Roller coaster

A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements. Roller coasters are usually designed to produce a thrilling experience, though some roller coasters aim to provide a more gentle experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and tracks are typically built and designed as a complete circuit in which trains depart from and return to the same loading station. One notable exception is Racer at Kennywood, West Mifflin, PA, which has the train return to the opposite loading track due to its unique Möbius design. The rides are typically found in amusement parks around the world but can also be located in shopping malls and zoos. The Roller Coaster DataBase estimates there are approximately 6,000 extant roller coasters as of October 2025^[update].

The earliest progenitors to the modern roller coasters were the "Russian Mountains", which first appeared in the 17th century. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a track-based roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island. Today, most roller coasters are built out of steel, which can allow for more intense forces and inversions (where the rider is upside down).

History

The Russian Mountains and the Aerial Promenades

The oldest roller coasters are believed to have originated from the so-called "Russian Mountains"; specially constructed hills of ice located in the area that is now Saint Petersburg, Russia. Built in the 17th century, the slides were built to a height of between 70 and 80 feet (21 and 24 m), had a 50-degree drop, and were reinforced by wooden supports. Later, in 1784, Catherine the Great is said to have constructed a sledding hill in the gardens of her palace at Oranienbaum in St. Petersburg.

The Riding Mountain (aka La Grande Glisade) entertainment pavilion designed by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli for Tsarskoye Selo royal residence was built in 1754–1757. In Russian it was known as Katalnaya gora (Катальная гора, literally "Mountain for riding") It was a huge building in the shape of rotunda. It had a trail with five hills, which could be covered with ice in winter. In the summertime, the trails used trolleys on wheels secured in the steel grooves mounted on the wooden trails. Due to a pendulum-like motion based on inertia, all five hills could be traversed in one ride. The ride was engineered by Russian scientist Andrey Nartov. Katalnaya gora was dismantled in 1792–1795. Currently in its place is the Granite Terrace in the Catherine Park.

Two early forms of roller coaster were built in France in 1817. Les Montagnes de Belleville (Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville) in Belleville, Paris had wheels attached to carriages and locked on tracks. The Promenades Aériennes, opened in Parc Beaujon in Paris on July 8, 1817 had wheeled cars securely locked to the track, guide rails to keep them on course, and higher speeds. It spawned half a dozen imitators, but their popularity soon declined.

However, during the Belle Epoque they returned to fashion. In 1887, Catalan entrepreneur Joseph Oller, co-founder of the Moulin Rouge music hall, constructed the Montagnes Russes de Belleville, "Russian Mountains of Belleville" with 656 feet (200 m) of track laid out in a double-eight, later enlarged to four figure-eight-shaped loops.

Scenic railways

In 1827, a mining company in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania constructed the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, a downhill gravity railroad used to deliver coal to Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania – now known as Jim Thorpe. By the 1850s, the "Gravity Road" (as it became known) was selling rides to thrill seekers. Railway companies used similar tracks to provide amusement on days when ridership was low.

Using this idea as a basis, LaMarcus Adna Thompson began work on a gravity Switchback Railway that opened in 1884 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Passengers climbed to the top of a platform and rode a bench-like car down the 600-foot (183 m) track up to the top of another tower where the vehicle was switched to a return track and the passengers took the return trip. This track design was soon replaced with an oval complete circuit. In 1885, Phillip Hinkle introduced the first full-circuit coaster with a lift hill, the Gravity Pleasure Road, which became the most popular attraction at Coney Island. Not to be outdone, in 1886 Thompson patented his design of roller coaster that included dark tunnels with painted scenery. "Scenic railways" were soon found in amusement parks across the county.

Popularity, decline, and revival

By 1919, the first underfriction roller coaster had been developed by John Miller. Over the next decade, roller coasters spread to amusement parks around the world and began an era in the industry often referred to as the "Golden Age". One of the most well known from the period is the historical Cyclone that opened at Coney Island in 1927. The onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, however, significantly impacted the amusement park industry and brought an end to the rapid growth experienced during the Golden Age. This aside, roller coasters were still built with varying success from location to location. In May 1932, the Scene Railway witnessed somewhat of a revival in the UK, including the opening of the roller coaster at Great Yarmouth. Today it is one of only two scenic railways still in operation in the UK.

In 1959, Disneyland introduced a design breakthrough with Matterhorn Bobsleds, the first permanent roller coaster to use a tubular steel track. Designed by Arrow Development, the tubular track was unlike standard rail design on wooden coasters, allowing the track to bend in sharper angles in any direction, leading to the incorporation of loops, corkscrews, and inversion elements into track layouts. A little more than a decade later, the immediate success of The Racer at Kings Island in 1972 sparked a new era of roller coaster enthusiasm, which led to a resurgence across the amusement park industry over the next several decades.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

There are several explanations for the name roller coaster. It is said to have originated from an early American design where slides or ramps were fitted with rollers over which a sled would coast. This design was abandoned in favor of fitting the wheels to the sled or other vehicles, but the name endured.

Another explanation is that the phrase originated from a ride located in a roller skating rink in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1887. A toboggan-like sled was raised to the top of a track which consisted of hundreds of rollers. This Roller Toboggan then took off down gently rolling hills to the floor. The inventors of this ride, Stephen E. Jackman and Byron B. Floyd, say they were the first to use the term "roller coaster".

The term jet coaster is used for roller coasters in Japan, where such amusement park rides are very popular.

In many languages, including most Romance languages, the name refers to "Russian mountains". Conversely, in Russian, they are called "Американские горки" (Amerikanskiye gorki, "American hills"). In the Scandinavian languages, the roller coaster is referred as "mountain-and-valley railway". German has the word Achterbahn, stemming from Figur-8-Bahn, relating to the form of the number 8 (acht in German). This is similar to the Dutch Achtbaan, in which acht also means "eight".^{[citation needed]}

Mechanics

Roller coaster trains are not typically powered. Most are pulled up a lift hill by a chain or cable and released downhill. The potential energy accumulated by the rise in height is transferred to kinetic energy, which is then converted back into potential energy as the train rises up the next hill. Changes in elevation become smaller throughout the track's course, as some mechanical energy is lost to friction and air drag. A properly-designed, outdoor track will result in a train having enough kinetic energy to complete the entire course under a variety of stressful weather conditions.

In lieu of a lift hill, a train may also be set into motion by a launch mechanism such as a flywheel, linear induction motor, linear synchronous motor, hydraulic launch, or drive tire. Some launched roller coasters are capable of reaching greater speeds using less track when compared to traditional coasters that rely on a conventional lift hill.

A brake run at the end of the circuit is the most common method of stopping a roller coaster train as it returns to the station. One notable exception is a powered roller coaster, which instead of relying on gravity uses one or more motors to propel the trains along the course.

Safety

Roller coasters are statistically very safe when compared to other activities, although accidents still occur. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) reports that a rider has one chance in 15.5 million of being injured on a ride. Also, "In a typical year, more than 385 million guests enjoyed in excess of 1.7 billion rides at approximately 400 North American fixed-site facilities". IAAPA is required to report annual ride incidents to the National Safety Council.

Safety mechanisms and technology

A variety of safety mechanisms protect riders on roller coasters.

Block system

Most large roller coasters have the ability to run two or more trains at once.

The block system prevents these trains from colliding. In this system, the track is divided into two or more sections known as blocks.

Only one train is permitted in each block at any given time.
There is a section of track at the end of each block where a train can be stopped if necessary.
- Examples include block brakes, the top of a lift hill (that can stop) and the station (train will not dispatch until the next block is clear).
Sensors detect when a train passes so that the system's computer is aware of which blocks are occupied. If a train attempts to enter an occupied block, the stopping mechanisms in all blocks are engaged.^{[citation needed]}

Seat restraints

Seat restraints are used to ensure that riders stay in their seats throughout the ride.