Lost Legends: Puritas Springs Cyclone - Cleveland's Lost Legend |
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Of all the ravine
coasters built, some have passed into the realm of legend. The Woodcliffe Park Blue
Streak, the Rocky Springs Wildcat, and John Miller's masterpiece, the Puritas Springs
Cyclone. Puritas Springs Amusement Park opened in 1898 and was owned by John E. Gooding. In addition to the Cyclone, the park featured a dance hall, roller rink and, in 1929, the carrousel from Cleveland's defunct Luna Park. The park offered free admission and was located on the Cleveland & Southwestern Interurban Railroad, making it a true "Trolley Park". Puritas Springs enjoyed popularity throughout the war years, but that began to fade as the 40's waned. The dance hall burned to the ground in 1946 and another fire in 1958 forced the park to close its gates. The Cyclone itself was designed and built by John Miller. It was built in 1928 and stood idle for several years after the park closed until it too burned down. |
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| Miller utilized the terrain to the fullest, and the Cyclone roared in and out of the ravine twice throughout its course. The station was accessible from a boardwalk that led across the ravine. It was located directly under the lift hill and first drop, with the entrance framed by the first drop. Riders entered the station from the east and boarded on the right. The train then left the station eastbound around a left hand 90 degree curve, under the boardwalk and down a straightaway into another 90 degree left curve. The track then passed under the second hill's ascent, into a third left hand 90 and hit the chain lift 20 feet down in the ravine. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The lift ascended 85 feet and a 180 degree curve at the peak coupled with a fast chain lift gave the coaster plenty of momentum going down the first drop! The first drop itself passed over the station platform and plunged the Cyclone's riders 90 feet into the ravine. The train then climbed out of the ravine into a hard banked 90 degree left turn 55 feet above ground. Next followed three camelback hills, roughly 46 feet, 41 feet and 36 feet respectively, then came a 30 foot high turnaround curve on the edge of a 500 foot cliff. Coming off the 180 degree turnaround, the train immediately went into a double dip. The train then climbed a small (22 foot) high hill and went into a 45 degree right-hand drop curve. This spot on the course marked the only lighting on this section of the ride, a single lamp bulb. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The train then climbed another 20 foot high rise before plummeting riders 90 feet into the ravine again. The track at the bottom of this drop rested right on the ground. The train then climbed up a 70 foot hill, went into an 80 degree right hand curve, passes under the lift and returns its riders to the station. This gives an overview of the ride, but one can only imagine what a trip on this legendary ride was actually like. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Like many other coasters of its time, the Puritas Springs Cyclone earned a reputation as a "rib tickler" and had its share of lawsuits and accidents. In 1946 for example, three women were injured within one month. Two of the women reportedly sustained fractured spines from the forces at the bottom of the first drop. Another, near fatal accident, occurred 4 years earlier when a man was launched from the coaster and fell nearly 40 feet to the ground. The coaster was ordered closed in 1946 by the Cleveland Police Department and reopened after the park said it would slow down the trains on the first drop. It is unclear if this was actually done. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Although this legend passed into history over 40 years ago, it's rumored that segments of track still lie hidden in the wooded ravine near the Puritas Springs subdivision in Cleveland. Ask some of the old timers around Cleveland and they'll tell you the best ravine coaster in the world was right in their own back yard. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by Dan MacKellar
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