(July 21, 2008 RideAccidents.com) - The Rainbow amusement ride that collapsed at Liseberg theme park last Tuesday was dismantled over the weekend by investigators who discovered a faulty drive shaft during their inspection. Investigators now believe that the accident was caused by the failure of one of the axles that is designed to hold the passenger carriage horizontal. The drive shaft had been replaced by Huss Maschinenfabrik, the ride's manufacturer, in 2003. The drive shaft is fully enclosed, and therefore is excluded from the park's regular maintenance procedures. It can only be inspected by Huss. According to the ride specifications, the drive shaft has an operational life of 5,000 running hours. The axle that failed had run for only about 3,500 hours. In light of the investigation, Huss has ordered the temporary closure of its 40 Rainbow amusement rides throughout the world.**********************************
I'm not sure if many people remember the Rainbow at the old Myrtle Beach Pavilion. They didn't install that ride until 1986 or 87. The first time I rode the Rainbow I was eight or nine years old. I think Laralynn rode with me. Since that summer, and every summer after, the Rainbow was my favorite ride at the Pavilion. I had a lot of favorites...the coaster, the Haunted Mansion, the Log Flume, the German Organ, and the Mind Scrambler (when it was still fully enclosed with lights and smoke effects--and mind blowing hair metal music). When I watch this video, I can smell the funnel cakes and the gear oil...I can hear the organ. I hear the loud hum of the drive shaft on the Rainbow and I see the resin cabana girls standing on the edges. I always liked to sit in the middle. I felt a little safer in the middle since the cabana girl always vibrated as if she'd fall off in mid-air. When we reached the top, you could see all of Myrtle Beach and the ocean in the moonlight. Coming down, the right side of the seats always brushed a palm tree...they never cut it, and until the Pavilion closed, the Rainbow continued to swipe that tree. I can't imagine being on the damn thing when it broke.
Oh girl. My favorite memories from my childhood are at the pavillion. I cried like a baby when we went there the summer after they tore it down. For real, it was like a part of me was gone. I still get a little teary eyed when I think about it. The Rainbow was definitely one of my favorite rides! And the Galaxy. Sigh...
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