Runaway Mine Train (Six Flags Over Texas)

Runaway Mine Train
The station of the attraction
Six Flags Over Texas
Location	Six Flags Over Texas
Park section	Boomtown
Coordinates	32.758465°N 97.068487°W / 32.758465; -97.068487
Status	Operating
Opening date	July 23, 1966
Cost	$1,000,000
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Arrow Development
Model	Mine Train
Lift/launch system	Chain
Height	35 ft (11 m)
Length	2,400 ft (730 m)
Speed	35 mph (56 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	3:10
Capacity	2010 riders per hour
Height restriction	42 in (107 cm)
Runaway Mine Train at RCDB

Runaway Mine Train (originally called Run-A-Way Mine Train) is a steel roller coaster located in the Boomtown section of Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. Built in 1966, Runaway Mine Train is the oldest roller coaster in the park.

History

Runaway Mine Train opened on July 23, 1966. The ride was the first of many mine train roller coasters built across the United States in response to the development of tubular steel rails. The Arrow Development Company, with Ronald Toomer, Karl Bacon, and Ed Morgan, advanced the steel roller coaster and roller coaster technology into a new era.

In September 2006, Runaway Mine Train was designated an ACE Coaster Landmark by the American Coaster Enthusiasts.

Ride

The ride features three lift hills. The ride begins with the trip up the first and highest lift. From there it travels around the track to the second lift. The second lift is housed in a building designed to look like a rock crusher. The final lift leads into the "Ace Hotel and Saloon". The "Ace Hotel" was named in 1974 for John 'Ace' Cocharo, a mine train foreman turned ride supervisor. After the lift, the ride drops riders into a tunnel through Caddo Lake, emerging just outside the final brake run and queue house.

Runaway is prone to flooding from Johnson Creek after heavy rainfall amounts.

In 2016, The Ace Hotel was shown to be throwing a birthday party with the inclusion of streamers and birthday cake in celebration of 50 years of the ride's operation.

Design

Runaway Mine Train uses tubular steel rails similar to those used on the earlier Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland. This particular coaster has three lift hills and two tunnels. The ride's climax is the final drop after the third lift hill, where the track dives into a 150-foot-long (46 m) curving tunnel below the park's Caddo Lake. This is the world's first underwater coaster tunnel. The old-style Arrow Development cars were designed with restraints (lap bars) that can be released only manually.