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"How many problems can you spot?"
Sunday morning I decided to make my annual visit to Camden Park. Camden is a struggling traditional park outside Huntington, West Virginia. The owners clearly have the right attitude and truly want to make Camden a great little park, but they don't appear to have the money to do what they really want to. But they manage anyway.
From Columbus, Huntington is not a simple or short drive. There is no good direct route, but US-23 isn't bad. For the trip down I took a slightly more direct...but also slightly slower...route which wound through the National Forest. It is quite a nice drive, somewhat technical.
Observation #1: There are no general merchandise outlets in Huntington.
Observation #2: There are more tool sellers and electronics shops...I
don't mean like Circuit Shack, I mean REAL electronics shops like ham operators
use...in Huntington than anywhere else I've ever been.
Observation #3: There are THREE old-time single-screen movie theatres
in downtown Huntington.
Conclusion: Huntington is a town for guys. It even has that kind of a
look to it.
I had decided to take a quick turn through town before heading out to the park. This trip also cemented my decision on where to have lunch when I happened upon a G.D. Ritzy's restaurant. Hmm? G.D. Ritzy's was a restaurant chain started in the late 1970's, in fact I think it may have been a Wendy's venture. I'm pretty sure it started in Columbus [Update: Ritzy's was started by Columbus-based restaurant consultant (and former VP of Franchise Sales for Wendy's International) Graydon Webb.]. But I was sure this hamburger joint and ice cream parlor had gone the way of the Big Bite many many years ago. They had good food, specializing in burgers in the style of the ones you get at Steak 'N Shake, and shoestring french fries. I was more than a little surprised to find one open in Huntington, so I ate there. It was almost exactly as I remembered the ones in Columbus, except that PB&J was no longer on the posted menu.
After lunch I headed for Camden Park, parked the car, and headed in through
the gate.
Parking: $0.00
Admission: $1.00
POP: $14.00
Ride tickets for non-POP'ers are $0.25 each.
Once inside, I noticed that the Thunderbolt Express (Arrow shuttle loop) was operating, so I headed in that direction. That ride only runs during limited hours during the day (1-5pm and 6-9pm) and I didn't want to miss it. I climbed to the platform, and when the train returned, I took my seat in the dilapidated yellow train, in the front seat of the last car. The ride looks like it has not been pained since it was at Kings Island. Fasteners are missing from the train cover panels. Metal plates have been strategically riveted in place to patch the Fiberglas train. Part of the floor pan was so worn that it was translucent. The shoulder bar padding looked like someone had snacked on it. And there was no new safety bracket on the last axle.
I pulled down the shoulder bar and prepared for a bumpy ride.
With a tram-like whine, the train sped smoothly out of the station, down the hill, through the loop, and back up again. An attendant re-checked our shoulder bars and relaunched us backwards, back to the other station.
Yes, I used the word "smoothly." Incredibly, even as the train
appears to be falling apart, this was the first time I'd ever ridden an Arrow
shuttle loop that didn't ping-pong back and forth on the launch track. I wanted
to take a closer look. I don't know what Camden Park did to this ride. Some
of the road wheels are actually shredded at the edge (not where the wheel meets
the track), and many have black tires, which is something I've not seen elsewhere.
It doesn't look like it has good wheels, but it sure feels like it. Perhaps
the ride should be renamed "Millennium Falcon". You know why--
"What a piece of junk!"
"[...] She don't look like much, but she's got it where it counts."
I was disappointed to learn that the Lil' Dipper (NAD kiddie coaster) was not running...again. I have ridden it, and it's a decent ride, but it is also instructive as it demonstrates very nicely why PTC's trailered cars (Darien Lake Predator, Geauga Lake Raging Wolf Bobs) do not work. It has cars which are trailered in exactly the same way as the PTC trailers, and it shuffles like crazy on the turns.
There is a row of batting cages next to the Lil' Dipper. Well, more accurately there WAS a row of batting cages next to the Lil' Dipper. The fencing is still there, but the machinery is long gone, and I can't help thinking it would look better if the cages were completely removed. Just plant some picnic tables or a food joint there. Well, maybe not a food joint. There's one of those on the other side of the midway, but I've never seen it staffed.
Train nuts may be interested to know that Camden's NAD train is still circling the back of the park. And the engine and tender still lean to the right. The train looks like an overgrown CP Huntington, actually. It's a slow trip, and you get a pretty decent view of the shed [Footnote 1]. The shed is decaying, the bleachers weathered and warped to the point that I don't think I would want to trust my weight to them. The whole place looks abandoned, but Camden was billboarding concerts scheduled for the Independence Day weekend. I hope nobody goes through a seat.
Right across from the railway station is an unusual kiddie ride. It's a pony cart ride, I believe from Allan Herschell. The unusual thing about it is the fence surrounding it...or rather, the lack of a fence which is not surrounding it. Interesting. The number of incursions into the ride area by wayward kids and adults [Footnote 2] suggests to me that, at least in West Virginia, the GP aren't as stupid as most parks think.
Big Dipper has received some attention this season. Most obviously the broken neon sign is gone now from the front of the ride, replaced with a very nice painted...but unlit...sign. Camden has neon signs on all of the old food joints lining the tree-shaded midway. Shame the art doesn't extend to the newer buildings. Less obvious on Big Dipper is that the ongoing rehab project is continuing. Last season they replaced track and structure at the top of the lift hill, on the small dip before the first turnaround leading to the long drop. Unfortunately they did something wrong, and that section sways about three feet when the train goes over. This season, they rebuilt and retracked the second turnaround, and this time they did it right. The Century Flyer train tracks beautifully through the curve, without any hint of binding, squealing, shuffling, or bouncing. If they can make the rest of the ride run like this, perhaps they can relieve it of some of its brakes. There is a brake just before the first drop, another at the top of the second hill, and a third just before the second drop...the one that leads into the tunnel. Big Dipper is a split figure-8 with an oval in the middle. The lift hill crosses the center, then the first and second drops...one on either side with the station-end (newly rebuilt) turnaround between them. The pull-out from the second big drop leads into the third turnarond, which is tunnelled and completes the figure-8 with the run to the station.
The last seat is still missing from the last car of the train, but other than that and a lot of graffiti, the train is in decent shape. Because of the condition of the ride (apart from the new turnaround) the ride is intolerably bouncy (as in the NAD Bounce [Footnote 3]) in the rear axle seats (perhaps why the last seat is missing?) but decent in the front and middle seats of the cars. I took quite a few rides in the last available seat, the center bench of the last car. If you are looking for monster airtime and killer laterals, go somewhere else. But if you want to have fun on a bona-fide classic NAD coaster, you want to visit Camden Park.
Camden has a decent collection of old flat rides which are lovingly cared for even though they're not in the greatest shape. The Spider, for instance still has the control handle patch from where the handle shaft broke the day I visited last year. But the ride center is nearly silent, runs smooth as glass, and the tubs spin like crazy. I have to give the edge to Holiday World's ride over this one, but just barely...and Camden's picks up bonus points for being tree-shaded.0
The Scrambler is another matter, though. It bounces like crazy with a fore-aft thumping as it goes around. It's apparently not an uncommon problem with aging Scramblers, and it has been explained to me by a ride expert...now I can't remember whether it means the ride needs new pins or new unit pole bearings. In any case, Camden's Scrambler is having problems. Not outrageously serious, but it is a problem which will only get worse.
That doesn't mean Camden is neglecting their rides, though. I noticed that the Round-Up and the Hot Cat are both sporting brand-new lap chains. The maintenance staff has grease guns and isn't afraid to use them. Any repairs they have the time and money to make get done. On the Big Dipper platform I noticed a box of Kar bolts, and I noticed that the ones Camden bought are the high-strength ones that exceed industry standards. This is a park that desperately wants to do things right, but lacks the staff or the money to always do what they want. So they keep the park clean, they are slowly getting the park painted, and they maintain the rides to the point of keeping them safe, if just barely. Camden Park remains a good place to spend a fun afternoon, and well worth a visit.
A ride list, with the pay-per-ride price in tickets--
| Majors: | |||
| 10 | Thunderbolt Express | Arrow | Launched Loop |
| 5 | Train | NAD | Train |
| 10 | WVa Logging Co | Arrow? | Flume ride |
| 8 | Dodgem | Lusse | Auto Skooter (3 operating) |
| 7 | Whip | Mangels | 8-car Whip |
| 5 | Skyliner | Hopkins? | Aerial Tramway (round trip) |
| 8 | Spider | Eyerly | Spider |
| 8 | Haunted House | Pretzel | Dark Ride ("Not Coaster") |
| 10 | Big Dipper | NAD | Wood Roller Coaster |
| 6 | Paratrooper | Hrubetz | Paratrooper |
| 7 | Magic Rainbow | Hrubetz | Round-Up |
| 5 | Ferris Wheel | Eli Bridge | Eagle-16 wheel (cable drive) |
| 7 | Hot Cat | Herschell | Caterpillar |
| 6 | Tilter | Sellner | Tilt-A-Whirl |
| 7 | Scrambler | Eli Bridge | Scrambler |
| Juniors: | |||
| 7 | Lil' Dipper | NAD | Junior Coaster |
| 5 | Merry-Go-Round | Allan Herschell | Carousel |
| Kiddies: | |||
| 4 | Pony Cart | Allan Herschell? | Pony Cart A |
| 4 | Sky Fighters | Allan Herschell | Sky Fighters B |
| 4 | F-80 | Goforth | F-80 |
| 4 | Combo | Hampton | Combo Umbrella Ride |
| 4 | Dune Buggy | ? | Dune Buggy ride |
| 4 | Kiddie Whip | Mangels | Kiddie Whip |
| 4 | Boats | Allan Herschell | Boat Ride |
| 4 | Hand Cars | ? | Hand Cars |
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Footnote 1: Shed-- Ampitheatre. An outdoor performance space, usually with covered stage and uncovered seating. [Return to text]
Footnote 2: Number of incursions into operating ride area during my visit: Zero. [Return to text]
Footnote 3: As in "hopping NAD" I suppose...[Return to text]
--DCAjr
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