[2] The ride was the first of many mine train roller coasters built across the United States in response to the development of tubular steel rails.

The "Ace Hotel" was named in 1974 for John 'Ace' Cocharo, a mine train foreman turned ride supervisor.

After the lift, the ride drops riders into a tunnel through Caddo Lake, emerging just outside the final brake run and queue house.

Runaway Mine Train uses tubular steel rails similar to those used on the earlier Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland.

The ride's climax is the final drop after the third lift hill, where the track dives into a 150-foot-long (46 m) curving tunnel below the park's Caddo Lake.