Magnum Article

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201711190010

Two things I never knew about Magnum - (1) that it WASN'T originally supposed to be 200 feet tall and (2) that its name apparently WAS partially inspired by the TV show Magnum P.I. I recall someone recently commenting on the Magnum P.I. angle in another forum thread and then getting soundly ridiculed for making such a suggestion. Who knew? (apparently at least one PointBuzzer did)!

I'm not sure what prompted this article to run today, but an interesting read nonetheless.

I’ll never forget when my family made our annual trip to CP, and seeing Magnum for the first time as my dad drove us in the van down the causeway. It dominated the park skyline, there really wasn’t anything that stood out other than Space Spiral at that time. We stayed at Camper Village and couldn’t believe how small Gemini looked in comparison. Everything that came after Magnum just seemed routine. Still a great coaster!

This was my first ever cp ride back in 1994. I was 8. I remember entering the park in the morning and making the walk back, looking at everything along the way getting excited for the day ahead, Iwas so happy I didnt eat anything all day, just rode rides.

No trims, no upstop wheels, no airgates, and no testing. How did we ever survive?

I worked at the park that summer. It was as much of a party as the article says. Sometimes the line would make it to the old Giraffe in Kiddie Kingdom. I would get off work at closing, run down to get in line and take those late night after closing runs. Such a great summer and great time at the park.

The summer of 1989 was my very first trip ever to CP, so I have no memory of a CP skyline without Magnum. I think I got three rides in on it that day along with several demon drops. The bulk of my time that day was spent in the Magnum queue line. As simple as they were, the beach ball volleys were probably the highlight of the queue wait - second only to the euphoria felt when we reached the stairs to the ride station! Good times!

I remember when Gemini was the big coaster in the park, and always thought it was a giant ride before Magnum was built. It'd be nice if they gave Magnum and Gemini both new lighting packages. Bring back Magnum's chasing strobes!

The first several months, there was no rubbing padding anywhere that there is now...none on the seats, lap bars or on the grips. I remember waiting for the backseat of train 3 because it was rougher than the other 2.

I would have loved to see Magnum run at night with upstop pads instead of wheels. That just sounds so cool to me.

Quite the impressive landmark for a hand bent , 200 foot, pencil and paper engineered Arrow mine train. The evening spark show must have been absurdly magnificent those first couple of days.

It ran all of the '89 season with pads, the up stop wheels came in 1990.

I was there on opening day in 1989 and rode Magnum in the rain, couldn't believe what a fantastic ride it was. Totally exceeded my expectations. Decided to call in sick from work one day that next week so I can get plenty of rides in with low crowds. Got to the platform and much to my dismay there was a Cleveland television news crew filming riders on the platform and in the trains. Had to hide behind a column for a while until they left, couldn't risk anyone from work seeing me riding Magnum while I was supposed to be sick!

Magnum was built before my time, but even with all of the new and advanced rides today, Magnum is one of the best coasters I’ve ever been on.

Augustmueller said:

Quite the impressive landmark for a hand bent , 200 foot, pencil and paper engineered Arrow mine train. The evening spark show must have been absurdly magnificent those first couple of days.

Got to meet Ron Toomer at Coastermania.

He was saying that when he designed a coaster he just bent a piece of wire into the shape he wanted for the track.

Then he gave it to a junior engineer and told him to "do the math".

And that is how brutal rides like Steel Phantom and Drachen Fire were born.

kylepark said:

Bring back Magnum's chasing strobes!

Chasing strobes? Where were those?

On the lift hill.

Spring of '89 I was working 2nd shift at my IT job at a bank in Cleveland. My Dad who worked in Facilities at another Cleveland bank had to go out to the park for a meeting. It was in regards to the ATM kiosk being installed near Magnum. He asked if I wanted to go....well duh.....

While he was in the meeting at the park, I basically wandered around the park. Naturally, I wandered over to Magnum. While standing in the parking lot (now CPS) on the east side of the lift hill, I turned around when I had a motorized vehicle getting closer. Coming right at me and only about 20 yards away was a forklift with the front car of Magnun's blue train.

After meeting up with my Dad we drove in the car out of the gate by Matterhorn hung a right and drove under Corkscrew and all the way back to was a maintenance area that is just beyond what is now Slingshot.

As for Magnum itself, that summer, I lost my wallet on those infamous bunny hops by the camera. If I recall I was in the ejector row....lesson learned. Back then when you told a ride op they would walk under the ride while operating. They found my wallet, credit cards, and $$ in three different spots. I had to guess the amount of $ found and be within $5 I believe to get it back. I guessed properly.

Oh and those bonus weekends in September in the 90s. I think I rode Magnum 18 times in a row with only having to move to an empty row twice!

I still love Magnum. It will always remain as one of my favorites!

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

kylepark said:

Bring back Magnum's chasing strobes!

Chasing strobes? Where were those?

When Magnum opened, it had a unique lighting system with addressable strobe lights on the lift hill. Instead of a standard chase pattern, the strobes would use single-light chases...one light rapidly ascending the lift, one light rapidly descending the lift, three widely spaced going up or down, going up and down at the same time, several different patterns like that.

Except that every so often the ride would take a lightning strike and lose the lighting controller. After a few years the system was scrapped and the more conventional modular chase lights were installed, complete with the module near the top that got installed backwards.

I've been searching my old video and photo archives for any evidence of the old system, but most of my pictures of Magnum from back then were taken from the parking lot side, which has never had any lighting on it. I can tell you definitively that by 2002 the strobes were gone, replaced by the current chaser lights. The current lights are clearly visible in the "Magnum Heather" footage from opening weekend that year (Heather got stuck in the train by a failed lap bar and had to ride four or five laps without getting off. Such an unfortunate person.).

Now that addressable light modules are common, I think it would be neat to emulate the original lighting using white LEDs. But it should be on BOTH sides of the track.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I second that. I remember those lights well, and it was just one more thing that made the ride stick out as something special.

Hey! Where’s all the hate for Magnum?!?