The History of Roller Coasters!
Check out this cool image explaining the history of roller coasters at: http://www.areavibes.com/library/roller-coaster-history/
According to A. R. Schaefer (2005), the idea of roller coasters dates back to the 1400’s when Russians passed the long winters by riding down ice slides on sleds padded with straw. In 1804, the popularity of this pastime made its way to France; however, the weather did not allow for iced slides. To solve this problem, a French innovator added rollers to the sled. This made Paris home to the first roller coaster that had wheels and cars. The coaster was called Russian Mountains after the original idea from Russia (Cook, 1998).
The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway became the first roller coaster in the United States in 1873 (Schaefer, 2005). Located in Pennsylvania, it was originally designed to move coal but soon began to attract thrill-seeking passengers. This inspired an American innovator named La Marcus Thompson, also known as the “Father of Gravity,” to design a ride meant for passengers (Stone, 2002). Thompson’s first roller coaster opened on June 13, 1884 at Coney Island in New York City. He became a major innovator in coaster technology, building many new rides and earning around thirty coaster-related patents (Cunningham, 2014).
Roller coaster mania swept the United States in the 1920’s. Wooden coasters sprung up all over America as designers competed to build the longest, fastest, and most thrilling rides. At least 1,500 coasters were in service by the late 1920’s (Cunningham, 2014). As a result of the Great Depression and World War II, roller coasters and amusement parks died down during the 1930’s until the late 1950’s when Walt Disney introduced the Matterhorn Bobsleds at the newly opened Disneyland theme park. This represented a significant milestone in the evolution of roller coaster technology. The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel coaster. It also pioneered control systems by being the first coaster to safely allow multiple trains to operate on the same track at the same time due to the use of individual brake zones (Weisenberger, 2013). Popularity increased again in the 1970’s due to the incredible speeds, and multiple loops made possible by steel coasters. Modern technology continues to advance the design of roller coasters while innovations grow grander with each ride designed. The potential is seemingly endless for roller coaster designers and enthusiasts.
Roller Coaster Timeline
- 15th century: The Russian Ice Slides, the roller coaster's great-great grandfather, premieres in St. Petersburg. People would ride blocks of ice down icy wooden ramps--some as high as 70 feet with a 50-degree angle.
- Late 1700s: The first wheeled coaster, consisting of gentle slopes, appears in St. Petersburg.
- 1827: The United States gets it first taste of the fun with the Mauch Chunk Railroad in Pennsylvania. A railway system developed to bring coal from the bottom of a mountain, it was turned into a 30-minute thrill ride with speeds topping 100 miles per hour. It still ranks as the longest coaster ride ever.
- 1846: The first loop, the Chemin de Centrifuge, is built in Paris.
- 1884: The first United States coaster is built at Coney Island, New York. Designed by LaMarcus Thompson, the gentle, six-mile-per-hour ride was
- called the Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway. Later that year the first continuous track coaster--ending where it began--was built.
- 1885: The mechanical hoist is invented; cars are no longer manually towed to the top of the first hill.
- 1907: The first high-speed coaster, Drop the Dip, opens in New Jersey. It is also the first coaster to use lap bars.
- 1910-12: The safety ratchet, or safety chain dog, that keeps cars from rolling backwards while going up a hill, and the underfriction safety wheels are invented by John A. Miller, the designer of more than 100 coasters including Kennywood Park's Jack Rabbit and Racer.
- 1920s: The golden age of coasters. More than 1,500 roller coasters were operating in the U.S. alone.
- 1930s and 1940s: The dark age of coasters begins as the Depression takes a toll on entertainment income and WWII makes building materials scarce. Hundreds of coasters would be torn down during this era.
- 1955: Disneyland opens and a new era for amusement parks begins. In 1959, the park's Matterhorn would be the first coaster to use tubular steel tracks, polyurethane wheels and lightweight fiberglass cars.
- 1975: The first Corkscrew debuts in Cedar Point, Ohio.
- 1992: The first inverted roller coaster, where the track is above the rider, opens in at Six Flags Great America, Illinois.
- 1996: Paramount’s King's Dominion, Virginia, introduces the first liner induction motor, which eliminates the need for a lift hill.