A-Z Coaster of the Week: Big Dipper

Welcome back for week two of our annual “A-Z Coaster of the Week” series! This week we will take a look at Camden Park’s Big Dipper.

google.com

google.com

Camden Park is located in Huntington, West Virginia and is home to four roller coasters: Big Dipper, Lil’ Dipper, Hawnted House and Slingshot. The Big Dipper opened in 1958 replacing the park’s original coaster, the New Sensation, which operated from 1912 to 1957.

new-sensation1

New Sensation (theclio.com)

The manufacturer of the Big Dipper was a little-known company out of Dayton, Ohio called National Amusement Devices. The company only has three roller coasters still in operation and two of them are located at Camden Park, the other being the Lil’ Dipper.

Image result for national amusement devices

justdisney.com

Perhaps what the company is most known for are their Century Flyer trains. Both National Amusment Device coasters at Camden Park feature these trains. They are iconic for their working headlights and silver, metal bodies.

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The Big Dipper is also an ACE Coaster Classic. According to the American Coaster Enthusiast’s website (aceonline.org), an ACE Coaster Classic:

  • Must use traditional lap bars that allow riders to experience air-time. Individual, ratcheting lap bars do not meet this requirement.
  • Allows riders to slide from side-to-side. A coaster with any restraint or device that restricts this freedom is not eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status.
  • Allows riders to view the upcoming drops and thrills. Coasters with headrests on every seat, or the majority of seats, restrict this view and are not eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status.
  • Allows riders to choose where they sit. Some parks’ operating procedures assign seating; these coasters are not eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status.
roller-coasters.wanderbat.com

roller-coasters.wanderbat.com

Big Dipper Stats

  • Lift hill: 50 feet
  • Drop: 35 feet
  • Ride time: 1:40
  • Layout: figure-eight
  • Trains: 3 cars each seating 6 riders (18 riders total)

Some other notable features on the Big Dipper are its tunnel, its use of manual brakes and that the second drop is also its largest.

google.com

google.com

The Big Dipper was one of my first coasters and is a blast to ride. Don’t let the relatively small size of the coaster fool you, the Century Flyer trains allow you to get a lot of air-time! Take a virtual ride here:

https://youtu.be/PVPBdAGuzpA

Have you ever had a chance to ride the Big Dipper? Let us know your thoughts on it!

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