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Go To The PeaceThroughUnderstanding.org Forums for Discussion of All Things New York World's Fair |
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Being a fan of the history of Great Adventure and also the New York World's Fairs, I've always been interested in the history of the Skyride, since it served both at the 1964/65 Fair and was moved to Great Adventure where it still operates today as one of the park's original attractions. When I saw this Skyride car come up for auction on EBay, I knew I HAD to have it, so I won my auction and now it's in my backyard where I am currently cleaning it up and searching for clues to definitively identify it as coming from the World's Fair and/or Great Adventure. I deduce by the location of the car that it came from the World's Fair originally, but I'm not sure if it ever served at Great Adventure as well. This original style of Von Roll Skyride cars was retired from service at Great Adventure in 1990, and they were replaced with newer cars from Six flags Great America, which still run today. The retired cars were given away or sold to local municipalities and schools, where they served as playground equipment, or they were scrapped. this particular cars looks as if it was used on a playground, since it was covered with orange outdoor carpeting. This first batch of pictures shows the car's arrival to my backyard on Saturday, May 19th, and the initial work/inspection I did on Sunday, May 20th. |
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| The car arrives! | And just fits through the fence! | Mine, mine, all mine! |
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I know it doesn't look like much, but it's good and solid. I just need to strip all that hideous orange outdoor carpeting off (and all the glue) to unveil the hidden beauty. |
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| I was really hoping to find a logo or mark from a decal, but no luck so far... | A little dirty and missing the seats, but nothing I can't restore! | |
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| It looks like the door was swapped off another car | At least it's carpet-free! | The carpet peels away pretty easily. Hopefully the glue won't be too hard to peel off next. |
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| My guess is this was the mount for the battery box since there is a hole adjacent which goes into the hollow frame. | At the top of the frame, a matching hole with the small wire still in it, which continues into the hollow roof frame, and to the hole on top. | Hole in the roof from the electric wiring for the lights. The rubber grommet is gone, but a mark shows it was there at one point. |
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The latch mechanism was removed, so the door swings
freely. Close-up of the central support. It still looks pretty strong after 40 plus years! |
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| Cleanup begins with more carpet coming off | There's an extra hole that was added at some point. The reinforced corners are where the outside buffer was mounted | Looks a bit better cleaned up! |
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| Views of the other sides. The aluminum skin has kind of a splatterware look to it, like you're inside a camp stove coffeepot | I'd guess this was a builder's plate, but there's nothing legible on it | |
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| More of the carpet removed | The car has it's own ecosystem on the roof | Interesting little divets on the side of the support...I'm guessing they had to do with the lights |
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| The bottom has some rust and rot along the steel edges from years of sitting on the ground. The framework and aluminum panels are in good shape though. | ||
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| I was really hoping when I tipped it up there's be a Delta Airlines ad underneath so I could identify the car beyond a shadow of a doubt, but no such luck... | The supporting "feet" are all in good condition and strong. | |
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| My plan is to clean up the steel frame and prime and paint it. | The roof is in remarkably good condition, and just needs a good cleaning and paint | |
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Go To The Peace Through Understanding Forums for Discussion of All Things New York World's Fair |
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