Texas Cyclone
| Texas Cyclone | |
|---|---|
 A Texas Cyclone train ascending the lift hill | |
| Six Flags AstroWorld | |
| Coordinates | 29°40′36″N 95°24′35″W / 29.67667°N 95.40972°WCoordinates: 29°40′36″N 95°24′35″W / 29.67667°N 95.40972°W |
| Status | Closed |
| Opening date | June 12, 1976 |
| Closing date | October 30, 2005 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Manufacturer | Frontier Construction Company |
| Designer | Don Rosser, William Cobb |
| Track layout | Cyclone |
| Lift/launch system | Chain-lift |
| Height | 93 ft (28 m) |
| Drop | 80 ft (24 m) |
| Length | 3,180 ft (970 m) |
| Speed | 64 mph (103 km/h) |
| Duration | 2:15 |
| Max vertical angle | 53° |
| G-force | 4.2 |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
|
Texas Cyclone at RCDB Pictures of Texas Cyclone at RCDB | |
The Texas Cyclone was a wooden roller coaster at the defunct Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, Texas, and was known for its airtime, speed, and feeling of being out of control. It was 93 feet (28 m) tall, had 3,180 feet (970 m) of track, and the ride lasted for two minutes and fifteen seconds. It was opened in 1976, after a failed attempt by Astroworld to buy the original Coney Island Cyclone.
History
In the 1970s the Coney Island Cyclone was in a state of disrepair, and was in danger of being demolished to expand a nearby aquarium. Astroworld did not have a wooden roller coaster at the time, and the owners attempted to buy the Cyclone and move it to Houston. After further study, the owners decided that a move would be prohibitively expensive, and so settled on building a replica of the Cyclone in Texas.
Astroworld hired William Cobb to design the replica of the Cyclone. He created a mirror image of the Cyclone, which was also larger and faster than the original. During the construction, which was done by the Frontier Construction Company, the north end turnaround was damaged by a tropical storm, which delayed the opening of the coaster until 1976. When the Texas Cyclone was opened, it was one of the tallest and fastest wooden roller coasters in the world, and was considered by many to be the best roller coaster in the world. In 1979, the first turn was lowered by two feet to prevent stalling, so that it could operate safely in higher winds.
Demolition
Six Flags Astroworld closed on October 30, 2005. The Cyclone was demolished on March 9, 2006, sometime between 7:00am and 9:30am.
External links
- OldAstroworld.com- Video of the ride being demolished
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