Rides No Longer in Gurnee

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:50 pm

Their was an accident on the Edge?????I don't think Steven wants us to talk about accidents so I will leave it at that (soooooooooooooo curious)

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:31 pm

Yes, in '84 at the Gurnee park. A cable snapped on the elevator and the car came crashing down on top of another car that was loading. I believe 8 people were hurt. Ironicly some riders were wearing "I Went Over the Edge, and Survived!" shirts. Nobody was killed, thank God!

BTW, did anyone hear that it's back up for sale?

Post by **steven** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:16 pm

that_guy wrote:Their was an accident on the Edge?????I don't think Steven wants us to talk about accidents so I will leave it at that (soooooooooooooo curious)

Discussion of accidents is not totally off limits. I appreciate your respecting that, though!

I prefer to keep discussion of accidents to a minimum for several reasons. First off, the purpose of the site is to recall and enjoy memories of the good times. That doesn't mean that the parks are to be portrayed as perfect places where nothing ever goes wrong. It's just that the accidents do not normally fall within the category of good times or cherished memories of the parks. Second, accidents involving injuries or fatalities are painful tragedies for the victims and their families. In addition, many often do not realize that the employees on duty when an accident occurs can be severely traumatized, too. Those painful memories can last a lifetime. Third, when people talk of the accidents, they often do not base their statements on the facts as officially reported by the investigation. Instead, they pass along hearsay that frequently gets embellished in the process and end up providing distorted or even false accounts.

For these reasons and more, I prefer that we not go into analysis of accidents here. I'd rather leave that to the professional investigators and the people directly involved in any particular accident. It's okay to acknowledge specific accidents and I'd prefer to pretty much leave it at that. Thanks.

Steven

Shockwavegirl · Post by **Shockwavegirl** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:30 pm

jonrev wrote:Yes, in '84 at the Gurnee park. A cable snapped on the elevator and the car came crashing down on top of another car that was loading. I believe 8 people were hurt. Ironicly some riders were wearing "I Went Over the Edge, and Survived!" shirts. Nobody was killed, thank God!

BTW, did anyone hear that it's back up for sale?

Why is it that all ride accident rumors start with "a cable snapped".......

From what I was told when I worked there, is this..
How the ride worked was that the car was lifted up one tower and a set of brakes stopped it and moved it over to the tower that it came down on. What malfunctioned was the brake at the top of the first tower failed and the ride came back down the lift tower. If this is incorrect, I was misinformed by park management.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:28 pm

Can any one give me any more information on The Edge? (I'm clueless) And when was it taken out, because I thought I saw it in the background during a scene of the Beverly Hills Cop 3 movie.

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:38 pm

I believe it was in BHC3. Edge was an Intamin 1'st Gen. Freefall ride.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:16 pm

I have a VERY wild guess, did they keep The Edge until 1995 and then took it out along with the Ameri go round for Drop Zone?

Post by **steven** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:31 pm

Yes, Santa Clara had The Edge through the 1995 season. It was replaced by the Drop Zone Stunt Tower, a much better ride. Unfortunately, the Ameri-Go-Round was removed as a part of this upgrade.

The park invited local ACE members to come out for the last official public rides on The Edge. I was one of the last "official" riders The Edge, although there were more rides given after the last official public rides (for example, I believe the ride was open for the Girl Scouts' buyout of the park after the public operating season had ended). In the final weeks of The Edge's time in Santa Clara, the park posted an electronic countdown sign to show how the ride's time was running out.

Steven

JW65 · Post by **JW65** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 9:02 pm

So, let me throw another wrench into this thread....Was The Edge at Gurnee the same ride as The Edge in Santa Clara? (Except that the one in SC operated much longer?) You'd think that if they had problems with The Edge in Gurnee, they would have wanted to remove it from Santa Clara as well. Someone confirm what I've said here is accurate.

Post by **steven** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:09 pm

Jeff,

Both of The Edge rides -- Gurnee and Santa Clara -- were the same. I imagine that Gurnee wanted to get rid of theirs quickly because of the bad publicity resulting from the accident.

Steven

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:23 pm

Interesting, was The Edge located in the same place at both parks, and what was put in their physical place?

Post by **steven** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 1:35 am

No, the two The Edge rides were not located in the same place in both parks. In Gurnee it was in Orleans Place. In Santa Clara it was in County Fair. In Gurnee there is currently a Huss Top Spin named King Chaos on that site. In Santa Clara there is the Thunder Raceway go-kart track on the site.

Steven

JW65 · Post by **JW65** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:07 am

Thanks, Steven. I know The Edge in SC ran well into the 1990s.

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:27 am

Are there any good photos of the edge in operation?

RandyV · Post by **RandyV** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:16 pm

jonrev wrote:Are there any good photos of the edge in operation?

I will scan some of my pics from the Gurnee park and get them posted later tonight if I can.