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Bayern Kurve

Roller coaster-like amusement ride

Summary

Roller coaster-like amusement ride

The Bayern Kurve is a roller coaster-like amusement ride that moves a train around a banked circular track, gaining speed as the ride progresses. It is made in both a portable and park model and originally debuted in 1965. It was invented by German engineer Anton Schwarzkopf.

During the ride, riders sit in one of the sixteen bobsled-themed cars that travel at a high speed around a circular single-hilled track. Riders start in an upright position and as the cars pick up speed, they tilt inward toward the center of the ride. This ride is also known for its loud horn which is similar to that of a diesel train engine that blasts its loud roar when the ride reaches maximum speed. Also akin to a train, the seamed track creates the same rail "click-clack" railway sound, particularly at the lower section of track in the front. Additionally, the ride has a distinct whine that increases with speed due to its tire/blade drive.

While the ride was originally manufactured by Schwarzkopf, a similar version known as the Olympic Bobs was also manufactured by Chance Rides.

Image:Bayern Kurve Day 1.jpg|In front of Kennywood's ride during the day Image:Bayern Kurve People.JPG|Kennywoods Cat in the Hat and Elvis characters on the backdrop Image:Bayern Kurve Night 1.JPG|Overview of Kennywood's ride at night Image:Bayern Kurve Night 2.JPG|On ride at Kennywood at night Image:Bayern Kurve Night 3.JPG|On ride at Kennywood looking across

Specifications

There are 16 cars capable of holding 2 passengers each, making the maximum capacity 32 riders.
Theoretically this ride can thrill a maximum of 900 riders per hour.
The entire ride weighs approximately 29 tons.
The outer diameter of the ride is approximately 21 meters.
The portable version of this ride is transported by 3 trailers.
The absolute top speed is claimed to be approximately 75 mph (120 km/h), but it is typically run at about 25 mph (40 km/h) in most parks.

Appearance

Although Bayern Kurves have been known to be re-themed on occasion, they are famous for their original Olympic bobsled appearance. The ride has a backdrop painted to look like mountain scenery with spectators looking down at the track. Originally there was a strip of lights running beneath the spectators. There is a lighted sign that reads "Bayern Kurve" and flashing sun mounted above the mountains and sometimes there are chasing lights added to edge the tops of the mountains. There are lighted Olympic rings mounted on the mountains below the track with a wooden bobsled figure on each side of the rings. The sixteen cars were each built with headlights and in some cases, the front of each car had the flag of a different nation painted on the front. The loading platform is surrounded by a railing with the Olympic rings in it and has a lighted, scalloped awning above it in parts. Also, there are lighted trees on poles in the loading platform. As mentioned above, this ride has been re-themed on numerous occasions and certain features are occasionally added or removed.

Installations

The following is a partial list of Bayern Kurve installations.

Name	Park	Opened	Notes
Bayern Kurve	Knoebels Amusement Resort	TBD	Being constructed from two separate rides. One was previously a Bayern Kurve at Fun Spot with the other being a Swiss-Bob from Amusements of America.
Bayern Kurve	Thomas Bozec (Schausteller from France)
Bayern Kurve	Kiener (Schausteller from France)
Bayern Kurve	Charly Schweig (Schausteller from Belgium)
Bayern Kurve	Kennywood	1994	Took four-year hiatus from park before returning in 2009. Kennywood announced the ride's removal in November 2020. Acquired by California's Great America to be stripped for parts.
Berserker	California's Great America	1976	url=https://www.greatamericaparks.com/great-america-rides/yukon-yahoo/	title=Yukon Yahoo	date=2018-03-25	website=GREATAMERICAparks.com	language=en-US	access-date=2020-04-28}}
Cortina Jet	Lauwers, hired Godefroid-Schram (Schausteller from Belgium)
Bayern's Curve	Canada's Wonderland	1981	As of 2008, the ride was allegedly shipped to Kings Dominion where it sat in storage.
Bayern Kurve	Geauga Lake	1974
Bayern Kurve	Six Flags New England		Removed following the 1997 season to make way for the Island Kingdom waterpark.
Bayern Kurve	Kings Island	1973	url=http://www.wonderlandhistory.net/content/wizards_fury	title=Wizard's Fury Wonderland Sydney	website=Wonderland History	language=en	access-date=2020-04-28}} Appears ride model was replaced during or prior to 1981.
Bayern Kurve	Fun Spot		Possibly opened 2002. Standing but not operating in 2008 when rest of the park was open. Removed from property between 2011 and 2015. Possibly relocated from Six Flags New England.
Bayern Kurve	Cedar Point	1970	Relocated to Valleyfair.
Bayern Kurve	Rocky Glen Park	1984	Located in Moosic, PA; Park closed in 1987 and ride auctioned in August 1988
Bayern Kurve	Valleyfair	1985	Relocated from Cedar Point.
Bayern Kurve	Parque de la Ciudad	1982
Concorde	Playcenter
Cortina Jet	Tykkimäki
Flower Jet	Adventureland		Video footage of this ride can be seen in Chaka Khan's "Love of a Lifetime" (1986) music video as the video was shot in the park at the time the ride was in operation. Ride opened 1979 or earlier.
Grand Prix	Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Luv Machine	Funtown Splashtown USA
Mount Kilimanjaro	Kings Dominion	1976	Removed in the 1980s after ridership declined.
Olympic Bobs	Coney Island (Cincinnati, Ohio)	1968	last=Palmer	first=George	url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/101668831/	title=Cleanliness Is The Rule At Cincinnati's Coney Island	date=April 27, 1970	work=The Cincinnati Enquirer	access-date=April 28, 2020}}
Sierra Twist	Six Flags Magic Mountain	1973	Formerly Swiss Twist. Closed in 2007 or 2008. Scrapped in 2008
Skyline Express	Skyline Park	1999	2 Loop variant manufactured by BHS.
Swiss Bob	Six Flags Great Adventure	1974	date=30 November 2021	title=Swiss Bob I At Six Flags Great Adventure	url=http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/SwissBobI.htm	access-date=2020-04-28	website=Great Adventure History}} Relocated within park in 1975. Replaced with nearly identical model in 1980.
Swiss Bobsled	Six Flags Great Adventure	1980	date=30 November 2021	title=Swiss Bob II At Six Flags Great Adventure	url=http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/SwissBobII.htm	access-date=2020-04-28	website=Great Adventure History}} Refurbished in 1990 and removed in 1991. Ride appears to have been intended to be relocated within the park for the 1992 season, but was never re-assembled.
Wild Bull, The	Carowinds	1979	Featured minimal rodeo theming in the center and no backdrop.
Wizard's Fury	Wonderland Sydney	1985	Relocated from Kings Island. Closed in 2001 or 2002. Ride demolished 2002 but the structure it passed through remained in place. Ride pad reused for Galleon's Graveyard.
Yukon Yahoo	Six Flags Great America	1976	Ride previously known as Delta Flyer.

References

"Anton Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve".
"Chance Rides Olympic Bobs".
(March 31, 1968). "New Thrill Ride Planned For Coney Island Patrons". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
(March 2, 2022). "Knoebels to debut Bayern Kurve ride in 2023". The Daily Item.
(24 October 2021). "Knoebels".
(2011-02-09). "Welcome to Kennywood - What's New".
"Kennywood Park on Instagram: "Even in a National Historic Landmark, change is a constant at Kennywood. In the past three years, we've invested more in new attractions…"".
"California's Great America Acquires Bayern Kurve From Kennywood".
(2018-03-25). "Yukon Yahoo".
"Canada's Wonderland".
"Geauga Lake Map".
"Wizard's Fury Wonderland Sydney".
Creeva. (2014-09-19). "Cedar Point Memories – Part 29 – Bayern Kurve".
Dreyfus, Andrea. (Spring 2020). "Rocky Glen Park". NAPHA Chronicle.
Wetzel, Matt. (May 5, 1985). "Family amusement: Theme parks offer vacation option". Globe-Gazette.
(2008-10-26). "Nojespark.net".
"Volcano The Blast Coaster". COASTER-net.com.
Palmer, George. (April 27, 1970). "Cleanliness Is The Rule At Cincinnati's Coney Island". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
(2013-09-26). "Throwback Thursday-Sierra Twist and Yosemite Sam's Sierra Falls".
(30 November 2021). "Swiss Bob I At Six Flags Great Adventure".
(30 November 2021). "Swiss Bob II At Six Flags Great Adventure".
"Carowinds: The Early Years".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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