Viper

Since Viper was constructed with only 1,377 feet of track, this picture nearly shows the complete ride.  (The wood coaster in the background is the also-defunct Rolling Thunder.)

As I write this in 2019, Great Adventure has 13 roller coasters, but in 1992, the park was down to just three coasters.  When Viper was built in 1995, it became the park's fifth coaster.

Viper had a terrible operating record.  It sat dormant for parts of several years.  It did not open at all in 2001.  Part of the track had to be replaced, and several sections were re-welded on multiple occasions.  The coaster opened with three 16-seat trains, but it was later reduced to a single train operation.   Apparently TOGO's financial difficulties in the late 1990s and early 2000s made it difficult to get parts to keep the coaster running.  Extensive down-time, low hourly capacity, and teeth-rattling roughness caused the park to give up on the ride after less than a decade.  Viper was removed from the park in May and June 2005.  Since little care was taken during its disassembly, it was scrapped instead of relocated.

©2019 by Joel A. Rogers.