By Wally Ely
In 1934, times were tough — in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the United States. The Great Depression was rampant. Unemployment kept willing and able workers out of jobs, with some in food lines or soup kitchens. Dorney Park was just hanging on, waiting for better days.
There was no way the park could afford anything new to keep interest in the amusements alive. Nobody could afford to come to the park in 1934, especially not to spend any money.
Bob Plarr, park president, was not accustomed to sitting back, waiting and hoping for things to improve. Plarr had an acquaintance, Miles Erbor, from the nearby village of Wescosville. Erbor, known as Mike, ran a machine shop in his garage. Erbor floated his bright idea for a new ride at Dorney past Plarr, and he loved it!
Erbor's thought was to build a miniature version of the national train sensation of the day, the Burlington Zephyr. He could do it economically, with many used parts he had on hand....
The new Zephyr traveled the route an old steam engine-powered open-air train had traveled around the west end of the park. The Zephyr Jr. started near the main crossing of Dorney Park road, which divided the park; it continued along Cedar Creek parallel to the Water Skooter boat ride and then passed the swimming pool and rumbled through a short storage building, which served as a tunnel. At the far end, the route approached the boating lake and began to circle back. On the return trip it passed the picnic groves, more Water Skooters, and finally the rocket ship ride and the old mill. A final turn across the bridge near the French fry stand brought the ride back to the beginning.
The announcement of the new ride at Dorney Park was welcomed by the community; there weren't many positive announcements in those days. The public responded. Crowds appeared at the park to buy the nickel tickets for a Zephyr Jr. train ride. The nickels added up, and a new, steady cash flow helped pay the bills and enabled Dorney Park to ride out the Depression.....
The above is excerpted from a column written by the late Wally Ely, which appeared in The Morning Call on May 5, 2013. The photo has been added. Ely was a history, train buff and author, who had written a book on Dorney Park.
The above is excerpted from a column written by the late Wally Ely, which appeared in The Morning Call on May 5, 2013. The photo has been added. Ely was a history, train buff and author, who had written a book on Dorney Park.
A very timely post, since I believe I saw that the Zephyr is temporarily closed while a new ride, the Iron Menace roller coaster, is being built in the lower area of the park.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don’t know how long the new coaster will last (it’s being built on the site of another modern coaster that was removed), the Zephyr will hopefully keep chugging along for another 90 years.
Good morning, Michael. When I was in high school in the late 1960's I had a job working at Dorney Park for a maintenance contractor who worked off-season on maintaining the railroad at the park.
ReplyDeleteMy friend's uncle worked for Lehigh Valley Railroad and he had a side-business doing maintenance for Dorney Park. During the times that Dorney was closed - it always felt like winter to me - we worked on track maintenance, and track replacement.
It was all manual work since the more mechanized versions for rail replacement were too expensive. One of my jobs was setting a spike next to the track and placing a small sledge hammer on top.
A larger and stronger worker came along and pounded the spike into the railroad tie. Sort of like "John Henry" of folk song fame. He never missed, since I am here to tell the story.
My friend and I did that for two seasons. The highlights of those years were learning to drive stick shift on the Dorney Park "Alfundo" truck, breakfasts every Saturday and Sunday at the Charcoal Drive-In before work and lunches from Flaggs Drive-In.
I believe your father had already sold Flaggs by then. .Regardless, it was a lot of fun, the money was good, and the memories were even better.
Tony Hanna
Always enjoyed the Zephyr! One ride was not enough. A shout out to those amazing ice cream waffles, too. Would love to have that recipe. Anyone?
ReplyDeleteThe French fry stand mentioned in the article was my first job at the park (and my first job ever at age 15).
ReplyDeleteI still remember hearing the bell on the Zephyr over and over each time it approached the station. Those of us working at the stand would know how many more trips the Zephyr would have to make before our shifts would be finished. Good times.
Sadly, the fry stand has since been removed, the victim of park improvements and probably one too many floods after heavy rains.