Jumbo Jet (Morey's Piers)

Jumbo Jet

Jumbo Jet in its later years.
Morey's Piers
Status Closed
Opening date 1976
Closing date 1987
Cost $400,000
Replaced by Jet Star
General statistics
Type Steel
Manufacturer Anton Schwarzkopf
Designer Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH
Model Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet
Lift/launch system Electric spiral lift
Height 56 ft (17 m)
Length 2,854 ft (870 m)
Speed 50 mph (80 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 2:23
Capacity 1,200 riders per hour
Jumbo Jet at RCDB
Pictures of Jumbo Jet at RCDB

The Jumbo Jet was a prefabricated steel roller coaster at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey. Jumbo Jet was a Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet model coaster built by noted roller coaster designer Anton Schwarzkopf.[1] In 1975, the Morey brothers traveled to Germany and purchased the Jumbo Jet for $400,000.[2][3] Morey's Surfside Pier had to be extended a total of 250 feet (76 m) to make room for the Jumbo Jet.[2] Despite the expense, however, Jumbo Jet became one of the most popular roller coasters on the Jersey Shore, and was credited for increasing attendance at Morey's Piers.[2] It was the second and final Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet model coaster to be built in the state of New Jersey.[4]

Although multiple sources support the purchase of the Morey's Piers Jumbo Jet as occurring in Germany,[2][3] some sources persist in the rumor that this coaster may have been the relocation of the ill-fated Jumbo Jet from Great Adventure (now Six Flags Great Adventure).[5][6]

Regardless of the ride's origins, Jumbo Jet was sold in 1987 to a German broker. The broker eventually traded the coaster to Gorky Park in Moscow for two railroad cars of ketchup—as the ruble was not a widely accepted currency outside of the Soviet Union at the time.[2][7]

Ride layout

Gorky Park, where Jumbo Jet was sold

Like other coasters of the Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet model line, the Jumbo Jet did not utilize a chain lift or launch mechanism to reach the top of the lift hill. Instead, small wheel motors drove it up the incline of a tight helix.[8] The track was also different on Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet roller coasters than on most later steel roller coasters. The former has much thinner track rails than the tubular steel of the latter.[9] Riders on the Morey's Piers Jumbo Jet cited its high-speed, banking turns as a noteworthy element.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ RCDB.com entry for Jumbo Jet (Morey's Piers)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Futrell, Jim (2004). Amusement Parks of New Jersey. Amusement Parks Series (illustrated ed.). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0811729737.
  3. 1 2 Lilliefors, James (2006). America's Boardwalks: From Coney Island to California (illustrated ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 081353805X.
  4. ↑ RCDB.com search results for Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet model line
  5. ↑ RCDB.com entry for Jumbo Jet (Six Flags Great Adventure)
  6. ↑ greatadventurehistory.com forums
  7. ↑ Wright, Jack; Futrell, Jim; Grassi, Ralph; O'Brien, Tim (2009). Fab-o-rama!: the story of Morey's Piers, planet Earth's greatest seaside amusement park: A wild ride!. Cape May, NJ: Exit Zero Publishing. ISBN 097990515X.
  8. ↑ Rutherford, Scott (2004). The American Roller Coaster. MBI Publishing. p. 156. ISBN 0760319294.
  9. ↑ Cartmell, Robert (1987). The Incredible Scream Machine: A History of the Roller Coaster. Popular Press. p. 156. ISBN 0-87972-342-4.
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