The longest wooden
roller coaster in the world, The Beast is one of the top attractions at
Paramount's King's Island, an Ohio theme park. Designed by
Dinn Corp. and built by the in-house King's Island Engineering and Construction crew, The Beast opened on April 14, 1979 after costing four million dollars to create. Made of southern pine
lumber stained with a
redwood finish, its track is 7,400 feet long - not only the longest wooden track, but the longest of any type in the United States and fourth longest in the world. The Beast has two major drops: the first, after a 110-foot
lift hill, is 135 feet, and the second drop is 141 feet at a
forty-five degree angle - the seventh longest drop in the world for a
woodie. There are three trains, each carrying thirty-six riders through the ride in three minutes and forty seconds. The Beast's top speed is 64.77mph - the sixth fastest woodie in the world - and it can process 1,200 riders per hour, with nearly 33 million people having taken the trip. After winding through thirty-five densely
wooded acres, the ride ends with a 540-degree
helix before returning to the station.
The Beast is part of a family of wooden coasters at PKI - the park is also home to The Beastie, a coaster for children, and Son of Beast, which holds several records.
Sources:
http://www.pki.com/attractions_rides_featured.jsp?id=710
http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail67.htm
http://www.coasterbuzz.com/coasters/coaster.asp?CoasterID=49