![]() The PNE coaster may look and feel rickety and ancient, but Leroy said that’s just the natural bend in the wood. It was absolutely fabulous, like they were building Cleopatra’s war canoe or something. “They didn’t speak very good English, but they built the most beautiful sub-layer, the primary layer on that coaster. “There were a couple of Norwegian boat builders,” said Leroy. The wood was put together by a crack crew of carpenters. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Phare’s partner in the build was Walker Leroy, who told the Vancouver Sun in 1998 that the coaster is made from “select” high-altitude Douglas fir (“it has a real tight growth ring on it, and the knots are spaced out, so you just get beautiful wood out of it”). “When I climb aboard this ride, I feel as if I can sense his presence.” ![]() “The one remaining testament to my grandfather’s work is here in Vancouver,” Phare’s grandson Toby Fraley said in a statement. They have donated them to the PNE, which will keep them in its archive. Phare’s family recently discovered the original blueprints for the coaster design, dated Dec. “Carl Phare was the architect, the engineer and the designer, and before his death called this roller coaster his greatest design achievement,” said Frost. It is pictured on top of a scale model replica of the coaster done by Ron Anderson of Seattle. ![]() The $12 dog features hickory sticks on top, to simulate the slats of Douglas Fir that underpin the track. The PNE/Playland’s new the “58 Special,” a hit named after the year the coaster opened. The remarkable thing is that after the first hill, it’s all done by gravity. Essentially, it’s lifted up a hill via a chain, then drops from the sky, sending it careening around the track in a series of curves and dips. That would be coaster-speak for the coaster’s route. “In total, more than 32 million riders have experienced the stomach-churning drop, the snaky back hills and the camel drops of this iconic ride,” said PNE president and CEO Shelley Frost. ![]() Activate your Online Access Now Article content If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is included in your subscription. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.Westcoast Homes & Design Previous Issues.Vancouver Sun Run: Sign up & event info. ![]()
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