Dis-Oriented Express

I borrowed the title, so it's only appropriate I credit the creative titling to its originator, the Kansas City Star. Please be aware if you read the article, it has a great deal of inaccurate information.

Earlier this year, on April 4th, which has over the years become the dot org sanctioned holiday entitled “Orient Express Day”, there was a post on the photo asking what year Orient Express was removed.  That date was in 2003, but in the course of our discussion, I began thinking back to my personal experiences with November 2003.  And realized in a sudden, disquieting, way that my memory of what transpired was fading and that terrified me more then the thought of riding Orient Express did way back then.  See I was terrified of pretty much all coasters until 2004, this means, sadly, that I never rode Orient Express.  So, why would I care if they tore it down?  The simple reason, though I never rode it, Orient Express was always there, every single time I ever went to Worlds of Fun up to that point.  There was never a time I didn’t walk or ride a tram to the gate that I didn’t hear Orient Express’s lift hill echoing as it came out of the tunnel, or hear the rattle of the structure as the train went through its loop approach turns and drops.  I even worked on Orient Express a time or two...

A few photos taken by Jeff when Orient Express was originally under construction in 1980.  Jeff was 13 years old at the time.

My husband Jeff Mast shared this experience with me, I even think he was probably the main reason we even went out there though he would probably never admit it.  If it could be argued I have no personal experience with Express, then it could also be argued that few could have more of a personal relationship with Express, except possibly its builders and mechanics than Jeff.  When he was 13, his dad drove him out to Worlds of Fun’s parking lots, to watch Orient Express be built, while he was still 13 years old he was on the first public train for Orient Express on April 4^th.  Later, when he was 17, he operated Orient Express, and as he will tell you if you spend any time around him at all, he was the last to operate three trains on Express.  He then went back to the ride almost two decades later in 1996 and 1997 and operated her again.  

The drive box from 1997.

I remember the last night of Worlds of Fun’s operating season in 2003.  Jeff and I stood around looking up at the Orient Express. At this point, it hadn’t operated for probably a month or so,  but though we all knew the end was coming, we all seemed somewhat comforted seeing Orient Express there, standing strong and steadfast as it always had, thinking that for sure we would all be mistaken.  There was a young boy there too, one who out of respect I won’t mention his name, but one who I feel safe enough to say is still very much involved with the park… I can’t think of this memory without him being in the memory too.  

And there it was...

It was Jeff who saw the post that October morning that stated that a piece of track had been removed by “C Block” and that Orient Express wasn’t being dismantled, that there were no more fixes for Orient Express left, it was done and being destroyed.  I remember quite vividly Jeff not believing it, or as it was probably more likely not WANTING to believe it.  We drove out to Worlds of Fun either that afternoon or sometime soon afterward, parked on Worlds of Fun Avenue and Jeff with his high power zoom lens was able to confirm the rumor.  That it was true.  All of It. There had been no announcement from the park, there had been no last ride, no ceremonious goodbye,  not even a dismantling, a piece of Orient Express was gone forever, and we should have known exactly what we were going to see over the next few weeks… but neither of us wanted to discuss it.

Or think about it.

Looks whole from afar but look closer...

Less than a week later we were at it again. This time, it was readily apparent what was happening, a portion of the lift hill had disappeared. The weather itself seemed to share our sentiment with its cloudy and foggy overcast skies, yet Orient Express still rose up out of the ground, almost demanding it be noticed and not go silently into the night.

Still standing tall... mostly.

There were two or three other times we stopped for photos of Orient Express’s demolition.  One time, one that I will never forget for as long as I live wasn’t even photographed, Jeff was looking the other way for some reason.  We had been watching one piece, an approach to one of the loops teeter like a drunken sailor back and forth over a matter of thirty to forty minutes.  Seemingly ready to drop, but never quite going the full distance.  Finally, as Jeff was looking away I turned my head and out of the corner of my eye saw it fall to the ground….  I had to pause a moment here in writing just remembering that, and it's amazing how for a ride I never rode, fifteen years after it last operated, that moment still carries such an emotional weight for me.

The entire first drop is missing, and the weather seems to match...

By now it was late November, and though I spent most every trip with Jeff when we went up to spend quality time with the “departing family member” there was at least one time Jeff went without me.  It was definitely near the end, around the annual IAAPA convention time (usually the week before Thanksgiving).  While he was watching the work slowly taking place, he noticed that one of the scrap trucks was full and appeared to be ready to leave.  At this point, he had to make a decision.  He could follow the scrap truck to the scrap yard and attempt to get a piece of Orient Express, or he could do nothing, and not leave his comfort zone, yet never have a piece of a ride that really was like the best of friends to him.  For those that know us, I'm usually the one to rush in where angels fear to tread, Jeff is usually the quieter, reserved one (probably a smarter choice…).  With that being said, I am proud that Jeff went out of his comfort zone and he literally followed that truck ALL OVER Kansas City crawling behind it sometimes at 10 miles an hour, before it finally reached its destination in the Kansas City west bottoms.  He then had to make another leap of faith and get out of his car and walk into the scrap yard and ask for a piece of Express.  He tells of looking onto the massive pile of twisted red steel that was all that was left of Orient Express, which I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I’ve thought of over the years.  The manager of the scrap yard had to make a few calls and make sure it was ok to give out scrap, but once he received the final okay Jeff was literally allowed to go out and pick scrap off the ground. Only it wasn’t that easy.  The tiny piece we have weighs a good 40 to 50 lb...  The pieces of Express as they laid there weighted far more than is possible for a human being to lift.  An employee with a crane saw his dilemma and moved a gigantic piece off the top of the pile, and made it possible for Jeff to grab what we have now.  A piece of the track rail, a portion of the anti-rollback trough from the lift hill, and an entire brake fin, most likely from the Express’s basement and as far as I know these are all that are left of the Orient Express track structure.  

Approach to first loop...

This was the next photo taken of the same portion of track, on the same day... if you notice one piece is missing from the first photo.

On April 4th, 1980, a little over 38 years ago, Orient Express opened as the largest and fastest steel coaster on the planet.  Fifteen years ago, today, that same coaster lay twisted and forgotten.  It was during the demolition of Orient Express while listening to the radio that I heard James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and its famous line “Flying Machines in Pieces on the Ground” which seemed to capture that moment for me. It’s for Orient Express that we remember every other ride, every other good friend, that we always thought we would see one more time…

More Photos of the Removal of Orient Express can be found here:

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