Ride Details:
Track: Wood
Type: Out and Back
Year Opened: 1938
Designer/Manufacturer: Ed Vettel
Ride
Stats:
Height:
77 feet
Drop: 69 feet
Top speed: 50 mph
Track length: 2,900 feet
Trains: 1 - 16 seat Ed Vettle, 2 - 24 seat National Amusement Device, Century Flyers
History:
Known for its "out and back design and its unusually steel one-two-three-punch plunge into the woods and camel-back return to the station, it is an unforgettable coaster - a ride that only a wooden coaster can provide. The original wooden Edward Vettle trains have been restored and put back into service, making a ride on Blue Streak one that has virtually not changed since the days of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents.
Milestones:
1937 |
Blue
Streak is built |
1966 |
Two
brand new “Century Flyer” trains are purchased
from the National Amusement Device Company of Dayton,
Ohio |
1982 |
Superstructure
of ride is painted blue (originally it was yellow!) |
1987 |
Blue
Streak celebrates 50th anniversary |
1995
1996 |
Blue
Streak did not operate |
1997 |
Century
Flyer trains rebuilt and restored |
1997 |
Blue
Streak reopens for “Blue Streak Bash” |
2002 |
First
Annual “Blue Streak Challenge” is held |
2002 |
One
of the original Edward Vettle trains is put back in
operation |
Fun Facts:
Blue Streak was the first roller coaster designated a “Classic
Coaster) by ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts)
Blue Streak is one of the oldest surviving roller coasters in the country.
It is believed that in the construction of the Blue Streak,
parts of a previous coaster on the site, the Scenic Railway,
were used.
During the mid-1990s Blue Streak was on a list of endangered roller coasters, the SBNO (Standing But Not Operating).
The lighted map of Blue Streak in the station was painted by an employee of the long-gone West View Park in Pittsburgh, PA (closed in 1977) where another famous Edward Vettle coaster, the Dips once operated.
Blue Streak Challenge, sponsored by the Conneaut Lake Park
Preservation Society, has raised over $10,000 for the maintenance
Blue Streak.
Blue Streak is one of a handful of roller coasters in the world that still utilizes its original manual brake system.
Couples have been married on the Blue Streak.
Because of Conneaut Lake Park’s commitment to preserving
the grand shade trees that fill the park, trees have surrounded
Blue Streak over the years and the result is a thrilling
and scenic ride through the woods.
