About the Designer
Vernon Keenan designed The Comet as well as several others. The successful design of his first creation ‘the Cyclone’ at Coney Island was mimicked on the configuration of the Comet.
Vernon worked as the chief engineer for Harry C. Baker Inc of New York for many years, later in his career he worked for Ackley, Bradley, and Day Co.
Throughout his building career, Keenan would often contract the component supply and construction of his coasters to Nation Amusement Device Company (N.A.D.) of Dayton OH. It appears though N.A.D. built many coasters over the years, it did not do design work on them until after 1946 when Charles Paige was hired as N.A.D.’s Coaster Enginee.
I believe that Vernons work with Edward Leis, on The Comet project, was in part to pass on his secrets of the designs. It seems to make sense to me, as this was the only project that they worked on together. In designing the Comet, he was able to, not only pass on the successful details of the Cyclone, but also other refinements that he had worked out and polished over the years of experience.
Mr Keenan was able to adapt, imagine and create coasters of a higher caliber, excitement, and well more physical on the riders. This level of intensity was more appropriate for adult riders, and that was what was needed for some of these thrilling projects.
In a personal letter to Robert Cartmell and included in his book “The Incredible Scream Machine, A History of the Rollercoaster” Vernon Keenan II ( the designer’s son) was quoted :
After the crash of 1929, my father went to work for Mr. Hall as manager of the Crystal Beach Park. I spent many days in the park, of course, and remember the excitement of the Cyclone. Shortly after, my father built a coaster at the Chicago World’s Fair. I believe I was the first to ride this when some of the workmen let me take the place of one of the sandbags they were using to test it before putting it into operation. (This coaster was later reassembled at Riverview Park in Chicago and my son and I used to ride it there.) My father also built a coaster at the New York Worlds Fair in 1929, I believe.
Interestingly enough the plans for the New York Worlds Fair coaster were purchased by Riverside Park in Agwam MA, shortly after the fair closed. Riverside built the coaster from those plans, and it still stands today as the Thunderbolt (Riverside is now Six Flags New England, the oldest park with the oldest coaster in their chain).
I have recently had the pleasure of exchanging email with Vernon Keenan, III (Vernon’s grandson), and the story of the ride with the sandbags, was one of the stories that he was told by his father. The fact that Vernon Keenan was an independent designer in a world then becoming dominated by large companies and families, I find the following excerpt interesting, in that it may explain why we know so little of the man behind these coasters.
He worked with a man named Harry Baker, and sometimes that name gets mangled with my Grandfather’s. I believe that Baker was the contractor, while my grandfather was the designer.
And we can gain a little insight into the designer’s background from following tidbit from Vernon III :
I don’t have much in terms of historical information here, except to note that the Keenan family history in the United States dates back to the early 1700’s, and that we were basically hill folk who worked in the coal mines of Appalachia. I believe that this might be an interesting historical footnote, because the roller coaster construction, including the tracks and the cars, were basically adapted from the technology used in the coal mines.
Yes indeed from the coal mines that occasioned riders in the cars to the ‘pleasure railways’ of the early coasters not a stretch at all. Most of the early coasters were adaptations of railways or even coal mining cars. They all had the same type of rails, and were bound by the limitations of those rails (gentle curves and slopes). So as evolution goes the simple coal cars and their mechanics could easily form the base of the evolution of the rollercoaster.
Then the evolution of track systems came along and the modern rollercoaster was born giving people like Mr Keenan the means to physically create these rides. Psychologically, as a science, was also coming into its own around the time that these coasters were built, and undoubtedly that science was intriguing to many. Perhaps that is why we perceive rollercoasters as dangerous and thrilling, because the ride itself is designed, in part, to transcend the physical and makes up believe its faster shakier, and steeper than it really is.
Quoting Kennan himself, from an article in Popular mechanics (Aug 1927 pg 39)
For example the guard straps and bars which we put on the seats of the cars are really unnecessary. The rides are perfectly safe or we shouldn’t be operating them. But the straps and guard rails suggest danger. ‘ Why this thing is so bad, they had to strap you in!’ prospective passengers exclaim — and they buy their tickets. “
Reinforces my point and goes on to say
The ’smart aleck’ gives us our greatest worry
and to this day never a truer statement has been uttered.
That’s about all I have now, but I continue to investigate. I would eventually like to make this section a short biography of Mr Keenans life and work. Perhaps I will come across an old photograph, somewhere or an old news artilcle or well just about anything. Perhaps a donated photo or scan will show up then we all can actually see what this man and rollercoaster designer looked like. Till then this is what I’ve found. and hope it was a bit insightful.
-Pete
