And after recent refurbishments, the Pacific Northwest Exhibition (PNE) said its wooden rollercoaster is here to stay for decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vancouver councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung declared Wednesday “Playland wooden rollercoaster day” on behalf of the City of Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She recalled childhood memories of working up the courage to ride the coaster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When you go up the tracks, it has this clickety-clack sound that modern technology can’t imitate,” said Kirby-Yung. “It’s pure exhilaration.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“More than 32 million riders have experienced the stomach-churning drop, the snaky back hills and the camel drops of this iconic ride,” said PNE president and CEO Shelley Frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A regular Wood Central reader – a Canadian now residing in Australia- confirmed the wooden rollercoaster’s durability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The durability of wood even in wet Vancouver condition,” the reader said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I rode this roller coaster when I was 11 years old!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, the publisher was too shy to ask how long ago that was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rollercoaster is lifted a hill via a chain, then drops from the sky, sending it careening around the track in curves and dips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remarkable thing is that after the first hill, it’s all done by gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Carl Phare was the architect, the engineer and the designer, and before his death called this roller coaster his greatest design achievement,” said Frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phare’s family recently discovered the original blueprints for the coaster design, dated Dec. 10, 1957. They have donated them to the PNE, which will keep them in its archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The one remaining testament to my grandfather’s work is here in Vancouver,” Phare’s grandson Toby Fraley said in a statement. “When I climb aboard this ride, I feel as if I can sense his presence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phare’s partner in the build was Walker Leroy, who told the Vancouver Sun in 1998 that the coaster is made from “select” high-altitude Douglas fir (“it has a real tight growth ring on it, and the knots are spaced out, so you just get beautiful wood out of it”).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A coaster enthusiast’s favourite<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) designated Playland’s wooden coaster as a “Coaster Landmark” and a “Coaster Classic” in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisation considers wooden rollercoasters “an endangered species,” as they have been slowly phased out with the rise of rides made from steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ACE member Tim Baldwin told CBC News on the coaster’s 60th anniversary<\/a> that riding it is “just magnificent.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frost said the coaster has cultural significance for many Vancouverites, as it’s been the site of many double dares, first dates, and even marriages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the early 2000s, a couple, accompanied by their wedding party and a pastor, had their marriage ceremony at the top of the initial drop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Just as they were saying their ‘I do’s, they let it go,” said Frost. “It was kind of a spectacular experience.” <\/p>\n\n\n\nWooden-coaster memories<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
The world’s largest timber amphitheatre to join the rollercoaster<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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