A fresh new article in Cincinnati Magazine celebrating "The Beast's" 35 anniversary has been posted online. Here's a link to the article which features invterviews of several Beast fans, fascinating insight into it's origins and early years and includes quotes from several friends like Don Helbig, David Lipniky and more. I too was honored to take part in this interview. It was great fun to reminisce about my early experiences with the coaster.

Happy Birthday Beast! Your legend lives on!

http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/features/2014/05/29/screeeeeeam

"Around the same time, Taft acquired Coney Island, and moved much of that park’s staff, plus some rides—including The Racer, another wooden coaster that many credit with reviving the craft—up to the new park."

For the record.... not my quote ;-) LOL!

I particularly like the article because it pays the proper due respect to certain individuals that often get overlooked in "The Beasts" notoriety. Quite frankly, if it hadn't been for Al Collins and Ruth Voss, The Beast would probably never have happened or become as famous as it has. Those two were key to it's success.

Not sure how true this is but pretty awesome

Before the opening, while Jeff Gramke and Al Collins were still testing the ride’s g-forces, “Charlie Dinn and a couple other people jumped in the train and took off,” says Gramke. “Neither one of us got to ride it first!” Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. “When we got off,” notes Dinn, “my assistant Jim Nichols said: ‘We need more brakes, eh?’”

That statement is true. In the early days, during and after a rain, the skid breaks with grease on them were pretty much usless. The trains would fly incredibly fast along the track. I remember once sliding through the break shed and into the second tunnel at full speed. It felt like we would upend over the edged of the track at every turn. Amazingly fun ride!