Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Great American Scream Machine was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure. The 173-foot (53 m) tall ride was built in 1989 as the fastest looping roller coaster in the world, reaching speeds up to 68 mph (109 km/h). It was designed by Ron Toomer and built by Arrow Dynamics, which built its sister coasters Shockwave (dismantled in 2002) at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois and Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. All three coasters have three loops after the lift hill, a batwing (also known as a boomerang), and a double corkscrew. Scream Machine succeeded its sister coaster Shockwave as the tallest and fastest looping coaster in the world, but relinquished the claim to its other sister coaster Viper. Both Shockwave and Scream Machine only held the claim for one year. Although a roller coaster of the same name exists at Six Flags Over Georgia, that ride is an out and back wooden roller coaster.

The coaster track was painted red and the supports were white. The trains were named Freedom (red), Liberty (white), and Spirit (blue). The ground underneath the ride featured a red and white design resembling the stripes on a waving American flag. The maximum capacity of the ride was 1,680 guests per hour.

The over-the-shoulder restraint handles were made of foam instead of metal. The Scream Machine's on-ride camera was located at the curve before entering the double corkscrew, unlike those of its sister coasters; the cameras on both rides were located at the bottom of the Batwing.

Over the years, the Great American Scream Machine became known as a rough ride, causing pain to riders mostly seated in the rear of the train, and often riders just meeting the minimum height limit of the ride or taller than the average rider. Many believe that the ride's bumpiness and waning popularity led to its closing on July 18, 2010, to make room for the Green Lantern roller coaster.