SonofBaconator

Chapter 2- Six Flags St. Louis http://themeparkreview.com/forum/files/img_0063__copy_.jpg The 70's where a historic time if you're an amusement park enthusiast. Parks were being erected nearly every year luring guests to their gates with their nostalgic charm and promise of adventure. Six Flags St. Louis, or as some remember it- Six Flags Over Mid America, was one of the many amusement parks that were built in the 70s. As you could imagine, to go along with the spirit of constructing an amusement park, there had to be a train ride. Similar to other amusement parks at the time, Six Flags St. Louis featured a 36" narrow gauge railroad that encompassed the entire park. Also like other parks, it was Crown Metal Products out of Pennsylvania who brought the idea of a miniature railroad to life. The Six Flags Over Mid America Railroad, or Six Flags Railroad for short, featured two authentic steam spitting locomotives powered on propane and propane accessories. The railroad line ran similar to a dog bone shaped layout where the trains ran beside, and even above, popular park attractions. There were two stations, one being the station for the 1904 World's Fair, and the other was in a section called "Old Chicago." There were a couple unique features on this railroad. The first was the placement of stations. The two stations were placed parallel to each other by only 458 feet which made walking from station to station a lot quicker and more effective than riding the train. The second was that the line actually traveled through the engine shed as opposed to beside it. So while guests would ride the train, they would get a glimpse at what the inside of the train shed looked like. I nicknamed these locomotives the "Apple Brothers" because their coats resembled the colors of a green and a red apple. Maybe Applebees could have sponsored the train ride. The #6, red locomotive, now named the Tommy G Robertson, was one of the two locomotives custom built for the park. The locomotive featured a apple-red paint scheme with yellow decals and a golden headlamp. The train featured two domes and a HUGE balloon stack rarely seen on any Crown models. The locomotive pulled four standard crown passenger coaches as well as a caboose. The smokebox door originally bared the #6 but from what I heard, an engineer lit the firebox incorrectly resulting in damage to the smokebox. Now the smokebox door has the initials TR for Tommy Robertson. Like the #552, (see Chapter 1), this was one of my favorite Crown designs. It had a simple color scheme and, like I said before, a HUGE smoke stack. Later this locomotive would be given a black boiler jacket which resembled a traditional 4-4-0 from the old west. Later on the red boiler jacket would reappear and the domes would be painted black as well as the yellow decals. Somewhere throughout its existence it lost the logs on its tender giving it a less authentic look. The #5, green locomotive, named the Little Rock, was one of the two locomotives built for the park. This locomotive featured a traditional Crown balloon stack and three domes. The locomotive was painted green with yellow decals and a golden headlamp. Like its brother, the #5 pulled 4 red coaches but also carried a green caboose. There is very little photo evidence to prove that the #5 pulled a green caboose, however, there was one picture that showed a bright green caboose. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Six_Flags_Railroad_-_St._Louis.jpg There were many changes made to the railroad in the mid 80s. Popularity for the railroad decreased and the park decided to "downsize" the train ride. One of the biggest changes to the railroad was the selling of #5 to Busch Gardens. Realistically Six Flags never really needed two locomotives on the line it ran. The stations where so close together that it wasn't really useful as a transport ride as compared to Disney or even Kings Island. Could the railroad still have functioned with two locomotives? Yes. However, operations would still only require one locomotive. I read somewhere that there were so many railroad crossings that it made two locomotive operations a nightmare (Notice that the Soak City crossings stay down during two train operations at Kings Island? Imagine that times about 4.) In addition, there was really no point in two train operations when one train could barely be filled. All in all, it was an economic decision by the park and they were right by it. (I wish Kings Dominion had the same idea back in the 90s....) The Tommy G Roberston, or the red and black locomotive, still operates on the line to this day. The line is now called the Tommy G Robertson Railroad and has remained a nostalgic and popular attraction for families. I always considered this locomotive the unofficial mascot for Six Flags St. Louis as it is still seen in the background of many SFSL ads. The Tommy G Robertson shares a shed with a narrow gauge Plymouth diesel shunter which I can only assume was acquired after the selling of engine #5. Lately, the TGR has only pulled three coaches and the caboose as opposed to four. Capacity low or perhaps a damaged wheel? The roofs of the coaches have been painted a royal blue, perhaps to give the ride a more patriotic feel? The ride still performs daily operations and is used for the parks seasonal events. https://shipsnmoreships.smugmug.com/keyword/Loco;busch/i-H7kb73H/A The #5, formerly green engine, operates for Busch Gardens in Tampa Florida. Like locomotive #601 (see Chapter 1), this engine received a very radical overhaul. The original green was repainted a bright yellow, something you rarely see on a steam locomotive, with a red cowcatcher, green wheels as well as green and red decals. I assume it was repainted yellow because there was already a green locomotive at the time. The domes (as seen on the picture above) were "harvested" from a previous Busch Gardens locomotive which is residing sadly near their roundhouse facility. The cab was modified with two large exhaust fans for those humid Tampa days. The locomotive's original cars and caboose were broken up and sold to multiple parties. The engine currently pulls #601's old consist painted yellow to resemble the engine. The lesser used out of the three operating locomotives, this locomotive only sees action during busy days when three train operations are required or when its giving #601 or #9 a break. But that's a chapter for another day Questions? Comments? Please leave them below and please let me know what other railroads I should do. I'll try to post more chapters in the following months!

Then why start clearing it out now? Why not wait until the off-season?

I think a coaster could be put there if MAJOR work was done to condense the path leading back to The Bat.

Another chapter will be coming very soon- work has been keeping me busy all summer long. I will give you all hint- this locomotive bares the #6, but you'll never see it.

Let's add to the topic. If KI were to get a giga, what would you like to see? What elements do you think would be incorporated? What's would be the colors and the theme? Height, length, etc.

Would it be for Haunt or the possible Antique Cars though?

I always wished KI would one day add on to X-Base and play on the whole Area 51 vibe

I don't think that would be really original seeing as both parks are really trying to become more individual

I kinda miss the days when simple path ways were converted into Haunt paths like the construction site and the original Backwards Bayou. I also wish they brought back the train as a haunt attraction where there could be a show along the tracks

It might be just a teaser, sorta like Splintercat. Now that I think about it, Splintercat wouldn't be a bad name for the RMC Hurler

Shivering Timbers, Mystic Timbers, Soaring Timbers, Twisted Timbers. There's a Timber! in Holland. What's next? Timber Timbers?

I'd rather have Intamin back to do smaller projects more along the lines of Wicked Twister type coasters and smaller rides

Maybe 315 with a 340ft drop if it's over terrain

I went to the park yesterday and noticed that Attitudes had a lot less to offer than previous visits. Has anyone else noticed this or is it just me?

Just a thought. Maybe Grestlaurer or Mack

I think the hype came from previous park attractions. Look how insane the theming is on Flight of Fear, Adventure Express, and BLSC. Though those were all pre-Cedar Fair rides, we as park guests believed that the shed would have never before seen elements on a wooden coaster, or possibly some animatronics as seen on Adventure Express. I personally expected rotating sawmill blades, moving vines and/or an animatronic Tree Monster from the logo. I don't think anyone expected just a screen, a Coke machine, and a radio.

But you have I think of the type of people who would ride it. Young people love intense rides because they can take it, older individuals cannot. Everytime I'm on Diamondback or even Banshee I see a significant amount of older riders as compared to other rides in the park. There is an older gentleman who's ridden Diamondback nearly 15,000 times. Even though B&M is thrilling, older people can enjoy their rides as well- you have to look at the whole scope.

I honestly don't. Give Mack a chance to shine. If Cedar Fair could secure Mack utilize all the new innovations they have to offer people won't be disappointed

Intamin's philosophy is that ride malfunctions are inevitable regardless of the ride. If you pay attention, that philosophy has really shown with the redesign of Maverick, I305 retracking, the Shoot the Rapids incident in 2013, the 2007 leg loss incident at Kentucky kingdom, the 2009 Xcelerator belt snap and many others. I'm not trying to sound like a Fanboy but you don't get those kind of issues on a B&M.

I like the current PTC trains and don't have a problem with them but I feel more crammed when riding both Racer and The Beast as opposed to Mystic Timbers where I feel like I have more shoulder room. I'm sure I'm not the only one

I've posted this on another thread but I never asked- would Millennium Flyer trains work on The Beast or not. Don't get me wrong I like the old PTC trains, but I think Mystic Timbers spoiled me with it's seating

There have been small updates here and there but I'd like a whole new rebranding of Coney Mall

Let's sue Six Flags! Considering some fanboys haven't done it yet (Please don't take my post seriously... I know someone will)

False Advertisement anyone?

I like how they say it's the world's first single rail track when that isn't true at all