Kings Island, Ohio – Carpenters work on re-tracking part of The Beast roller coaster Tuesday at Kings Island. The legendary coaster is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest wooden roller coaster in the world at 7,400 feet and has given more than 42 million rides since it opened 30 years ago in 1979. Kings Island opens for the 2009 season April 18.

Photo by Don Helbig

Wow could there be any more work going on in Rivertown?

^ I know, right?!

-Diamondback

-Rivertown Junction

-Beast Retracking

-Beast entrance

-Fencing around splashdown

Anything else?

Kings Island should actually get a huge THANK YOU for doing their part in keeping the economy rolling.

granted it may be a few years before anything large comes about, but they've done their part to pump money into the economy.

I just want to point out something in that photograph - Diamondback should not be the only roller coaster at Kings Island that you look forward to riding. That is some very extensive work going on, on The Beast there. That wood they're adding to the re-tracked section of the helix there is called Ipe wood. It comes from Brazilian trees and is commonly also used to make patio's and decks. The wood is so tough that you can't hammer in nails by hand, you have to pre drill the holes then hammer in the nails, thats how tough that wood is. Not to mention, KI's Wood Coaster team is top notch in the industry and I'm sure they're doing a great job on this project. I wouldn't be surprised if The Beast gave some of it's best rides in years this coming season. I had the opportunity to meet some of those guys and work with them on a photojournalism project with the help of Mr. Helbig and the park and as this photograph shows....they do a wonderful job on the wood coasters.

Looks great! I look forward to riding The Beast even more this season.

the longer the off-season last the more pumped i am getting for the '09 season, even if it's an odd number year.

Why the even if it's an odd-numbered year part?

Nice picture thanks to everyone who made that happen. Those guys have a unique job and are highly talented. Thanks Gordon Bombay for your explanation, I went back to the picture and looked for the pre drill holes. I appreciate and enjoy pictures so much more when someone points out some of the less know facts about what we are seeing.

Why the even if it's an odd-numbered year part?

i can't stand odd numbers, i have no idea why but i can't.

I've heard that odd numbers are very, well, you know- odd.

I`ve worked with Ipe wood before. Talk about a dense and heavy wood! I was surprised at how heavy it was when I worked with it. I actually believe that it sinks in water!

Looking good! Now if they would only remove that trim brake before the second drop that used to deliver a wallop of airtime!

There is a new article about The Beast on the Kings Island Insider.

Additional photos courtesy of Don Helbig:

Is it just me or is part of the tunnel missing?

AWESOME photographs. I really can not wait to ride The Beast again.

...but you will have to...at least for a while!

Oh so much to look forward to in the '09 season

Ahh, The Beast. It is a shame almost they are doing such great things to the ride his year, with Diamondback next door people will hardly notice anything different! A nice new entrance, and now retracking, not to mention that $22,000,000 toy next to it, and the dozens of general improvements such as a cleaner park, new shows, boy is Cedar Fair treating KI nicely, and in this economy, boy howdy! Whoever thought Cedar Fair would be bad for the park, look at KI now!

My only regret, the helix isn't really one of the trouble spots on The Beast, I've found the numerous turns out in the woods to be the worst parts, on account of they are so slightly banked!

From the article on KI Insider:

The Beast was "unchained" April 13, 1979 on Press Day. The first ride consisted of the following individuals at 10:30am.

-- Charles S. Mechem, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Taft Broadcasting

-- Dudley S. Taft, President, Taft Broadcasting

-- Gary S. Wachs, Executive VP, Amusement Park Group, Taft Broadcasting

-- Charles Flatt, VP Construction & Engineering

-- William C. Price, Vice President & General Manager

-- Frank Thompson, Operations Director

-- Walt Davis, Director of Park Services

-- Charles Dinn, Director of Construction, Maintenance & Engineering

-- Bill Reed, Director of Rides

-- David Palmer, Director of Marketing

-- Dick Fussner, Director of Loss Prevention

-- Chris Schaffer, Controller

-- Al Collins, Resident Engineer

-- Jeff Gramke, Assistant Engineer

-- Jimmie Nickell, Assistant Director of Construction, Maintenance & Engineer

-- Charles Swing, Maintenance Manager

-- Charles Wright, Carpenter Foreman

Ok, so which one is Terpy?? ;)

Terpy's old, but he ain't THAT old....heck, he was still in grad school then!

^terpy, were you at the kic event? because i really want to put a voice and face to the post you make.

Terpy's everywhere, except when he isn't....

terpy, were you at the kic event? because i really want to put a voice and face to the post you make.

Terpy's old, but he ain't THAT old....heck, he was still in grad school then!

But that Jeff Gramke fella' looks sort of young now to me!? Was he a teen in '79?

Jeff's a bit older than he looks...or, put another way, he's very well preserved!

I like the fact that you can see the tops of the peaks of Diamondback when you're at the helix.

Thanks so much for posting those photos! That makes me so happy that they are giving Beast some nice birthday presents. I don't know when I will ever be in Action Zone area this year with all of the amazing changes in Rivertown.

From the article on KI Insider:

The Beast was "unchained" April 13, 1979 on Press Day. The first ride consisted of the following individuals at 10:30am.

-- Charles S. Mechem, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Taft Broadcasting

-- Dudley S. Taft, President, Taft Broadcasting

-- Gary S. Wachs, Executive VP, Amusement Park Group, Taft Broadcasting

-- Charles Flatt, VP Construction & Engineering

-- William C. Price, Vice President & General Manager

-- Frank Thompson, Operations Director

-- Walt Davis, Director of Park Services

-- Charles Dinn, Director of Construction, Maintenance & Engineering

-- Bill Reed, Director of Rides

-- David Palmer, Director of Marketing

-- Dick Fussner, Director of Loss Prevention

-- Chris Schaffer, Controller

-- Al Collins, Resident Engineer

-- Jeff Gramke, Assistant Engineer

-- Jimmie Nickell, Assistant Director of Construction, Maintenance & Engineer

-- Charles Swing, Maintenance Manager

-- Charles Wright, Carpenter Foreman

Ok, so which one is Terpy?? ;)

-- Walt Davis, Director of Park Services

Walt Davis is one of my instructors at Sinclair Community College. I find it interesting how he helped work on The Beast, and now he is teaching Aviation at Sinclair. During our class he has told a few stories about building The Beast.

Is it just me or is part of the tunnel missing?

Just you... it's as it should be.

Shaggy

IDK, the banking, if my memory serves me right, started just as you entered the tunnel. Not before the tunnel started. Some of the pictures show banking before the tunnel even starts.

Edit: Never mind. I just watched a POV of The Beast's helices and you enter on the bottom. Those pictures are of the second, top, part of the helices. Also, instead of banking, I meant the turn. (I'm very tired)