Tac Talks Coasters - Post 35: #136
Photo Sources: All photos are mine
Black Diamond at Knoebels!
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Opened: 1960 (Relocated to Knoebels in 2011)
Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Company
Height: 35 ft (10.6 m)
Speed: 12 mph (19.3 kph)
Length: Not listed
My most recent ride: 2023
Black Diamond is a very similar ride to Blazing Fury from yesterday's post, being about 90% dark ride and maybe 10% coaster, if that. The main reason I put it above Blazing Fury is because A) I'm more familiar with it, having ridden this ride a number of times, compared to the one ride I've had on Blazing Fury, and B) I like the theme of this ride a little bit more.
Black Diamond is themed to the haunted coal mines of Pennsylvania, which having grown up on the fringes of PA's anthracite coal region, is kind of weirdly sentimental to me in a way. While the show scenes in here are perhaps not quite as elaborate as those in Blazing Fury, there is still a lot of quirky, weird charm to them.
My personal favorite part of the ride comes at the end when you go through a room with what looks like all kinds of household objects, and even the front side of a whole house, falling through a hole with a fiery glow underneath. As you enter this room, you pass a sign that reads "Welcome to Centralia," with Centralia being the name of a town only about 15 miles from Knoebels that was abandoned in the 80s due to an underground fire in the town's coal mines. I always thought that was a really great touch to include in the ride, and one I actually didn't notice until I had already ridden the ride a number of times and later learned what Centralia was.
So if you're ever at Knoebels, don't skip out on the Black Diamond. It's way in the back of the park and just looks like an unassuming black building from the outside. Even though it's not much of a coaster, it's a really fun and unique dark ride that's definitely worth taking a ride on.
Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!
