Farewell Bell's and Zingo....

[AMP]

Stopped by Bell's Amusement Park tonight at sunset and got these photos for memories .....

I am not a professional photographer by any means.

Enjoy....

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w162/ampracing10/Farewell%20Bells/?start=all



Hope to see you up and running again soon Zingo!

[jdb]

Thanks, I have been wanting to do just that.

I snatched a few for my collection of cool stuff that used to be here.

jdb

[Conan71]

Amp- You know Robbie Bell is a fellow CH alum, don't you?

Pretty good shots if you ask me.  If you say you got them on a cell phone, I'll beg you to enter a Motorolla photo contest. []

I just live six blocks from there, but havent really bothered to take a look at what all has come out since about a month after the Chili Bowl.  Being a fellow gearhead, you will appreciate this: Tony Stewart told me after he won in '02 that the NASCAR season was just a way to kill time between Chili Bowls.

[AMP]

Bob Bell, Robbie's dad but not the eldest Bell, came into Action Cycles one morning in need of a portable generator.  He was looking for the most power in the lighest smallest package.  I asked him what he was needing it for, and his eyes looked wau up at the sky and he said the Sky Ride.  Wow, I thought how cool is that, but I am glad it is not me having to work at that altitude.

He was needing 110 volts way up high.  He purchased a generator and away he went in his small pick up truck to repair the Sky Ride.

His dad designed and invented the Ally Oop which was a self propelled ride at Bells.  That was back when the in Ground Trampoliine craze was around I believe.  I remember riding that Ally Oop a ka-zillion times.  Object was to get the box over the top of the swinging arm.

The sky refleted the mood there today, like attending the funeral of an old friend.  

I must go back for more photos before much more is removed.  I sure will miss that place.

[Conan71]

Hard to imagine now no Bell's at Expo Square.  Much as it was that there would be no more racing at the dirt track after 1984.  Yet, sooner or later times change.  

"Race fans" gave Emmett Hahn very harsh treatment after the sprint and champ car races in '04, but to me, race cars belonged on a fairgrounds just as much as a wooden roller-coaster.

Truly a shame to see Bell's pass into history.  I'd love to believe they will re-open elsewhere, but I think the costs will prove too daunting to make it happen.

[RLitterell]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Hard to imagine now no Bell's at Expo Square.  Much as it was that there would be no more racing at the dirt track after 1984.  Yet, sooner or later times change.  

"Race fans" gave Emmett Hahn very harsh treatment after the sprint and champ car races in '04, but to me, race cars belonged on a fairgrounds just as much as a wooden roller-coaster.

Truly a shame to see Bell's pass into history.  I'd love to believe they will re-open elsewhere, but I think the costs will prove too daunting to make it happen.

You may have seen this short blurb in TulsaPeople concerning Bells and it's relocation. It's on page 24 http://www.tulsapeople-digital.com/tulsapeople/200705/
I was saddened too when I learned that Bell's would be know more, yet you are correct, times do change. []

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Being a fellow gearhead, you will appreciate this: Tony Stewart told me after he won in '02 that the NASCAR season was just a way to kill time between Chili Bowls.

That's because in '02 the only place he was winning was in the chili bowl.

[Conan71]

Went on to win the NASCAR championship that year...after beating up the press and being beaten up in the press [}:)]

[AMP]

Sand is the enemy of Dirt Track racing and as hard as Emmett and Tommy Estes tried in using massive amounts of time and energy removing the top few feet of the sand there, then pouring on tons of chemicals to help bind the sand fines together it is just not going to work properly.  

No matter how much you try to pack sand, it is still tiny balls of glass that will never pack together.  Water just makes it blow off quicker and the fine line between hard packed wet sand and a dust bowl are but around 30 minutes in the sun and wind.   Best thing to do with sand is add cement and gravel and make concrete.

Del Mar California, Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Blue Ribbon Downs  
in Salisaw, and Remington Park in OKC all suffer from the Sand Syndrome.   Beautiful facilities for Motorsports, but wrong media for the racing surface.  

Got to remember the proponents for horse racing (recall the petitions at the Tulsa State Fair) may of felt Motorsports were their competitor and they convinced all the track owners into changing the media from clay to sand when their were either transformed into horse tracks, or built new.  Thus keeping the Motorsports Industry off their turff so to speak.

Shame those in charge did not choose to use Black Gumbo such is used at the Springfield Fairgounds in Springfield Illinois on the Mile track there.  They run Trotters that don't mind the hard packed gumbo clay.  

Other tracks we run the Harleys on are made of Pea Gravel, crushed Limestone like the running tracks are made of. We even run at the Football Stadium in Daytona Florida around the running track.  It was built by Bill France of NASCAR to be a multipurpose facility.

Multi Purpose Entertainment Complex, what a concept!!!!  MPEC, and they have them all over Texas and other states.  For some reason, powers in Oklahoma always seems to want to make their mega facilities work for a single purpose.   Then later when the trends change they are stuck with a White Elephant.  

Best building ever designed is the Expo, and it has logistic issues with constant movement of Bleachers and dirt and PA systems.

Perhaps one day in Oklahoma we may see a building that would accomodate today's modern forms of mass audience entertainment.

[AMP]

http://www.ci.daytona-beach.fl.us/standard.aspx?p_PageAlias=LSmunicipal


Karts at Municipal Staduim Dayton Florida



Springfield Illinios - The Mile
This is a multi purpose facility, Horse Racing, and Motorsports

Springfield Illinios


Columbus Ohio - Chemically treated Pea Gravel - Crushed Limestone
Geo Roeder at around 120mph going into the turn. You steer these things with the Gas On!


Crushed Lime Stone at Lima, Ohio


15 yr old Californian Stevie Bonsey, on the gas at Lima

[Rowdy]

I don't know if this site has been posted before but it is of Phantasmagoria.

http://www.laffinthedark.com/articles/phantasmagoria/phantasmagoria.htm

[Conan71]

Phantasmagoria is sort of like Star Wars.  First time, the effects are almost over-whelming and startling.  Then over the years you see the improvements in other productions and they are, well, pretty under-whelming.

That bus startled the crap out of me first time I saw it.  As I remember, it wasn't part of the ride originally but added a few years later, wasn't it?

[Rowdy]

I believe you're right.

[sgrizzle]

Sad to hear about the Himalaya needing to be forwards only. Did bells operate it at full speed in reverse?

I always wanted an ex-himalaya operator to be my airline pilot..

"this is your captain speaking... do you wanna go FASTER?"

[RLitterell]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Sad to hear about the Himalaya needing to be forwards only. Did bells operate it at full speed in reverse?

I always wanted an ex-himalaya operator to be my airline pilot..

"this is your captain speaking... do you wanna go FASTER?"

And fly the plane backwards []
Is the old steam locomotive still at (What used to be) Bells?