Iron Shark Strikes Galveston

Galveston, Texas: Visitors walking along the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier (http://www.pleasure-pier.com) stopped and watched in awe the afternoon of June 1.  They saw Iron Shark, the pier’s newest attraction (a custom-designed Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster), climbing one hundred feet into the sky.  In a matter of seconds it took eight guests straight into the air and then dropped them back down to the pier at 97 degrees.

The coaster, which features four inversions, has forever changed the look of the pier.  Its gray columns and blue track highlight the Euro-Fighter’s signature lift and a 97-degree first drop.  From there guests are sent upside down twice in matter of seconds.  An Immelman leads into a diving loop, which leaves riders wondering which way is up.  The vehicle then flies through the structure and heads through two more inversions, a top hat and vertical loop.  The last surprise is the brake run, where the cars are held over 30 feet above the pounding surf, making for a great visual.

The exhilarating ride isn’t the only thing that makes this coaster unique.  “This took a lot of specialized engineering,” said Siegfried Gerstlauer, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides’ Managing Director.  “Due to the unique nature of the pier, we had very specific loading and spatial requirements.  We ended up custom-designing a steel base frame for the coaster and only using a concrete foundation under the lift tower.  We were able to meet all of the hurricane wind requirements and produce an exciting coaster in a small footprint; needless to say we are very happy with the result.”

In addition to a lot of design work on the track layout, Gerstlauer went back to the drawing boards with their classic Euro-Fighter vehicles.  The Ride Entertainment Group handled the sale and project management.  

Stat Shot

  • 3 vehicles with lap bars
  • 100 feet tall
  • 1,246 feet of track
  • Ride Elements: Vertical Lift, Beyond-Vertical Drop, Immelman, Diving Loop, Structure Slalom, Top Hat, Vertical Loop

 

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