In 1924, the Pippin roller coaster was built. In 1958, the Pippin's open-front trains were replaced with Century Flyer trains made by the National Amusement Device company. These are the trains used on the Thunderbolt today.
Thunderbolt
The Pippin roller coaster was rebuilt and the Thunderbolt was created in 1968. Most of the ride was left intact except for the double dip, station, and station turn-around to the first hill which were removed in 1968 for the addition of the new front helix hills necessary for the transformation of The Pippin into the new Thunderbolt roller coaster. The four drops down a ravine were incorporated in the Andy Vettel-designed Thunderbolt coaster. In 1969, a small "speed bump" hill was removed from the inner helix of the front of the coaster near the loading station. The Thunderbolt was rated the #1 roller coaster by the New York Times in 1974. In 1991, the tunnel located at the end of the first dip was removed, providing for a view of Steel Phantom. In 1998, for Kennywood's 100th anniversary, the headlights on the front of the trains were restored when the trains themselves were refurbished. In 1999, an accident happened on the Thunderbolt when the operators failed to brake the train coming into the station, colliding with the train being loaded. Thirty people were injured in the crash. After the accident the headlights on the cars were removed partially because the electrical system did not hold up well to the vibration of the cars. Installation of Phantom's Revenge resulted in the ride being closed for a few weeks in 2001 so that the new ride could be built through the structure near the Turtle Ride. Phantom's Revenge still however retains Steel Phantom's drop through the Thunderbolt. The ride was still being rebuilt even a few weeks after the new ride opened. In 2006, the trains could be seen sporting the famous T-bolt logo on the fronts of the cars where the center headlights had been.
Ride experience
Thunderbolt follows the surrounding terrain with a track length of 3,250 feet. Its maximum height is 70 feet, but because of the track layout and the natural ravines on which the ride is set, the maximum drop is 90 feet. Reaching a maximum speed of 55 mph, the ride takes 101 seconds to complete its circuit. A feature of the Thunderbolt is that after departing from the station, the train does not immediately go up the lift hill as on most other coasters. Instead, it immediately goes into the first drop and the lift hill is in the middle of the ride after the second drop. After the lift hill, riders will go through a 90 ft long drop. After this drop is a tight bend which will result in the rider on the right squishing the rider on the left because there is no seat divider. Kennywood tells guests to have the smaller rider sit on the right to avoid larger riders squishing smaller riders. After this, riders experience several turns and hills before returning to the station.
