Looking back at Skyrush Construction December 2011

If I can get to a coaster construction site reasonably I will go and take a look. Skyrush was a project I was very excited about. The more the track came in the more I became interested in the project. The original No-Limits POV video did not give me a good vision of how things would turn out. The more and more the double spine track started showing up, the more I became excited. On the way to my parent's house from Pittsburgh to the Lehigh Valley for the Christmas in 2011. Thanks to our friend Brandon for pointing that out, I recall stopping by to see it done at Easter. I am coming off of anesthesia today from my surgery so I am a little foggy right now. I took a detour to check out the construction. It ended up adding about 45 minutes to the trip but it was totally worth it. It is always worth a look to see a park skyline change.

It was a foggy day and this was my first view of the ride. It looked giant considering that at this point the ride was already taller than most of the coasters at the park.

It is always stunning to see a new coaster going up. 

The Stengel Dive looked pretty cool.

Closer up shot. It was pretty lousy weather that day but it miraculously stopped raining when I got near the park. It was raining heavily though prior and the creek was very swollen and over its banks in places. I was concerned about the workers and the construction site since earlier in the project there were heavy floods.

The dam and redirection of the creek held though and the Iron Workers were able to continue. The construction site was hopping. 

The trucks were shuttling back and forth between the staging area on the lawn of the Milton Hershey School and the construction site.

Meanwhile, they were doing some work on the first drop area. you may notice the slight mistake they made in painting the lift support with yellow. This would be rectified shortly. 

Seeing Comet and the carousel back there is getting me excited for the summer season. I am glad I took the detour to see this construction. It is not every day you get to see something get built that dramatically changes the skyline of a place. 

This man was doing some finesse work on the ride. 

I have not gone back there since the ride was built and looked at this spot. Did this end up being a trim, proxy switch or a mount for a possible trim later on?

I can see old Barney the Dodge Stratus sitting in the center of this shot. I no longer have that car but I have to say that it was actually pretty decent.

Cinnamon says it is time to go!

So it is time to go! The track staging area was humming with activity and you can see the lift hill pieces were patiently awaiting a ride from the truck. 

Skyrush was a work in progress throughout its first partial operating season. It would turn in early for the first season for work and adjustments. For the second season the lift cable was significantly slowed down. We will see if operating season number three for Skyrush offers any more changes for the ride. 

Check out the e-book version of our new book "Great Pennsylvania Amusement Parks Road Trip," available for only $9.99 at Amazon and Lulu using the following links:

E-Book at Amazon
E-Book at Lulu

Print versions are also still available using the dropdown menu on our page, through visiting any of the fine stores that carry our book and through Amazon. With any purchase I will send a free ticket to ride the Conneaut Blue Streak or Lakemont Leap the Dips since a portion of the proceeds go to help those parks. If you purchase the print book on our page I will send a ticket with the book. If you purchase the print book somewhere else, send me a scanned copy of your receipt and your mailing address and I will send you a free ticket.