Restored, 1925 Prior and Church car will be a jewel in museum collection.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The nearly ninety year journey from iconic roller coaster to a beachside Saloon is finally ending as a coveted piece of history in the National Roller Coaster Museum.

The Prior and Church car ironically sat in front of The Coaster Saloon in San Diego for many years after it was retired from service on Belmont Park’s Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster.

The car will join an unrestored Prior and Church car from the Giant Dipper in the NRCMA collection. “We certainly want to thank San Diego Coaster Company, Belmont Park, John Renna owner of the Coaster Saloon, former members of the Save the Coaster committee and, of course, Dana Morgan, for the donation and the tireless hard work in preserving this beachfront icon of California and the amusement industry,” NRCMA Chairman Gary Slade said.

Ongoing acquisition of artifacts like this one from Belmont Park and the Coaster Saloon, which include items from Cedar Point, Six Flags New Orleans, Knott’s Berry Farm, Elitch Gardens, Circus Circus, Lakeside Park, Adventuredome, White Water Branson, Busch Gardens, AstroWorld, Morey’s Piers and Adventure City forced the NRCMA to outgrow its current facility.

“We are always looking for facilities interested in our mobile or custom exhibits. In order to continue to acquire artifacts, we need the industry to support us and to help us expand. If we don’t preserve our history for generations to come, it will be lost,” Slade said.

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