The Alpine Sleighs, Page 3

Derek Rochelle

DR: I’ve heard some great stories about soaping the waterfall and such. What are your funniest memories of working on the ride? Did your crew ever play any pranks on each other or on guests?

Tom: “You would think that we would have known the person's identity that put soap in the waterfall. We never found out who did this. We suspect someone in maintenance, not a customer. I guess the funniest part of working on the ride was playing the Abominable Snowman. Each of us tried to get through the day without being beaten with a tree limb or having a syringe of vodka injected into us by customers. People actually attempted these things. Playing the snowman became a SURVIVAL game. It was tough, but it was better than standing in the hot sun all day placing riders into the sleighs. We used to toy with the guests by asking them to hit the brake when the sleigh arrived into the station. Most people presumed they somehow missed the instructions on that part of the ride. It was sometimes a mad scramble by the guests to locate ‘the brake’ on the sleighs.”

Roy: “Soaping the waterfall was a ritual, usually done the last day of the summer or the last day of the year. The times I knew about it, it was always done by dumping the soap (Palmolive, the best stuff!) directly into the pump pit inside the mountain. The problem with soaping The Sleighs though was that since the waterfall was not an integral part of the ride, the supervisors would just have it turned off when it was discovered. The ride would operate just fine without it on. However, the best Sleigh soaping that I know of caused so many suds before it was turned off that the suds were starting to cover the low bridge, and the assistant operations manager called in the fact that something had been soaped because he was at the front gate and saw suds floating through the air.

“Other pranks I can remember involved a new person on the crew. Someone had convinced him that there were fish in the sleigh lagoon. He was always looking for them, and even though he never saw them he even talked about bringing a fishing pole and fishing before opening. Well, another crew member and I went over to the Seal Pond in Children's World one morning. In the freezer behind the seal pond they had mackerel that they used for seal food. These were large fish, 18 inches to 2 feet long and frozen rock solid. We ‘borrowed’ one of these fish and took it back to the ride. The ride was not yet operating and we walked up onto the low bridge from the taxi track. When nobody was looking we tossed this fish into the lagoon and then walked back into the station.

“About 5 or ten minutes later this fish came floating down the lagoon (since it was frozen it just floated on top of the water). Well this fish-obsessed crew member finally saw it and about had a heart attack, yelling at us that ‘See, there are fish in the lagoon!’ It was only when he noticed that it wasn't moving and fished it out of the water and noticed that it was frozen that he knew he'd been taken.”

Larry: “I could go on and on with stories but I’ll have to stick with just a few that are appropriate...

‘80s crew goofing off at work. (From the Larry Harvey collection.)

“Soaping the ride was a terminating offense so it was not in your best interest to get caught with either evidence or worse yet, in the act. The best soaping job that I was ever a part of happened long before the park was opened for the day. A dear friend of mine and I had a desire to be the KINGS of soaping and thus, we devised a plan.

“The problem with soaping was that once the fruits of your labor (suds) were visible, it was the crew’s obligation to phone in to operations and let them know you had been soaped. This would prompt a call from Maintenance and from them, you could expect to hear that you should turn off the pumps right away. This was to prevent the pumps from cavitating due to air pockets being created within the pump itself. As a result, your optimum suds factor would fail to be reached.

“Over the course of 3 weeks or so, my companion and I would sneak one large bottle of Palmolive into the park every few days. We would enter the mountain long before the park opened and hide the bottle above the track area. After we had amassed 8 or so very large bottles, we made a breakfast date. We met at the park about 5:30 in the morning. Back then there was no real security to question your early arrival and so, in you went. We turned on the waterfall pump and poured all of the soap into the lagoon. We discarded the bottles on the far north end of the inside of the mountain where they would never ever be found. Of course, that is to change once the mountain is dismantled, right?

Photo showing the area above the Le Taxi tunnel. There are probably several empty Palmolive soap bottles in the crevice on the far side of the tunnel. (taken during the final week of Astroworld’s operation.) (From the Roy Turner collection.)

“We figured we could leave, eat a good breakfast at Denny’s and be back at the park about 8:00 when we would normally be expected. This would give the soap about an hour and a half to churn up all it could before the mechanics would find the ‘snow’ and surely, shut down the pumps.

“The desired effect was indeed achieved. There was a mountain of soap that filled the last dip and covered the trees like I had never dreamed. There were bubbles on rocks, track, sets, everywhere for a couple of hours that day. Of course, lots of talk went around about who had done it and in the name of keeping one’s own job, we had to keep quiet but, silently, we patted ourselves on the back.”

DR: I understand ride breakdowns were common and that crewmembers would have to run along the track and into the mountain (I remember seeing that myself many times). What was that part of the job like?

Tom: “When the ride would break down, we would have to push the sleighs out of the station. This would make room for all of the sleighs in the mountain. This was the extent of our action during a breakdown. The maintenance personnel would have to ‘walk’ the mountain to release each sleigh from the brake.”

Roy: “When the ride operator noticed that we had a shutdown, (which was indicated by a light being off on the panel in the relay control system version of the ride, or by a buzzer going off in the computer controlled version) you'd immediately stop loading sets. If there were guests in the set on the load brake they would be unloaded. Unless the block with the stopped set was brake 12 (located at the exit of the mountain) you had to assume that there would be more incoming sets. So usually you'd start dispatching the unloaded sets with a ride operator riding on the back (we'd squat down on the back bumper). When you were out of the station, usually around towards the big rock you'd flip the switch on the back of the set to turn it off. You'd then run back to the station and get the next set. By doing this the station would be cleared out so that it could hold the occupied sets which would be coming out of the mountain. While this was going on a crew member would be sent to ‘run the mountain’ by the ride operator. When telling the person to run he'd tell them where the first stopped sleigh was. He could tell this from the light panel above the drive panel. This person would run along the track in the direction of travel. If he caught up to any moving sleighs in the powered section of track he would flip the switch to turn the set off. He'd tell the guests that all was okay, and to stay seated and that they'd be continuing their trip soon. He'd then continue running. Eventually, he'd reach the sets which were on brakes. Even though most of the brakes were in unpowered sections, we'd turn the switches off on these as well. It was easier to remember that they were just all turned off. Again he'd reassure the guests and then continue on. Finally he'd end up back in the station, where he'd report back to the ride operator (or supervisor, if they had arrived). He'd tell them what, if anything, he found unusual (like that two sets had collided, or whatever). Then the mechanics and/or electricians took over. They would determine what the problem was. If it was something which could be repaired in a few minutes we'd just leave all the guests in their sleighs. In this case we'd get as many crew members as we had to spare and would have them walk along the track from set to set to reassure everybody and to make sure everyone was staying put. If it turned out that the repair was going to take awhile we would have to evacuate the guests on the ride. This wasn't too hard as there were all kinds of access tunnels to the track throughout the mountain. We could easily walk everyone out without them having to walk over any of the steep or highly banked sections of track. We would do this one set at a time, with at least two operators, one walking in front of the guests and one bringing up the rear. While the mountain was being evacuated, we'd also have an operator clear the station and queue house and then stand in front of the queue house to announce to guests that the ride was down. If the ride could be quickly repaired (or there was really nothing wrong, the ride simply shut down because two sleighs got too close together) then we'd leave the guests in the sets and we'd send them back one set at a time. This operation required two ride supervisors, because they had radios and we had to have communications between the station and the mountain (why they just didn't install intercom phones at all the brake locations I'll never know). Anyway, to do this we'd walk the track backwards, when we got to a stopped set we'd send it back to the station. If the set was on a brake this involved inserting the key into the key switch which cleared that block, releasing the brake. We'd then turn the sleigh switch back on, and give the set a push to get it going. The ride sup would then announce to the other supervisor in the station that he had sent a set. When the station supervisor radioed that the set had made it to the station we'd be ready to clear the next set in. Once all the sets had been cleared out of the mountain and all guests were cared of the ride we'd turn it over to maintenance to do whatever they needed. When they were done, we'd start things back up just like we did in the morning, including the full cascade stop safety check.”

Larry: “After your first shutdown, the whole process was pretty routine. The ride was pretty complex with regard to early ‘processor’ designs and thus, a shutdown was not uncommon at all.

“All of the crew members had a job to do once the ride went down. The main control operator would direct each person [with a specific task] such as close the queue house, walk the track, walk the mountain, etc. Usually the guests would realize that something was wrong once their set either stopped being powered or if it failed to go beyond a brake.

“I have to admit that I never had a shutdown that was eventful at all. Nor did I ever have a guest decide to leave the set on his or her own but rather all were pretty darn good about just sitting there until a member would arrive. As the crew member would pass the set, they would turn off the power to that set, advise the guests that it would be only a moment or two and then run to the next set. Each crew member would have 3 or so sets to visit and also to stay with until all was ready to resume movement.”

DR: The Alpine Sleigh Ride was my all-time favorite ride growing up. Do you ever find yourself comparing modern rides you experience today to The Sleighs?

Tom: “The Sleigh Ride was more of a scenic train ride than a thrill ride. I am sure The Sleigh Ride would bore today's generation of thrill riders.”

Roy: “Sure. The Sleigh Ride was a great ride. It was unique; you were never going to see another one at a different theme park or traveling carnival. It was thrilling, but not so thrilling that the whole family could ride it. It was a multi-sensory experience. It had the thrills of a roller coaster; the sights of traveling through the gardens and mountain; the fun of getting a bit of splash from the waterfall when passing it; the fun of screaming your friends name, or some obscenity, or whatever in the echo tunnel; and then the effects of the blasting tunnel, the avalanche, the Alpies, and of course, the welcome cold of the Cold Room.

“I'm certainly not the most experienced theme park junkie out there, so maybe there are better comparisons, but of the rides I know I think sleighs compares best with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Disney parks. BTMM is a mild but family thrilling coaster, has great theming, lots of effects, and is just plain fun.”

Larry: “By all means, I will always compare the ride in one way or another to any ‘motion’ ride from now on. The fact that the ride was technically so far ahead of its time is most likely the reason, but I am sure there are more. The ride was constructed in a time when simple movement was considered to be an enjoyment for any ride-goer. This ride included an elaborate scenic surrounding from the beginning to the end. The first time one rode The Alpine Sleighs, they had to be mesmerized by the mystery of The Mountain. The ride began slowly and in a quite relaxing manner. There were the joy of the cool splashes of the waterfall, dark tunnels, exciting twists and turns, sights and sounds of fast paced darkness and daylight, an unexpected elevated view, the magic of an echo tunnel, flashes of light, sounds of explosions, animation, snowfall and finally, a beast of a snowman waiting to bring about a last shriek. One more thing I vividly recall from my youth was how uninviting the entrance and exit of the final tunnel looked. All the rest of the tunnels were flat-faced and rather soft. The last tunnel had a more of a menacing look to it and it had an eerie tubular look to it.

“To this day, I have yet to find so many elements to a ride using true brick and mortar. The use of electronics are fantastic but, there was and still is an appreciation for the ingenuity that went into the design, construction and operation of The Alpine Sleighs.”

DR: What exactly is an “Alpie”?

Tom: “I do not know what an ‘ALPIE’ is.”

Roy: “A hunk of carved urethane foam covered with fiberglass? Not the answer you want, I imagine (carved with love by Marshall Jackson). I don't really know what the back story for the Alpies was, if indeed they even had one. They were obviously some dwarf/pixie/gnome-like people who lived and worked in the caves of Der Hofheinzberg. They mined jewels from the caves, fished in the rivers of the mountain, and listened to upbeat synthesized music every 25 seconds. They were obviously primitive in that they cooked over an open camp fire, wore untailored animal skins, and made crude cave paintings. Beyond that I don't know anything.”

Larry: “In the last part of the mountain, just before the Cold Room, there was some non-moving animation. This included some doll-like figures which resembled really bad cavemen. They were positioned to look as though they were mining a precious metal. When the ride closed for good due to high maintenance requirements, I was concerned for their well being. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it you know.

“I made a trip to the mountain and made off with the little guys. Back then, I guess one might say that Larry was not as honest as he should have been. I kept them just long enough to take a few photos and I guess for some bragging rights but, as time went by, was able to give each and every one of them away. I contacted those who I knew had a passion for the ride, told them that I had the Alpies and asked if they wanted one. You’ll be happy to know that each one was given a proper home. One of them went to Roy’s wife Romie. Oh, you could say I was indeed a thief but, I had a heart.”

“Alpies” rescued from their mountain after the Sleigh Ride closed. (From the Larry Harvey collection.)

DR: Why do you think Arrow never built another ride like The Sleighs?

Tom: “Arrow probably burned the blueprints of The Sleigh Ride. There were so many flaws in the ride in the first two years. I'm surprised that Astroworld did not ask for their money back.”

Roy: “I know that they were willing to do so; the sleighs appeared in the Arrow ride catalog I got in the mid 70's (It was listed as the Aero Glide vehicle system). I imagine that it was the reliability and high maintenance issues which kept anyone from ordering another one. Also, I'll bet it was an expensive ride. I'll bet the cast in place concrete track system with electrical bus system was more expensive to build than the tubular steel track of a typical mine train coaster, for example. Also, the sleighs themselves had to be fairly expensive: they had an electrical system, gearbox and drive system in addition to the guide wheels and axle system that an Arrow coaster would have. Also, this was not an off the shelf ride, any installation would have had to be a custom design.”

Larry: “I really don’t know. The ride was complex but, by the mid 80’s, that complexity was far outreached and a duplication of such would be a simple task to say the least. Disney’s Matterhorn is close in it’s basic design to that of the mountain at Astroworld but the use of non-powered sets requires a much higher design of a bobsled style coaster.”

DR: Why do you think The Alpine Sleigh Ride was the favorite of so many people over the years?

Tom: “The Alpine Sleigh Ride was a favorite among many people. I think this was due to the fact that so many people here have never ridden in a sleigh during snowy mountainous conditions. The summer heat probably produced a euphoric state of mind about the sleigh ride for some people. However, standing in line for 2 hours 53 minutes would take the fun out of anything.”

Roy: “I think I answered this above. I'll add however, that I think it had appeal to families and youngsters in that it was thrilling, but not too much so. I know for example, that my mother liked The Sleighs, but the one time I got her on the Dexter Freebish Electric Roller Ride [Astroworld’s steel roller coaster at the time] she was scared to death. I think it appealed to teens because of all the dark areas where they could “be alone”, the seats were very small and forced you to sit close together, which probably also helped. Also, I don't think you can over-emphasize the allure of the cold of the ride on a sweltering hot Houston summer afternoon.”

Larry: “I have to say that I feel the ride would not have remained a favorite for very much longer for the following reasons:

The Six Flags parks had begun getting away from its ‘family’ appeal and had begun a slide to the interest of thrill seekers. This tends to create a trade-off from attracting the family guest and brings in the teenage elements. The idea was a simple one, in my opinion. A teenager will spend every last dime in his or her pocked before the day is through. It’s a reason that so many manufacturers appeal to that age group in the first place. They have little or no responsibility at all and so their income is completely disposable.

“On the other hand, the family element will spend money but, they tend to be much more conservative about what is spent versus the value of that item. Six Flags was going to try to go after all the marbles.

“In answer to your question, Alpine Sleighs was indeed a family ride and it was one of the first rides I can recall that would remove you from the park altogether and place you in a whole different world if only for a moment.”

DR: How would you classify the ride? Was it a dark ride or a roller coaster or something else?

Tom: “I would classify the ride as more of a scenic train ride that you would find in a tourist trap somewhere on vacation.”

Roy: “All of the above. I'd classify it as a crossover between a powered dark ride and a themed coaster like BTMRR or Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds.”

Larry: “I would have said it was more of a roller coaster than anything else. Until recently, most of us would think of a roller coaster as having a lift chain and a down hill ride back to the station. This ride had a lift hill but it was electrically powered rather than chain driven. Like many Arrow coasters, this ride had more than just one lift.

“The main difference in structure is that the power for the lift was stationary yet the lift device (the drive train located within each set) was mobile. Considering that the ride itself was designed to be a lift and drop style ride, I’d call it a coaster with character.”

DR: I’ve heard the Mountain was “haunted”. Got any stories about that?

Tom: “There were no rumors or instances of the mountain being haunted during my two years of working on the ride.”

Roy: “No. I think that's a bunch of hogwash. The mountain was a big chunk of steel and concrete. There were lots of nooks and crannies in there and it was a favorite place to escape the crush of the park for some ride operators and maintenance people. I'm sure lots of these haunted storied are the result of people having tricks played on them by someone hiding up in the mountain. The mountain was also a very creepy place with the lights off, and I'm sure plenty of people have been scared by the dark and maze-like layout of the place. Also remember, that the echo tunnel effect was often running, even if the ride was not (since it's mechanism was located in the sound room in the middle of the park). If the ride wasn't running the mountain was a pretty quiet place, but the moaning sound which the wind would cause the echo tunnel to make could be heard through most of the mountain.”

Larry: “Well, I had always heard such stories and I did not do anything to dispel such rumors. Everyone likes a good spooky story and by nature, we try to either embellish them or, at the very least, we keep them going. I fell somewhere in between the two.

“Besides the already established ‘thief’ within me, I also had a desire to pursue young ladies. The stories of ‘ghosts’ and such only lent itself to be manipulated into creating a ‘close’ situation. While turning off the mountain at night, you could take a newcomer to the ride with you to show her how it is done, share a story or two along the way and then pretend to see something out of the corner of your eye. ‘Stick close to me and I won’t let anything happen to you.’ I guess it was a convincing bunch of bull at the time because I couldn’t stop using that one. No, not one instance of ‘spookage’ ever happened to me but, there was plenty of deception.”

DR: To the best of your memory, would you describe what a ride through the mountain was like during the time you worked The Sleighs? What would a park guest experience as he rode through the mysterious “Der Hofheinzberg”?

Tom: “Most people that live in a flat geographic area are usually fascinated with mountains. The Sleigh Ride provided a wonderful ride through beautiful scenery in a mountainous setting. The anticipation of what was to come as your sleigh passed the waterfall was very exciting. I think that ride was just enough of a blend of scenery and action dips such as the strobe tunnel. I'm sure that the avalanche scene camera would have enhanced the ride if someone could have figured out how to keep it from burning up. The artificial snow machine also needed some work. We did manage to ride the sleighs many times before and after hours. I think back about how we rode the sleighs standing on the back bumper. Something must have been wrong with us. That is something I would never consider today.

“The Sleigh Ride was a classic. I am very proud to have worked with the original crew in the opening year of Astroworld. What a great bunch of people. I wonder where they are today.”

A Sleighs crew posing for their annual yearbook photo standing in the waterfall lagoon. (From the Mike Robinson collection.)

Larry: “As the set left the station, it made an immediate right hand ‘U’ turn. Right away, the trees and evergreens grew taller than eye level of those riders in the set and you were quickly transformed into a wonder world far from the park itself. The theme music was played directly to the direction of the sets and it was at just the right audible level to be heard pretty much just from the set. The noise of the station and the crowd quickly went away.

“The track wound around large rock structures and tall pine trees as it slowly approached the low bridge. This bridge was placed so close to the base of the waterfall that you got some overspray but mostly a great deal of white noise. It was almost a way to prepare you for the silence of being completely away from the park.

“The first tunnel had a few flood lights that were colored yellow, blue or red. This created an eye distorting effect especially at night.

“As the set left this tunnel, you were on the back side of the mountain where the walls of the track were tall enough to block your sight from anything that was not a part of this ride. Very well constructed as in later years, other rides grew much larger than had been expected at the time of it’s design but, still the walls would block almost all view.

“This was the first non powered part of the track and the set would drop a few feet but, it created the illusion of a much faster and much further drop.

“As the set made a 90 degree turn to the left, it was once again powered and began its climb to the echo tunnel. This was where a guest would shout out something and the audio was recorded for later playback. The set would cross the high bridge and begin its second descent to the tunnel on the other side of the high bridge. Again, the noise of the waterfall would take over and the ‘surprise’ of being so high would be pleasing to the eye.

“The next tunnel was echo return and there you would hear the playback of your comments recorded earlier. Most guests liked this effect, when it worked.

“After that, the set began a fast paced descent around a ‘U’ turn and into the final tunnel of the ride. The set would slow just a bit before the plunge into darkness. The sounds of this turn are really wedged in my mind. You could hear the stress being put on the set, the wheels and tires as they gripped the track and the brake that would hiss its way open just before the set entered the darkness.

“The set would drop another 8 or so feet as it began a slow tilt to the left. The track eventually became about 40 degrees off of center and hit a very tight 90 degree turn to the left. This is where the avalanche video used to be projected. I never worked there when the video was in operation and I truly wish I had. That would have been pretty cool.

“Entering the Alpie room, your set was beginning an ascent and so the ride would slow way down. This created a sense of relief as the music was a twinkling style and all these little guys were just busy doing what ever it was that they were doing and almost pleased to see you arrive. It created a sense of calm.

“The remainder of the ride was a fascinating one but, none of it worked when I was there. The exit to the Alpie room brought on cold air conditioned air and a turn to the outside. A fast plunge to below grade elevation and back up into the station. I’m sorry that the snow room and the abominable snowman were not a part of my memory as a member of the crew of The Alpine Sleighs.”

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