To our surprise, this time, Southern Pacific officials had no problem saying “no” to the overhead encroachment without giving any real justification for the decision. Thinking that, once again, the railroad would routinely grant its permission, the finalized flume design plan was presented to the branch line overseer as the last hurdle. The Boardwalk’s decades-long history of minor encroachment into the railroad right-of-way that borders the park had always been approved by Southern Pacific Railroad. With that arrangement, Arrow’s engineers conceived of a flume that would fit! Construction of Logger’s Revenge, 1977įate then took its first fickle turn. At the Boardwalk, adequate length for these segments could be achieved if the elevated flume trough traversed above the railroad tracks that border the north boundary of our park. Experience demonstrated that creating a sufficient length for these vital segments would dictate the ride’s engineering success. The east end of our park along the San Lorenzo River was the only practical area for such a ride. Dana went to work with Arrow Development engineers to design a flume for that space. As with any of these elevated water rides, the critical design path became the length needed for its down ramp and the splash pond runout. If anyone could make a flume ride fit at the Boardwalk, he could! Dana Morgan grew up in that ride-building world and had already supervised the installation of flume rides in many amusement parks throughout the country. Arrow was also the premier manufacturer of flume rides in the mid-1970s. Morgan’s father was one of the founding partners of the Arrow Development Company that provided the Boardwalk with its Cave Train and Autorama rides in 1961. Page from an Arrow Development brochure, 1962 He hired Dana Morgan, a uniquely qualified general manager in 1975. Seaside President Laurence Canfield was several years ahead of the challenge, though. Making such a ride fit within the Boardwalk’s small footprint was tricky. So we focused on adding an innovative experience – a flume ride – as the perfect addition. We had our iconic Giant Dipper roller coaster and there really wasn’t room for another coaster. That ride would need to enhance the Boardwalk’s family-friendly appeal, too. Boardwalk management knew the right new ride would help bolster revenues. In 1976, Marriott’s Great America opened in Santa Clara, CA, just 40-miles north of the Boardwalk. Revenues flattened that year at the Santa Cruz beachfront, a result of that new park’s unique appeal to Northern California amusement park-goers. What does an independently owned, traditional amusement park do when a giant theme park enters its marketing area? Many simply went out of business in the 1960s and 1970s. Not so for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Arrow Development model of the flume ride
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