BY ANNA GUIDO
Enquirer Contributor

UNION TOWNSHIP - A Butler County company that brought thrill seekers The Beast at Paramount's Kings Island is building the world's first ''dueling'' roller coasters.

At Custom Coasters International, Mike Larrick, left, and Daryl McFarland work with wooden beams for a roller coaster being built for a Maine park. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

Denise Dinn Larrick, whose father built the world-famous Beast at Paramount's Kings Island, is building ''Twisted Sisters.'' The ride, destined for Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, features two roller coasters that run in opposite directions and pass each other four times.

The ride is under construction at Kentucky Kingdom and will be ready to ride in April, Ms. Larrick said.

Ms. Larrick's company, Custom Coasters International in Union Township, has designed and built 22 wooden roller coasters in the United States, Spain and France. Ms. Larrick started the business in 1991, picking up where her father, Charles Dinn, left off.

It takes thousands of nuts, bolts and washers to put together a roller coaster. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

''Dad retired in 1991, after about 30 years in the business,'' she said. ''He built roller coasters. My company does design, engineering and construction.''

The $1 million-plus roller coasters built by Custom Coasters International are made in Union Township, then shipped to amusement parks, where they are assembled.

Ms. Larrick said Twisted Sisters will have a steel structure and steel-laminated wood tracks and is one of four roller coasters her company is building this year.

The others - all wooden - will be at amusement parks in Birmingham, Ala.; Saco, Maine; and Muskegon, Mich. The last, Ms. Larrick said, will be the third largest in the world - a distinction The Beast once had.

Custom Coasters also has contracts to build two roller coasters for amusement parks next year in Los Angeles and Buffalo, N.Y.