Year Installed:
2001
Last Year Operated:
Operating
Section:
Texas
Manufacturer:
Giovanola
Other Names and Nicknames:
The Titan was built for Six Flag’s fortieth anniversary season. Construction of the Titan was one of the Six Flags over Texas’ largest capital expenses. The ride, a” mega-coaster”, is located in the southwest corner of the park, west of the Texas section, in an area that had previously been outside the park. Much of the ride extends out over one of the park’s parking lots.
The ride starts with a 245 foot high hill. The lift leads to a 255 foot 65 degree drop into a 120 foot long below ground tunnel. After topping the first hill, the ride reaches speeds of up to 85 mph. The ride track is 5,312 feet in length. The three thirty rider trains can carry up to1600 guests per hour. During the three minute ride, guests can experience up to 4.5 Gs.
The Titan is an extended version of the Goliath built at Six Flags Magic Mountain. When built, the two rides tied for the third tallest roller coaster in the world. Since then they have dropped to fifth tallest. The pair are currently the sixth fastest steel coasters in the world. Both rides were built by Giovanola of Switzerland.
Year Installed:
1961
Last Year Operated:
On-going
Section:
Texas
Manufacturer: Other Names and Nicknames:
Section: Texas
Year installed: 1961
Gunfights in front to the Texas Courthouse. From Six Flags Postcard. Note Judge Roy bean on the porch with a “hanging rope”. Also note the park photographer with a Polaroid Camera in the Mid-left of the photograph. The photographers sold the Polaroid pictures to guests.
The Gunfighter Shows have been held in the Texas section since the park opened in 1961. The shows recreate the good-guy/bad-guy shoot-outs of the wild west. They are designed to be entertaining more than historically accurate. Typically they take place on the street in front of the Courthouse in the Texas Section. Over the years, however, shows have been held in various locations around the park. In some shows, outlaws rob the Train while it is running, leading to a shoot-out in front of the Texas train station. Shoot-outs have also been held in front of the Jersey Lilly, around the corner from the Courthouse.
Gunfighters in front of the Texas Astrolift. The Texas Railroad station would be out of the photograph to the photographers left. The area in the upper left corner of the photograph is now the location of the Boot Scootin’ Ride.
Starting in 1994, the Texas section hosted the Texas Backlot Stunt Show, an outdoor action-comedy stunt-show featured in the Texas section. Additional sets were built next to the Jersey Lilly for this show. The first show, the O.K Corral Shootout Backlot show,was tied to the release of the Warner Brother’s movie Wyatt Earp. The stunt shows continued through the 1990s.
At this time, the Gunfights continue in front of the Courthouse.
The Six Flags Railroad is the oldest operating attraction at Six Flags Over Texas and has the distinction of being the ONLY attraction remaining from the park’s initial season.
The trains make a one mile run around the park. The ride is enhanced by the “Spiel of the Conductor“, which points out the sights for the riders, highlights interesting facts about the park, and provides some “corny” entertainment. The spiel changes over the years as new attractions are added and others are removed.
The Engines
The center pieces of the Railroad are the two engines, each of which has an extensive history of its own. Engine Number 1 is known as the Green Train due to its green paint scheme. The Green Train was constructed in 1901 as Engine 1280 of the Dickson Works of the American Locomotive company.
Engine Number 2 is known as the Red Train for its red color scheme. It is the older and smaller of the two engines. It was manufactured in 1897 as Engine Number 1754 of the Porter Company.
Enterprise Plantation
Both Engines were originally built for the Enterprise Plantation, a Sugar Cane Plantation, in Patoutville, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, owned by the Patout family. The Red Train was Enterprise’s first engine and tender and was named the “Lydia”. The Green Train was Enterprise’s second engine and tender and was named the “Mary Ann”.
The Engines were part of a fleet of 8 engines and 220 4 ton cars eventually owned by the plantation railroad, which operated until 1945.
The Engines are Narrow Gauge (36″), meaning that the distance between the two tracks is thirty-six inches. This is smaller than Standard Gauge Railroads, but allows for better maneuverability on tight tracks.
Both engines were leased to Six Flags Over Texas by the Patout Family when the park opened in 1961. As of 1995, the Trains still operated in the park under a lease agreement.
Six Flags Rebuilds the Engines
The Green Train, originally the “Mary Ann” at the Enterprise Plantation, was renamed the “General Sam Houston” by Six Flags, in honor of the Texas hero. Its pulls four cars, and is the primary train of the railroad, operating even on slow days when only one of the two trains is running.
The Red Train, originally the “Lydia” at the Enterprise Plantation, was renamed the “Maribeu B. Lamar”, also in honor of the a Texas hero. It pulls a compliment of three passenger cars. It usually runs as an extra train on crowded days.
The two engines were rebuilt by the park at an estimated cost of $50,000 each. Photographs of the original “Lydia” and the “Mary Ann” hang in the lobby of the Texas Station. Due to reconstruction of the engines, they look different from their current appearance and may not instantly be recognized. A lantern and cattle guard was added the front end of the each train. The Engines are no longer wood burning and the tenders were converted accordingly. Additional guide wheels were added to the front of each engine under the cattle guards.
The front smoke stack on the Green Train was modified. On the Red Train, the covering for the Engineer and Fireman was moved back on the engine and additional windows were added.
The passenger cars were also built for the park.
The Red Train has since been renamed to the Charles Jefferson Patton, in honor of the engineer that operated the Six Flag engines for many years. The Green Train has been renamed in honor of Larry Cochran.
The Engine House
The home to the Trains is an engine house built in the Southwest Corner of the park, outside of the Spanish and Mexican Sections. The Engine House can be viewed by Guests as they ride the trains.
Train Operations – Sights
The Trains originally operated only out of the Six Flags Railroad Station in the Texas Section. The station was officially named the “Great Southwest Station.” Trains left the Texas Station heading North towards the Chaparral cars. They made a non-stop round trip run around the park, which was completely enclosed by the track. Along the way, riders could see some of the parks rides and attractions. Some of the route, however, was through as of yet undeveloped areas of the park. The park added sights to these areas. In what was to become the boomtown area of the park, Buffalo lived in pens for viewing by guests on the trains.
The trains made their one way run until Six Flags added Boomtown in 1963. The Boomtown Station was added as part of the boomtown section and the trains began the tradition of stopping on the east end of the Park so riders could disembark and new riders could embark.
When the StageCoach ride closed, the “Ghost-town saloon” animation was moved to become part of the train’s landscape. Likewise, in 1968 when the Fiesta Train was rebuilt, the Train landscape became the home of several of the old Fiesta Train’s animations, including the “dancing tamales“. This section of the landscape became known as “Mexican Junction”, although the Trains never actually stopped there.
Station Houses
The ride stayed basically the same until Six Flags added Good Times Square in 1973. At that time, the old Boomtown Station house was removed and the Good Times Square Station was added in its place. Rather than being inside the track like the Texas and Boomtown Stations, the Good Times Square Station was on the outside of the track. The Passenger cars were modified accordingly so that they could be entered from either side.
At the same time that the Good Times Square Station was added, the Trains were “turned” so that they ran the opposite direction, leaving the Texas Station South, heading towards the flume. Of course, the Conductors now how to learn to spiel “backwards”.
The Trains were “turned” again in the early 1980s, so that they now depart Texas in the same direction as they did in 1961, heading North, towards the Chaparral cars.
In 1987, the Good Times Square Station was removed to make way for the Mr. Freeze Ride. At that time, a new Boomtown Station was built.
Texas Station has now been renamed from “Great Southwest Station” to the “Johnson Creek Station“.
The Six Flags Railroad is an official operating railroad regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission.
An Official Texas Historical Plaque hangs on the outside of Texas Station, documenting the history of Narrow Gauge Railroads in Texas. The plaque, placed in 1966, incorrectly states that the engines were originally manufactured in 1887 and 1903.
The Trains remain a popular ride, in that they can be enjoyed by both the young and the old. More importantly, the preserve a piece of American history that many generations can only read about. Hopefully, the whistle of the engines will always be heard throughout the park.
Year Installed:
1966
Last Year Operated:
Currently Operating
Section:
Confederacy
Manufacturer:
Premier Rides
Other Names and Nicknames:
Runaway Mountain Rollercoaster, Six Flags’ eighth roller coaster, was added for the 1996 season. Runaway Mountain is located in the Old South (Confederacy) section between the Southern Palace and Nalar’s Plantation house. The area had once been occupied by the Skull Island River Raft queue house and the more recently removed Spinnaker.
Runaway Mountain utilizes single unit cars rather than the trains common with the other roller coasters. Runaway Mountains key feature is that the entire ride is inside. The darkness of the interior prevents the riders from knowing whether they are going up, down, left or right. This lack of knowledge makes the ride more thrilling, even though it is not as tall or fast as the other major coasters.
The four seat cars reach speeds of up to 40 mph and g-forces of up to 3.6.This is actually faster than the 39 mph estimated at the time for the Texas Giant, and the 2.7 g’s pulled on the Giant. The ride includes drops of nearly 90 degrees, banked turns at 82 degrees, and two high speed horizontal spirals.
The ride lasts one and a half minutes and can entertain a thousand guests an hour.
The publicity for the ride resembled the story line for the original skull island. As with the Skull island, which was located at the same spot, the mountain was said to contain gold left there by the famous pirate Jean LaFitte. The riders search for the gold as they explore the mysteries of the mountain. The ride’s tagline is the “Coaster that dares the Darkness.”
The ride was designed using the most current computer aided design techniques and was a “heart-line design”, meaning that the riders heart was used as the center of gravity. The ride also employed state of the art computer controls as well as a chainless lift that provided much quieter operation.
The ride was built by Premier Rides of Maryland and was originally based on three twelve passenger trains.
In order to avoid confusion of the names, “runaway” was removed from the Runaway Mine Train’s name, which was shortened to simply the “Mine Train”
Year Installed:
1992
Last Year Operated:
Currently Not Operating
Section:
Confederacy
Manufacturer: Other Names and Nicknames:
The Cave, Gold River
Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure
The Speelunkers cave opened for the 1992 season without the original Speelunkers. It was now the “Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure “. The new version of the ride featured Bugs Bunny and the other Looney tunes characters in center stage.
Also, known as the Gold River Adventure, the ride tells the story of Yosemite Sam’s robbery of the “payroll”. “Sheriff” Bugs Bunny and his friends are responsible for seeing that the gold is returned and that Yosemite Sam is locked up for his misdeeds. As would be anticipated, the story ends happily.
The ride intimations and features were designed by R & R Creative Amusement Design, and built by Sally Dark Rides, a ride and animation company. According to the company, the ride contains 29 animated characters, and a total of 125 animations and other special effects.
Although all of the inhabitants of the cave were removed and replaced, the ride structure itself remained the same. The special effects, such as the storm and rotating barrel were removed. The make-over cost $5 million dollars and opened in June of the year.
Year Installed:
1964
Last Year Operated:
1990
Section:
Confederacy
Manufacturer: Other Names and Nicknames:
The Cave Ride opened in the park in 1964, making it the sixth oldest operating ride in the park. The Cave Ride was perhaps one of the most innovated rides at Six Flags Over Texas. Of course, the Cave took its inspiration from Dark Rides everywhere. Floating through a dark tunnel was certainly not a new concept, even in 1964.
The ride is simple in design and operation. Riders float through the ride in small “tubs”. The “tubs” are basically a variation on the Flume’s Logs. This makes sense, since the Cave “river” is basically the same as the Flume “trough”. The “tubs” have change somewhat overtime, with the seating going from around the inside, to front to back, as with the logs, to side by side in rows.
What made the Cave special, however, was that it was inhabited by Six Flags Spee-Lunkers, a characteristic that made it unique among dark rides. The Spee-Lukners are small creatures, about four feet tall. There most prominent feature is their long triangulars faces.
The ride had no real story line, the riders simply saw the Spee-Lunkers doing various activities. Highlights of the trip included, the storm scene, complete with lightening and thunder; the barrel, in which the tub went through a large barrel which rotated around it, creating the illusion that the through was rotating; and the air and water sprayers at the end of the ride.
Some scenes were removed and replaced with other scenes as the years went on, so the ride was not exactly the same over the years. At the end of the 1991 season, the Spee-Lunkers were removed from the cave and replaced with characters from the Warner Brother’s Looney-Tunes. Due to the significant changes made in the animinations. the ride after 1991 is covered in the Gold River Pages.
The Spee-Lunker scenes, in order as much as possible, were:
Speelunker Writing on Stone Table
One Spee-lunker writing with a hammer and chisel on a large stone tablet. Made a distinctive “chinging” sound.
Three Speelunkers Riding turtles
Three Speelunkers riding in a large circle in and out of a cave. The turtles were mounted on a carousel type mount, so the speelunkers road around in a large circle
Treasure Chest
A large treasure chest. Over the years, different treasures were featured, including the standard jewels, gasoline cans during the gas shortage and coffee bags during the coffee shortage. The lid opened and closed as the riders went by.
Two Speelukners playing “catch” with a bolder
Two speelunkers playing “catch” with a large bolder which went out over the tub as it passed underneath.
Shark Fighter
SpeeLunker in a sinking tub using a sword to fighting off a shark lurking up out of the water.
Mad Organist
Speelunker playing a large pipe organ with his friend pumping the organ.
Spee-Lunkner String Band
Five spee-lunkers: a band director standing, with four string players sitting on mushrooms and playing harps;
Spee-Lunkner Country & Western band
In later years there was a country and western band with a bucking bull ride.
The Storm
The Storm scene started as you came upon the boat. Lightened flashed in the distance. Thunder roared and the sound of rain falling could be heard.
The Boat
As you came up on the boat, you saw the outside of a large sailing boat, which rocked back and forth. As you came around the front of the boat, it was if you were now inside the boat and seeing scenes from the boat on each side.
The Prisoners
Prisoner sawing away at his bars. (on the boat.)
Card Players
Two Speelunkers sitting at a table playing a game of cards. (on the boat)
The Barrel
The tubs went through a long barrel which rotated around the riders, creating an illusion that the whole river was rotating.
The Skiers
Speelunkers skiing down a mountain. One upside down, with his head in the snow.
The Finale
Speelunkers representing each of the six flags shaking hands with each other. Shown are the “Mexican” and “USA” representatives.
Year Installed:
1977
Last Year Operated:
1995
Section:
Confederacy
Manufacturer:
Intamin
Other Names and Nicknames:
New for 1977 was the Spinnakker, an Enterprise Style ride built by Intamin. Located just south of the Tower, the ride was composed of swingin gondolas units in which 1 or 2 guest sat. The ride would start parallel to the ground, where it would start to spin around, similar to carousel. It would spin continuously until the capsules were pointing straight out, parallel to the ground. At that point, the ride’s arm lifted up to a 90 degree angle, so that the riders were spinning up and down, as with a Ferris wheel. The difference with a Ferris wheel, however, is that the ride spun very fast, and when the gondolas reached the top of the circle, the riders were turned upside down.
The spinnaker was a very popular ride at amusement parks. It was a very visual entertainment, especially at night when it was well light.
The Spinnakker was removed and installed at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, where it was dubbed the “Wagon Wheel.”
Year Installed:
2006
Last Year Operated:
2014
Section:
Moden
Manufacturer:
Intamin
Other Names and Nicknames:
The Acme Rock-n-Rocket was added in the 2006 season as part one the ten new attractions added for the year. It was located in the Modern Section, next to the Adventure Theater, close to where the Modern Astrolift had stood. Shaped like a cartoon firecracker rocket, the ride is similar to the Conquistador. Unlike the Conquistador, however, the Rock-n-Rocket turned riders completely upside-down as it swung 84-feet in the air and around in a full 360-degree circle. The ride lasted two minutes and thirty seconds. The rocket held up to fifty-riders, for an estimated hourly capacity of 650 riders.
Both the Conquistador and the Rock-n-Rocket were manufactured by Intamin. The Rock-n-Rocket is a Looping Starship style ride. Parts for the ride were relocated from Astroworld when the park was closed. The rocket unit in which the riders sit was manufactured for Six Flags Over Texas.
