John Miller designed and built this coaster in 1925. It is still standing but has not been operational since 1983.
A family lived in a house under the coaster's first turnaround. The house still stands but has not been occupied for many years. The Thunderbolt was featured in Woody Allen's movie "Annie Hall."
Click here for a gallery of Thunderbolt photos taken in November 1996.
From the New York Times, August 20, 1925 (21:6)
HURT ON "THUNDER BOAT."
Couple Injured Mysteriously on Coney Island Ride.Hurt in some mysterious manner as they were riding on the "Thunder Boat," a gravity scenic ride at Coney Island, last night, Mr. and Mrs. George Hoffman of 206 Thirty-second Street, Brooklyn, were taken to the Coney Island Hospital in a serious condition. Mrs. Hoffman is suffering from a fractured skull and Hoffman has a badly wrenched back.
About twenty other passengers were on the boat in which the pair were riding, but none could throw any light on how the accident occurred.
The Thunder Boat, at the Bowery and Kensington Walk, is a ride in which two cars are operated by gravity, going down steep declines and then up shorter distances until they reach the street level.
It is thought that Mrs. Hoffman must have been thrown forward by a sudden dip taken by the boat and that her head struck a metal section of the boat. Then it is thought Mr. Hoffman injured himself as he sprang to his wife's assistance.
From the New York Times, August 21, 1925 (3:2)
'THUNDERBOLT' RIDER DIES
Woman Was Hurt on Device at Coney Island--Inquiry Possible.Mrs. Marie Hoffman, 33 years old, of 206 Thirty-second Street, Brooklyn, died at 3 o'clock yesterday morning in the Coney Island Hospital of a fractured skull, received on Wednesday while riding in "The Thunderbolt," Coney Island's newest and fastest scenic railway.
A quick upward lurch threw Mrs. Hoffman forward, causing her head to strike an iron bar used by passengers for support.
George Hoffman, husband of the victim, suffered severe strains of the muscles of the back in his efforts to prevent his wife from falling out of the car. He was treated at the Coney Island Hospital and sent home.
It was believed at the Coney Island Police Station that an investigation might be started on the theory that the new scenic railway might be too fast for complete safety.
From the New York Times, August 22, 1925 (17:1)
INSPECT SCENIC RAILWAYS.
Kings County Prosecutor Acts After Accident at Coney Island.An investigation of the various scenic railways and amusement devices at Coney Island was begun yesterday by Leo Healy, assistant to District Attorney Charles J. Dodd of Kings County.
The action was decided upon following reports of two accidents at the resort. In one of these Mrs. Marie Hoffman of 206 Thirty-second Street, Brooklyn, who was riding on "the Thunderbolt" Wednesday night, received injuries from which she died. Mrs. Mary Mellor of 325 West End Avenue was riding on "the Dragon's Gorge" at Luna Park Thursday night when her head struck the roof of a runnel and she suffered a concussion of the brain and lacerations.
From the New York Times, Monday, July 26, 1926
12 HURT IN CRASH ON CHUTE AT CONEY
Three-Car Train Is Struck by Another on Thunderbolt Scenic Railway.
STALLED ON AN INCLINE
One Victim Seriously Injured--Accident Happens During Rush on the Line.Twelve amusement seekers at Coney Island were injured last night when a three-car train on the Thunderbolt, a scenic railway, stalled half way up a steep incline, slipped back to the bottom of the dip and was crashed into by the succeeding train.
One of the injured, Edgar Baleas, 22 years old, of 256 Sixtieth Street, Brooklyn, is in a serious condition in the Coney Island Hospital. He is suffering from a broken left knee-cap, a broken right thigh and other injuries.
The others were treated by a private physician, called in by the owners of the Thunderbolt, and sent to their homes in taxicabs. They were:
ALUSCO, ERNEST, 17, 464 Park Avenue, Brooklyn; right wrist sprained.
BALLAU, ERMA, 19, 269 Fiftieth Street, Brooklyn; right wrist sprained.
BITAU, FRANK, 18, 10 Coppola Street, Nutley, N.J.; chest bruised.
BUCERELO, NICHOLAS, 24, 412 East Eleventh Street, Manhattan; contusions of the abdomen.
COLLINS, JOHN, 17, 249 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn; contusions on left thigh.
CONSUMANO, VINCENT, 27, 435 Thirteenth Street, Brooklyn; cuts and bruises on left thigh.
DORAN, THOMAS, 244 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn; left elbow sprained.
FALVATO, MILDRED, 24, 280 Forbell Avenue, Brooklyn; cuts on both knees.
JOHNSTON, WILLIAM, 21, 2154 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn; sprains and contusions of both legs.
MALMUKE, ADOLPH, 22, 8 State Street, Flushing, L.I.; bruises on left thigh.
ROCONDO, LOUISE, 19, 1044 Tiffany Street, the Bronx; cut on left thigh.
Heavy Patronage on Railway.
The accident occurred at 7:25 P.M. when the evening rush to the resort was at its height.
The Thunderbolt is the newest of the scenic railways at Coney Island, and began operation last year. It is situated at Kensington Walk on the Bowery.
One of the trains in the middle of the course had negotiated several of the steep dips and climbs, but on the way up from one breath-taking sixty-foot descent something went wrong and the train began slowing down. It came to a full stop, then slipped back down the track and came to rest at the bottom of the dip.
Another train came plunging along after it. Occupants of both trains screamed with terror when they saw a collision was unavoidable, and a moment later the second train struck the first and partly climbed upon it.
Crash Draws Thousands.
The crash and the cries of the injured and frightened were audible a hundred yards from the scene. Word of the accident spread throughout the grounds, and a crowd came running from every direction. Soon thousands were milling about the enclosure of the Thunderbolt.
The managers of the railway, which is operated by the Ridbak Amusement Corporation, called Dr. Charles Hall of West Sixteenth Street, Coney Island, to care for the injured and directed special police they employ to clear the grounds. When the police had fought their way through the crowd the injured, except for Baleaf [sic], had been removed, and most of the witnesses also had vanished. Baleaf [sic] was sent by Dr. Hall to the hospital in an ambulance.