ANAHEIM – Disneyland donated two vehicles from the Matterhorn Bobsled ride – the world’s first tubular-steel roller coaster – to a national organization for preservation as historic artifacts.

The National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives officially accepted the Matterhorn vehicles and a sign from California Screamin’ in Disney California Adventure last week at Dollywood in Tennessee.

“This is the ‘holy grail’ of artifacts for the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archive,” Chairman Gary Slade said in a statement. “The Matterhorn started the modern era of roller coaster design and launched the themed-ride industry.”

The vehicles and sign are now at the organization’s archive facility in Plainview, Texas, where they will be conserved and prepared for display, said Pete Owens, a spokesman for the National Roller Coaster Museum. Officials from the organization, which does not have permanent museum space, have yet to decide whether the items will be shown at a temporary exhibit in Dollywood or elsewhere.

The organization requested the vehicles and talks went on for about two years, Owens said.

Disneyland recently completed its most-extensive renovation of the 53-year-old Matterhorn ride, which got new vehicles in June. The previous bobsleds, which had tandem seats, had been used since 1978. The other 10 remain at Disneyland, packed away.

California Screamin’ is the second-longest steel roller coaster in North America, at 6,072 feet, Owens said. The longest, at 6,595, is the Millennium Force at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

“The Matterhorn Bobsleds vehicles and California Screamin’ signage represent two of our most beloved attractions, from the first tubular steel-tracked roller coaster in the world to one of the longest and most thrilling,” said George Kalogridis, Disneyland Resort’s president, in a statement.

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More about the Matterhorn:

Matterhorn getting most extensive rehab ever

Climbers return to Disneyland’s Matterhorn peak

Contact the writer: 714-704-3703 or stully@ocregister.com