Blue Streak (Conneaut Lake)

Blue Streak is a wooden roller coaster built in 1937 at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania. It is the only wooden coaster operating in the park and the biggest. Blue Streak follows an out and back design. It is the 17th oldest wooden roller coaster in the United States, and it is one of two shallow coasters designed by Ed Vettel still operating. The second is The Cyclone at Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver, Colorado. This Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park first opened in 1938. The layout of the Blue Streak is very simple out and back style roller coaster. The trains immediately enters a tunnel in the shape of an 'S" and enters a 77 foot high climb up the lift hill. The train plummets down the first drop reaching up to top speed of 50 Mph and into a flat section. The flat section is followed by 2 medium size hills, then a wide turnaround section. After the turnaround, there is the uphill turn. The uphill turn slams riders against their seat. The train then follows 4 smaller camel back hills, providing airtime, then entering the break run and making a 360 degree turn back into the platform/station.HistoryThe Blue Streak underwent major renovations in 1997, 2002, and 2010. In 2002, one of the original 1938 Vettel trains was returned to service, replacing the silver National Amusement Devices Century Flyer train used since the 1960s. The Vettel train was again removed in 2011 pending repairs and restraint updates. The turnaround section of track was rebuilt (date needed). For the 2016 season, first drop was repaired and re-tracked. The ride received salvaged lumber from the Geauga Lake Raging Wolf Bobs coaster.