Coal Cracker

Coal Cracker
Hersheypark
Area Kissing Tower Hill
Status Operating
Opening date 1973 (1973)
General statistics
Type Log flume
Manufacturer Arrow Development
Height 55 ft (17 m)
Drop 49 ft (15 m)
Length 2,000 ft (610 m)
Max vertical angle 35°
Duration 3:30

Coal Cracker is a classic hydroflume ride located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The ride was installed by Arrow Development in 1973, making it the oldest water ride at Hersheypark still in daily operation. It has a unique layout, due to the terrain features of this part of the park.

Riders are seated in 12-foot (3.7 m) boats for the three and a half minute ride along a water channel over 2,000-foot (610 m) long.[1] Once the fiberglass boat has ascended the first lift hill, riders are only 55 feet (17 m) off the ground. A second lift carries riders above the Twin Turnpike ride, preparing them for the final 35-degree, 49-foot (15 m) drop. Riders' photographs are taken midway through the drop. The Coal Cracker shares space with several newer rides, including the SooperDooperLooper (built in 1977) and the Great Bear (1998).

The water supply for the ride is pumped through pipes connected to a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) man-made lake. This lake has the capacity to store 100,000-US-gallon (380,000 l) of water, and the pump system can handle approximately 25,000-US-gallon (95,000 l) a minute.[1] Guests are loaded into the boats from a revolving turntable; as the boats are always in motion this permits a higher ride capacity while providing more stability during loading and unloading.[2]

Coal Cracker ride photos are produced and sold by Get The Picture Corporation.

The Coal Cracker ride is not in operation during fall and winter events at Hersheypark, such as Hersheypark in the Dark and Christmas Candylane.

Coal Cracker is also the name of a youth-led newspaper[3] based in Mahanoy City, PA. It was founded in 2013 by Krista Gromalski, a Co-Founder of Heron's Eye Communications who had previously edited Milford Magazine in Milford, PA with Publisher Sean Strub. In August 2016 Coal Cracker youth-led news expanded into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization called Coal Cracker Kids with a mission to empower young people of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region through youth-led projects that explore sense of place and promote professional development. In February 2017 Coal Cracker Kids took ownership of the former Mahanoy City Lumber & Supply Company[4] with plans to renovate the building for use as its headquarters.

References

  1. 1 2 Hershey's Guidebook, Western Publishing Company, 1974.
  2. ↑ http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Hydro%20Flume.htm
  3. ↑ "Community Reporting". American Libraries Magazine. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  4. ↑ Pytak, By Stephen J. "Student newspaper moves into Mahanoy City home". Retrieved 2017-09-03.

Coordinates: 40°17′13″N 76°39′13″W / 40.28687°N 76.65360°W / 40.28687; -76.65360


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