Pipeline Express

Bailey Rides started building Aqua Skoot water slides in the 1980s.  Their first "Auto Sled" was built in 1986.  (The coaster design was later renamed "Pipeline Express," but since that is also the name of this particular ride, I am going to keep calling the model "Auto Sled" to avoid confusion.)  The sixth and last "Auto Sled" was built in 1992.

This ride reminded me of Alpine Coasters, or mountain coasters, like this Alpine Coaster in Colorado.  The most successful manufacturer of Alpine Coasters is the German firm Wiegand Sports GmbH.  There are are about two dozen Wiegand Alpine Coasters in North America and over 200 worldwide.  While this Bailey ride looked similar to Wiegand Alpine Coasters, there are some notable differences.  The Wiegand rides often have some cars that have room for two riders, while these "Auto Sled" cars only have one seat.  Also, every Alpine Coaster that I have seen has a brake on each car so riders can control the speed of the car, but the the "Auto Sled" rides did not have any on-board brakes.  Alpine Coasters rely on passengers to use the on-board brakes to prevent cars from getting too close to each other, while Pipeline Express required the ride operator to verify that each car had reached the end of the track before releasing the next car from the elevated loading platform.

©2019 Joel A. Rogers.