A Tumble Bug is an amusement park ride with a circular track.
The ride has a central axis and a circular track. The track has changes in elevation in it, and the cars, each attached by a rod to a central pivotal attachment point and connected to one another, are propelled around the track via motors between the cars. Power is carried to the motors via slip ring brushes at the center and cables.
Only one full-sized Tumble Bug remains in operation today at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. There are multiple kiddie versions of the ride still in operation. All full-size instances were made by Traver Engineering, and its successor, R.E.Chambers. The ride also exists in a miniature children's form. A full-sized Tumble Bug is 100 feet in diameter, and operates with five or six cars, while the kiddie version has three or four cars.
Tumble Bug sites
Operating
Kennywood (1927–present), West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, (known as "Turtle", 6 car model)
Defunct Cascade Park (1969–N/A), New Castle, Pennsylvania Cedar Point (1934–1963), Sandusky, Ohio Chippewa Lake Park (N/A–1978), Chippewa Lake, Ohio Conneaut Lake Park (1925–2019) Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, (also known as "Swamp Bug", 5 car model) Crescent Park (1930s–1979), Riverside, Rhode Island Euclid Beach Park (N/A–1969), Cleveland, Ohio Geauga Lake (N/A–1977), Aurora, Ohio Hersheypark, (1933–1981), Hershey, Pennsylvania, (known as "The Bug") (ride tubs sold to Whalom Park) Idora Park (1941–1984), Youngstown, Ohio, (known as "Turtle", 5 car model) Luna Park Sydney (1935-c.1975), Milsons Point, New South Wales Coney Island (1925–1971) / Kings Island (1972–1985), Mason, Ohio (sold to Kennywood to use as spare parts for their Tumble Bug) Olentangy Park (1929–1937), Columbus, Ohio"List of Rides." Olentangy Park and Theater Wiki. Published 22 March 2024. Accessed 5 May 2024. http://olentangypark.com/wiki/index.php/List_of_Rides Pleasure Beach Resort (1935–2004), Blackpool, England (known as Turtle Chase) San Souci Park, Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Seabreeze Amusement Park (1926–1970), Rochester, New York Waldameer & Water World (1944–late 1950s), Erie, Pennsylvania West View Park (1929–1977), West View, Pennsylvania Whalom Park (N/A–2000), Lunenburg, Massachusetts, (sold to Edaville Family Theme Park in Carver, Massachusetts in the mid-2000s, but never operated there, and was eventually sold for scrap metal in 2010)
References