[2] The other two members of this group of coasters included the Crystal Beach Cyclone[2][4] and the Palisades Park Cyclone[2][5] (A fourth Traver roller coaster named Zip had a similar—but smaller—design and was installed at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Oregon).

[2][6] Although the precise dimensions of Lightning are not reported, its common design heritage with the Crystal Beach Cyclone suggests that these coasters share many technical specifications, such as heights around 100 feet (30 m), many steeply-banked turns and a ground-level figure 8 track.

[7] Lightning's hybrid steel structure allowed for much more steeply banked curves than would have been possible in an ordinary wooden-framed roller coaster of the day.

Traver rides were called "rib-ticklers" because of the violent side-to-side motions that would inflict rib injuries on riders.

[3] The ride was so rough, in fact, that the phrase "take her on the Lightning" became a folk remedy for the termination of unwanted pregnancies in the Greater Boston area.