the death Monday of Daudi Bamuwamye has led to renewed calls for federal oversight of the industry.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., has been trying for years to end a 1981 loophole created for the nation's amusement-park industry that lets the Consumer Product Safety Commission regulate rides at traveling carnivals but not at fixed theme parks.

Last month, Markey introduced a bill that would restore the federal agency's oversight of permanent rides. State regulation has been insufficient, the congressman said in an e-mail after Daudi's death, adding that the industry "is in denial."

"States are only responsible for their own jurisdictions, so rides get fixed only one state at a time, even when there are similar rides in dozens of states," Markey said.

The nation's theme and amusement parks are regulated by a patchwork system of state and private inspectors. Eleven states do not regulate rides, and 13 states do not require public reporting of amusement-park accidents, according to Saferparks, a California group that is pushing for greater ride safety.

Theme-park industry leaders said there is no need for federal oversight.

"Under the current system of state and local oversight, we have produced an exceptionally safe record," said Beth Robertson of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. "The likelihood of being injured on a ride ... is 1 in 10 million. The chance of being fatally injured is 1 in 790 million."

Daudi, a boy from Sellersville, Pa., died after going on a huge centrifuge that simulates a rocket launch. The ride is so intense that it has motion-sickness bags, and several riders have been treated for chest pain. Investigators have yet to establish the cause of death.
The state's major theme parks are some of Florida's largest private employers and represent a major contributor to the state's $57 billion tourism industry.

On Thursday, meanwhile, the California Supreme Court made it easier to sue amusement parks for injuries by ruling that operators of amusement-park rides must be held to the same safety standards that apply to buses, planes and other forms of transportation. The case arose from a 23-year-old woman who sued Walt Disney Co. over a brain injury she suffered on a ride at Disneyland.
Click to expand...

So, the rides in the parks are exempt from state control? That would make it easier to suppress evidence about accidents.

*starts to sound like a conspiracy nut* :shock:
 
Thanks!

Thanks kindly for all the Roller Coaster links! I'm going to see if I can ferret out any more details concerning that 1895 Sea Lion Park ride as soon as I finish up here on the FTMBs. Thanks again.

P. S. My neck hurts.
 
It might be worth contacting the people who have set up these web pages and asking them if they have heard of something like that happening. SOme of them seem to be roller coaster nerds LOL

I have to say, I am fascinated by what I have learnt about rollercoasters --although my nearest and dearest are now sick and tired of hearing all the facts :D
 
Yup, there is definitely a distinct class of nerds who love roller coasters.
They like wooden ones, I have read, because they feel more rickety and dangerous to ride on. :shock:
 
Broken Necks

Upon continuing research, many or even most of the "broken necks" associated with documented modern roller coaster mishaps seem to be what are known to lawyers as "whiplash injuries" rather than the hopelessly- paralyzed or even fatal sense of "broken neck."

Igor.
 
what a great tale!!!!
broken necks and all dead. What a great story!!!
 
It's possible to have a broken neck and not be paralysed/killed. I'm sure I've heard stories (which admittedly might well be ULs) about people who have had a stiff neck, gone to the doctors and discovered a broken bone in their neck.

I can sense some more internet research coming on....

It sounds like the story might have come from when roller coasters were still in their infancy and several people suffered injuries as a result. As the years have gone by, the story mutated into everyone dying.
 
I'm straying off-topic, but in reply to the last post, I remember a lad a couple of years below me at primary school who fell over in the playground and hurt his neck.
He got up in some pain, an ambulance was called, and it was only at hospital that his neck was found to be broken. He was perfectly OK (apart from having to wear a neck brace for some time after) and as far as I know is still fine!

It's certainly the case that a broken neck in not fatal in itself; I believe (and let me stress that I have absolutely no medical training) that it's damage to the spinal cord running up the centre of the backbone which leads to paralysis and/or death. But don't quote me!
 
Man lives with broken neck for 62 years

It's the same with broken backs as long as there is no spinal cord damage. I have two bro's who have both managed to break their backs throughout the years- the bones in their backs rather. One had a land rover drop on him whilst he was underneath it tinkering with something and the other fell down some stairs. They're both okay now and the one who was the filling in a car sandwich, is now a firefighter and going through a midlife crisis where he thinks he's an international playboy but that's by the by. :|
 
This seems to be the only thread relating to dangerous fairground rides:
Ohio State fair tragedy: spinning Fire Ball ride breaks apart, killing one and injuring seven
Our Foreign Staff
27 July 2017 • 9:17am

A swinging and spinning amusement park ride called the Fire Ball malfunctioned and broke apart on the opening day of the Ohio State fair on Wednesday, hurling people through the air, killing at least one and injuring seven others.
Three of the injured remained in hospital in critical condition on Wednesday night, authorities said at a news conference.

"The fair is about the best things in life, and tonight with this accident it becomes a terrible, terrible tragedy," said Republican Governor John Kasich.

The man who was killed was one of several who were thrown when the ride malfunctioned, Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin said, adding he landed on the ground about 50 feet from the ride.

Dramatic video captured by a bystander shows the ride swinging back and forth like a pendulum and spinning in the air when it crashes into something and part of the ride flies off, throwing riders to the ground.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...breaks-apart-state-fair-killing-one-injuring/
 
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