Trailblazer (roller coaster)

Not to be confused with RailBlazer, a roller coaster at California's Great America.

Trailblazer is a family roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Pioneer Frontier section of Hersheypark, just below Storm Runner. The ride is notable for being the second-oldest operating coaster in the park, after the Comet.

Trailblazer
Trailblazer's entrance
Hersheypark
Location	Hersheypark
Park section	Pioneer Frontier
Coordinates	40.289172°N 76.653478°W / 40.289172; -76.653478
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 18, 1974
Cost	$975,000
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Arrow Development
Model	Mine train
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	43 ft (13 m)
Length	1,600 ft (490 m)
Speed	35 mph (56 km/h)
Duration	1:15
Trailblazer at RCDB

One of Trailblazer's trains exiting the helix

History

In 1970, Hersheypark hired R. Duell & Associates to reinvigorate the park, bringing fresh ideas and new attractions to put and keep Hersheypark on the map. With only one roller coaster in the park at the time, the Comet, there was a desire to add more and keep the park competing at a national level. After receiving several proposals for the new attraction, the park decided to partner with Arrow Development to create Trailblazer. The ride was purchased on April 30, 1973, at a cost of $975,000. The ride was constructed in what is now the Pioneer Frontier section of the park and opened to the public on May 18, 1974.

Based off of an illustration of the ride in a 1974 Souvenir book printed before the coaster was finalized, it is speculated that two lift hills may have been a part of a different proposed layout.

The ride received two brand new trains in 2003 built by Premier Rides. The main difference with the new cars were individual lap bars for each seat, rather than the single lap bar for each pair of seats.

Ride experience

Exiting the station, the train descends a small dip before turning left. After passing through the storage transfer track, the train makes a slight curve to the left into the lift hill. After cresting the lift, the train momentarily flattens out, then begins a slight descending curve to the right, passing over part of the queue line for Storm Runner. After passing under the lift, the train heads heads straight, then into a slight curve to the left, followed by a small hill into the mid-course brake run. The train then traverses down another drop, curving to the left and passing under the track of the Dry Gulch Railroad. After another slight upwards hill, the train straightens out, then curves right into a descending double helix. After exiting the helix, the train continues on a upward sloping right hand turn into the final brake run before returning to the station.

External links

• Official website