Derek Rochelle

 

Early Alpine Sleighs publicity artwork poster by former Disney Imagineer Harper Goff. (From the Dan McIntire collection.)

Early concept art of The Alpine Sleigh Ride. (possibly by artist Harper Goff) (photo courtesy sixflagshouston.com.)

In 1968 Judge Roy Hofheinz (former county judge and mayor of Houston from 1952 to 1955, and owner of the Houston Astros baseball team) opened Houston’s first theme park, Astroworld, as part of his Astrodomain entertainment complex just southwest of downtown Houston. The center also included the Astrodome stadium as well as the Astro Hall and Astro Arena. The theme park provided a wonderful entertainment venue for families to enjoy for nearly 4 decades.

The rides that opened with the park in 1968 included some unique attractions such as the Lost World Adventure jungle boat ride (later known as the River of No Return), the double Ferris wheel-like Astrowheel, and the Rub-a-Dub nursery rhyme-themed boat ride. But perhaps the most beloved original ride of all was The Alpine Sleighs (also known as The Alpine Sleigh Ride).

Beautiful overall shot of The Alpine Sleighs during the late 60s. (From the Larry Harvey collection.)

Judge Hofheinz had boasted that the Sleigh Ride would provide a welcome air-conditioned break from the balmy Houston humidity. And that it did...and so much more. To classify the ride as a dark ride might be a bit of a stretch for some dark ride purists, but the indoor/outdoor roller coaster/dark ride hybrid certainly contained “dark ride” elements. Putting the ride in any category would be quite difficult because it was so wonderfully unique. And to say that there has never been a ride like it since at any park would indeed be an understatement.

The ride system was created for the park by Arrow Development and was offered in the company catalog under the name Aero Glide. The ride had elements of both a dark ride and a roller coaster. During the first part of the journey, the sleighs glided leisurely through a lush pine forest, past a towering waterfall, and into the mysterious “Der Hofheinzberg” mountain. The second half of the ride was an exciting high-speed adventure through dark tunnels and icy caverns with surprise drops and great special effects throughout. For a short time, the sleigh-riders even came face to face with the abominable snowman! And perhaps best of all for park guests in the 100+ degree Houston summertime, the mountain was AIR CONDITIONED! Not just cool...I mean COLD! But more about that later.

The 20 ride vehicles were shaped like sleighs and rode on rubber tires along a banking concrete road bed with a central rail/bus bar system to provide power. Initially, the central track rail consisted of a bus bar on each side of the steel central guide rail. The bus rails were about an inch high and an inch and a half wide. Around 1978 the track was modified when the old relay logic control system was replaced by a newer ride process controller computer. The new bus was a plastic housing which was about 2 inches wide and 3 inches high, and was mounted below and to the left side of the guide rail. The bus contained four smaller rails labeled PINO (Power, Input, Neutral, Output). On the outside of the bus were four slots. In these slots rode the brushes mounted beneath each sleigh vehicle. The sleighs contained electric motors which were powered by the track as the brushes contacted the four bus bar rails. The Power rail provided 110 Volts of AC power to the sleigh. The sleigh sent this voltage bock out the Input rail. This is how the ride computer “knew” where the sleighs were. The Neutral rail was the “other wire” of the Power supply. Finally, the Output rail “told” the sleigh’s motor when to run. If there was voltage in the rail, the motor was turned on. Throughout the ride certain portions of track were powered and some were not, so this system was how the ride computer controlled the sleighs’ motion in the powered sections of the ride. Originally the 20 sleighs traveled individually but in later years the ride ran with ten pairs of sleighs coupled together to increase throughput on the extremely popular attraction (these sleigh pairs were called “sets” by the ride crews). The sleighs were powered via the “hot rail” moving uphill through about the midpoint of the journey and from that point on were mostly gravity-driven. The ride system was very much like other dark rides today, but the sleighs were unique in that along the high-speed portions of the ride the track was banked and included surprisingly steep drops and diving turns. In this respect the ride was very much like a roller coaster. The ride had a sophisticated block-brake system that used fin brakes (a first for Arrow at the time). And the ride circuit contained both outdoor and indoor portions with the track weaving in and out of the main mountain “show building”.

A photo looking up into the inner structure of the mountain during the last week of Astroworld’s operation. (From the Roy Turner collection.)

The mountain façade building was quite large (for a ride at that time) with its peak nearly five stories tall. The mountain building was, for the most part, a hollow shell made of steel and textured concrete. On the lower level, the mountain extended southward and incorporated a twin tunnel for the neighboring Le Taxi antique car ride. There were two sections of outdoor track behind the mountain that had high rocky walls on either side creating the sensation that the sleighs were traveling through snowy valleys. The second of these two outdoor track sections had a long enclosed tunnel at the end which housed an exciting “blasting tunnel” effect. The main building contained a large inner show structure divided into several areas including the “Avalanche” projection room, the “Alpie” room (more about the whimsical “Alpies” later), and the “Cold Room”. Also housed inside the mountain shell was the large pump that fed the 30-foot tall waterfall on the front of the mountain façade.

The Sleigh Ride mountain shared tunnels with the neighboring Le Taxi ride. (From the Mike Robinson collection.)

The Alpine Sleigh Ride contained some great special effects that were probably state of the art at the time. On the way up into the mountain the sleighs passed through a tunnel called the “Echo Tunnel”. Written above the tunnel entrance was painted the phrase “Echo Tunnel. Yodel something!” And just as one would expect, riders could shout something in that tunnel, the sleighs would cross the large arched bridge in front of the waterfall, and then as the sleighs passed through the next tunnel riders would hear the things they had shouted! (I recall learning some new words in that tunnel as a child.) The effect was achieved using microphones hidden in the roof of the first echo tunnel. The signal from these microphones went to the park’s central sound room behind the shooting gallery in another part of the park. The signal was recorded onto a modified reel-to-reel tape recorder. The tape would pass the recording head, cycle through several tape guides, and then move across the playback head—all perfectly timed so that by the time the signal was sent back across the park to speakers hidden in the ceiling of the “echo return” tunnel, riders would hear the recording played back.

The “blasting tunnel” followed a surprise drop in the darkness. In this tunnel there were 10 or 12 strobe lights mounted in a spiral pattern around the track (there were even bulbs mounted on the track itself). As the sleighs careened down the tunnel, these lights would flash in a disorienting pattern designed to make riders feel as if the sleighs were tipping over. Around 1976 the strobe lights were replaced with cheaper and easier to maintain flashing flood lights. For a time there was a diorama at the end of this tunnel depicting a boarded up tunnel, barrels of blasting powder, bundles of dynamite, and a miner warning riders of the danger.

A Sleighs crew posing for their annual yearbook photo in the “Blasting Tunnel” in front of the diorama. Note the steep banking of the track in the lower left corner. (From the Roy Turner collection.)

Following the blasting tunnel was the avalanche effect. Early on this effect consisted of a projection of an avalanche on a domed screen on the wall of the cave which was seen as the sleighs careened up out of the large dark drop into the main show room. The avalanche projection effect was very unreliable with the projector or the film strip itself often breaking. At some point the film projector caught fire and the avalanche effect was eventually replaced by a more reliable sideways mounted disco ball which created a somewhat crude yet disorienting falling snow effect.

In the ride’s early years the next room was where the abominable snowman would make his appearance! (This room later became known as the “Alpie” room. Again...more on the “Alpies” later). Ride crew members would take turns playing the snowman. That’s right—the park used a live actor to portray the abominable snowman. Something like that would never work in today’s litigious society. (More about the dangerous adventures of the abominable snowmen later too.)

The final room in the building was known as the “Cold Room”. This room was supposedly kept cooled down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (so it was advertised) and contained an elaborate snow machine. This system was developed for the park by Carrier, the company responsible for Astroworld’s famous “outdoor air conditioning” in the park’s queues, ride vehicles, and restaurants. In the Cold Room were two giant air curtains blowing down onto the track from above, one at the entrance of the room and one at the exit. There were grates in the track directly below the air curtains, and below these grates were the air return ducts which returned the still cold air back into the air handlers. The intent of these air curtains was to contain the very cold air inside the Cold Room as the sleighs passed through. On the second level of the mountain were the snow machines. A boiler generated steam which was injected into the cold air stream above the track. The effect was supposed to produce ice crystals and thus snow falling on the sleighs as they passed through. However, the effect rarely worked correctly. (I honestly only remember that room being very cold and damp).

Roller Coaster legend Ron Toomer addressing ACErs and the 2006 ACE South Central Winterfest event at Six Flags Over Texas. (photo by Jason Knutson.)

During the recent ACE South Central region’s Winterfest event at Six Flags Over Texas, my fellow ACErs and I were thrilled by the surprise keynote speaker, the pioneering roller coaster and ride designer Mr. Ron Toomer. Mr. Toomer, who later became the president of Arrow Development, had just started working for the company back when Astroworld was being planned and built. Arrow had been contracted to design several of the park’s attractions including The Alpine Sleighs. Toomer recalled how difficult it was to get the park open and all the rides operating during those first few weeks of rainy Houston weather. He remembered amusement park planner and architect Randall Duell having input to the ride’s initial concept. Duell’s company had been hired by Judge Hofheinz to plan Astroworld. Toomer said that Arrow had never done anything like The Sleighs and that everything for the project had to be designed from scratch. As the park’s opening date grew near, the ride’s construction was running way behind schedule and union workers were working slowly. Toomer said he ended up machining some of the parts himself to try to finish on time. But opening day quickly approached and Toomer was elected to be the one to tell Hofheinz that The Sleighs were not going to open with the park. He said he took the news “pretty well”. The ride opened about 3 weeks after the park did but was plagued with problems. Toomer told us the story about when they turned on the waterfall for the first time. He said he was standing with some of Randall Duell’s men and all of a sudden red and yellow water came pouring over the waterfall. Apparently one of the workers had left open cans of paint down in the pump sump. Sharing his overall impression of the ride, the very humble Mr. Toomer stated “I always thought it was a pretty good ride”.

Combining input from several sources (including my own childhood memories) I was able to put together a ride-through description of The Alpine Sleigh Ride. This description relies heavily on a blueprint of the Sleigh Ride shared by former Sleighs crew supervisor Roy Turner.

Hi-fi blueprint of the ride track. Note the name “Randall Duell” in the title block. (From the Roy Turner collection.)

Blueprint of the Sleigh Ride showing the mountain outline and the various “rooms”. Note the darker rail represents the powered sections of track. (From the Roy Turner collection.)

The Alpine Sleigh Ride was the main attraction in the park’s Alpine Valley area and the ride queue building was made to look like a Swiss Chalet. The wood and stone structure was air conditioned and had standard queue switchbacks. The sleighs rolled in on the back side of the building. Early photos of the ride show that this load/unload portion of the track was open to the elements. At some point the station track was covered by a decorative wooden porch because the sleighs did not operate well in rain.

Sleighs loading platform in 1968. (Note the lack of a cover over the track). (photo courtesy sixflagshouston.com.)

‘80s crew posing in a sleigh before opening for the day. (From the Larry Harvey collection.)

A crew member securing the lap bar on a sleigh. (From the Roy Turner collection.)

The riders stepped out of the queue onto the load platform and boarded a sleigh. Each sleigh held four people relatively comfortably—more if you could fit. (I recall sitting 3 to a seat once, but it was a tight squeeze.) The sleighs glided fairly silently out of the station and around a wide 180 degree right hand turn. Moving uphill now, the sleighs traveled into thick shrubbery and pine trees zigzagging up through the “forest”. Then they moved around a wider right turn and a left turn before coming out of the trees. The mountain towered up ahead and the sleighs turned right and traveled across the ride’s “low bridge” beneath the arch of the stone “high bridge”. Here the sleighs passed so close to the waterfall on the left side that riders were frequently splashed by the cascading water. The sleighs entered a rocky tunnel making their first pass through the mountain. Still moving uphill the sleighs popped out the back of the mountain into the first of two outdoor rocky-walled portions of track. There was a gentle dip in this track section as the sleighs made two left turns before reentering the mountain. This next tunnel was the first “Echo Tunnel”. Writing on the tunnel walls prompted riders to “say something”. The sleighs turned left in the tunnel and emerged out onto the high bridge past the waterfall. Just before the end of the bridge was the highest point of the track and the point at which the powered part of the ride ended and gravity took over. The sleighs picked up speed at the end of the bridge and rolled quickly through the echo return tunnel as riders heard the playback of whatever they yelled in the first echo tunnel. Immediately after this tunnel was the first big drop. The track dipped and banked to the left around a 180 degree horseshoe turn in the second outdoor rocky-walled track section. Following a slight turn to the right the sleighs dropped down a surprise dip into a pitch dark tunnel. This tunnel was the blasting tunnel. A spiral of bright lights around the track flashed in a disorienting pattern and the sleighs careened toward a diorama of a miner in front of a boarded up tunnel. The sleighs made a sharply banked left turn and traveled up a steep left turn climb. This uphill climb was powered and the sleighs quickly decelerated at the top. This climbing left turn was where the avalanche was projected on the right side. After the avalanche effect was removed the horizontally spinning disco ball used in its place created a disorienting falling snow-like effect. This effect always reminded me of a rotating barrel because at the top of the climb my head would spin a bit and it always felt like the track was tilting to one side as the sleighs slowed down. During the first years of the ride the sleighs would slow down in the next room and the abominable snowman would jump up on the right side and startle the riders. In later years this room was inhabited by the gnome-like “Alpies”. The Alpies were dressed like little cavemen in striped and spotted animal skins. Some were around a campfire and one was making cave paintings. I recall jewels and gold as well, as if they were mining. The room was very cold and whimsical music played as the sleighs moved through. It was my favorite part of the ride. After this room it got VERY cold as the sleighs moved under the snow machines. When the effect was working properly little sleet-like ice chips would fall on the riders. Just after the Cold Room the sleighs made a 90 degree turn to the right and dropped down a very deep dip into the daylight and then immediately up into the station. A short section of track was powered at the top of this climb. This final drop was always the one that scared me as a child—you really felt a pop of airtime down the dip. Then with giggles and wobbly legs riders disembarked the sleighs and climbed a stairway up and over the track back out onto the main path beside the queue building.

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This article ©2006 Derek Rochelle
All photos ©copyright as noted, all used with permission.