Roller coaster | Definition, History, & Facts

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link byline-link editor-link p-0 font-12"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12"> <span class="text-gray-700 font-sans-serif"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2023-07-03T00:00:00CDT">Jul 3, 2023</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/roller-coaster/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border w-100 rounded-sm shadow-sm js-sections-inline-button my-20"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="topic-content pt-15"> <script class="page-description-json" type="application/json"> { "url": "/topic/roller-coaster", "shareUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/roller-coaster", "browserTitle": "Roller coaster | Definition, History, & Facts", "documentGroup": "TOPIC PAGINATED LARGE", "firstTopicPage": true } </script>  <div class="reading-channel" id="-topic-roller-coaster"> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module border p-20 ml-lg-20 mx-auto mb-20 font-14 bg-white"> <div class="m-n10 "> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 media-slider card-snap-slider col-100"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex col-100"> <div class="rw-track w-100"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100"> <div class="card w-100"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://cdn.britannica.com/95/166395-050-37165D6F/Roller-coaster-Six-Flags-Magic-Mountain-Valencia.jpg" data-href="/media/1/1245496/191628" class="media-overlay-link card-media d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 4/3"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/95/166395-050-37165D6F/Roller-coaster-Six-Flags-Magic-Mountain-Valencia.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop" alt="Six Flags Magic Mountain: roller coaster"/> <button class="btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white" aria-label="Zoom in"> <em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em> </button> </a> <div class="card-body p-10 font-14"> Six Flags Magic Mountain: roller coaster </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="text-center py-10"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/roller-coaster/images-videos">See all media</a> </div> <div class="facts-list pt-20 border-top"> <div class="mb-10"> <span class="font-weight-bold">Category:</span> <a class="ART font-weight-semi-bold super-category-badge rounded font-14" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/Arts-Culture"> Arts & Culture </a> </div> <dl class="js-fact mb-10 position-relative "> <dt class="d-inline">Key People:</dt> <dd class="d-inline"> <span class="fact-item"><a href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ron-Toomer" topicid="1280797">Ron Toomer</a></span></dd> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 position-absolute pr-20 bottom-0 right-0 bg-white" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> ...<em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </dl> <dl class="js-fact mb-0 position-relative line-clamp clamp-3"> <dt class="d-inline">Related Topics:</dt> <dd class="d-inline"> <span class="fact-item"><a href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Russian-Mountains" topicid="1252298">Russian Mountains</a></span> <span class="fact-item"><a href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rough-Rider-ride" topicid="1280448">Rough Rider</a></span> <span class="fact-item"><a href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/art/corkscrew-roller-coaster-design" topicid="1280846">corkscrew</a></span> <span class="fact-item"><a href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/technology/underfriction-wheel" topicid="1280834">underfriction wheel</a></span> <span class="fact-item"><a href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/technology/safety-chain-dog" topicid="1280785">safety chain dog</a></span> </dd> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 position-absolute pr-20 bottom-0 right-0 bg-white" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> ...<em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </dl> </div> <div class="text-center mt-20"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/facts/roller-coaster"> See all related content →</a> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section id="ref1" data-level="1"><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref910729"></span>roller coaster</strong>, elevated <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/technology/railroad" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">railway</a> with steep <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="inclines" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/inclines" data-type="EB">inclines</a> and descents that carries a train of passengers through sharp curves and sudden changes of speed and direction for a brief thrill ride. Found mostly in amusement parks as a continuous loop, it is a popular <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/leisure" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">leisure</a> activity.</p><span class="marker p1"></span><span class="marker AM1 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section id="ref256890" data-level="1"> <h2 class="h1">Overview</h2> <p class="topic-paragraph">On a traditional roller coaster, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/gravity-physics" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">gravity</a> powers much of the trip. The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/potential-energy" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">potential energy</a> for the entire ride is usually introduced in a large initial climb that is converted to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/kinetic-energy" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">kinetic energy</a> on the first—and often sharpest—drop. Entertainment value is provided by the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/velocity" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">velocity</a> of the descent as well as by the inverted loops, barrel rolls, and banked turns that create positive gravitational forces, or <span id="ref910730"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/acceleration-stress" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">g-forces</a>, that press down upon the rider in the seat. The so-called <span id="ref910735"></span>negative g-forces create the rider’s sense of <span id="ref910736"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/freefall-physics" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">weightlessness</a> when lifted from the seat over the peaks of hills. On most roller coasters, riders remain seated beneath a safety bar, but variations include riders’ standing on a platform or hanging from a shoulder harness.</p><span class="marker p2"></span><span class="marker AM2 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section id="ref256891" data-level="1"> <h2 class="h1">Origins in Europe</h2> <div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly card print-false" data-assembly-id="41014"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a style="min-height: 160px;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://cdn.britannica.com/59/48459-050-0B917544/wood-roller-coasters-slides.jpg" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/1245496/41014"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/59/48459-050-0B917544/wood-roller-coasters-slides.jpg?w=300" alt="early roller coaster" data-width="1346" data-height="739" loading="eager"><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><a class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mb-5 d-inline-block font-16 font-sans-serif media-overlay-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://cdn.britannica.com/59/48459-050-0B917544/wood-roller-coasters-slides.jpg" data-href="/media/1/1245496/41014">early roller coaster</a></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Among the predecessors of modern roller coasters were rides in Russia in the 15th century: sleds constructed of cut lumber and tree trunks sped down man-made ice-covered hills. The rides were more elaborate than simply <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/sports/sledding" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">sledding</a>, reaching speeds of 50 miles (80 km) per hour and earning the nickname “flying mountains.” Both children and adults would make the trek up stairs about 70 feet (21 metres) high to an ice-block sled outfitted with a straw seat. Though some constructions were hundreds of feet in length, the trip back down was relatively brief. A ride inaugurated at <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/St-Petersburg-Russia" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">St. Petersburg</a> in 1784 <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="comprised" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprised" data-type="MW">comprised</a> carriages in grooved tracks that traveled up and down small hills by means of power generated by the height and slope of the initial descent.</p><span class="marker p3"></span><span class="marker AM3 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">The activity was taken to Paris in 1804 in the form of a ride called the <span id="ref910739"></span>Russian Mountains (Les Montagnes Russes). Small wheels were added to the sleds on this ride, a key modification that later persuaded some historians to credit it as the first wheeled coaster. Little attention was given to safety measures, yet, oddly enough, the injuries that passengers suffered from runaway cars increased the ride’s notoriety and attendance. In 1817 the Belleville Mountains (Les Montagnes Russes de Belleville) and the Aerial Walks (Promenades Aériennes) in Paris improved on the original Russian Mountains by adding locking wheels, continuous tracks, and, eventually, cables that hoisted cars to the top of the hill.</p><span class="marker p4"></span><span class="marker AM4 am-inline"></span><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/quiz/architecture-the-built-world"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/59/177559-131-AECDD581/Hagia-Sophia-Istanbul-Turkey.jpg" alt="Hagia Sophia. Istanbul, Turkey. Constantinople. Church of the Holy Wisdom. Church of the Divine Wisdom. Mosque." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70"/> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Architecture: The Built World</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h4"></span><section id="ref256892" data-level="1"> <h2 class="h1">Development in the United States</h2> <p class="topic-paragraph">In the early 19th century, the so-called <span id="ref910740"></span>Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/Pennsylvania-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">Pennsylvania</a> became the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="prototype" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prototype" data-type="MW">prototype</a> for roller coasters in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">United States</a>, the country most associated with thrill rides. Its origins were in Gravity Road, which mining company <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="entrepreneur" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur" data-type="MW">entrepreneur</a> Josiah White built in 1827 to haul coal from the mines at Summit Hill to the Lehigh River landing at Mauch Chunk (now the town of <span id="ref910741"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/Jim-Thorpe-Pennsylvania-United-States" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">Jim Thorpe</a>)—a 9-mile (14.5-km) downhill journey. Trains of as many as 14 cars, loaded with 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) of anthracite coal, sped down the mountain under the command of a single courageous “runner," who operated a brake lever. Mules dragged the cars back up the mountain. Coal was hauled in the morning, but increasingly the afternoon runs along Gravity Road carried passengers paying 50 cents per ride.</p><span class="marker p5"></span><span class="marker AM5 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">By the mid-19th century, the demand for coal was increasing, so White added a backtrack with two 120-horsepower steam engines at the top of nearby <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Mount" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Mount" data-type="EB">Mount</a> Pisgah, which pulled the trains up the incline of 664 vertical feet (202 metres), assisted by “barney," or “safety," cars. The ingenious addition of a ratchet rail running between the dual two-rail tracks, when engaged by a ratchet on the barney, prevented the cars from rolling backward. This safety device, later perfected, also gave rise to the clanking sound that would characterize future roller coasters. In 1872 a tunnel was completed that became a more efficient coal route than Gravity Road, but the Mauch Chunk Switchback continued as a thrill ride. By 1873 some 35,000 tourists annually were taking an 80-minute, 18-mile (29-km) scenic ride up and down Mount Pisgah and neighbouring Mount Jefferson for the cost of $1.</p><span class="marker p6"></span><span class="marker AM6 am-inline"></span><div class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><div class="container p-20"> <div class="grid shadow bg-navy-dark border-radius border"> <div class="pl-0 col-sm-25 col-30 text-left text-bottom"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=inline&utm_medium=mendel&utm_campaign=evergreen"> <img class="text-left col-85 col-sm-75" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/ThistleCroppedWhiteonBlue.png"/> </a> </div> <div class="col text-left"> <div class="text-white font-16 ml-sm-10 ml-10 mr-sm-20 mr-20 mt-20 mt-l-40">Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.</div> <a class="btn btn-xs mt-10 ml-sm-10 ml-10 mb-20 btn-blue" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=evergreen">Subscribe Now</a> </div> </div> </div></div><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h5"></span><section id="ref256893" data-level="1"> <h2 class="h1"><span id="ref910749"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/Coney-Island-amusement-area" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">Coney Island</a> amusement park</h2> <p class="topic-paragraph">By the end of the 19th century, American trolley companies were <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/technology/building" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">building</a> <span id="ref910748"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/amusement-park" class="md-crosslink">amusement parks</a> at the end of their lines to attract evening and weekend riders. The best-known trolley terminus was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/Coney-Island-amusement-area" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">Coney Island</a> in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">New York City</a>, which became home to several competing theme parks inspired by the 1893 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/event/Worlds-Columbian-Exposition" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">World’s Columbian Exposition</a> in Chicago. Just as Coney Island transformed the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/hot-dog" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">hot dog</a> (or frankfurter, a German invention) into a uniquely American food, it likewise popularized roller coaster <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a> in the United States.</p><span class="marker p7"></span><span class="marker AM7 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">In 1884 inventor <span id="ref910754"></span>La Marcus Thompson, the “Father of the Gravity Ride,” had opened a 600-foot (183-metre) switchback railway at Coney Island. With a top speed of 6 miles (9 km) per hour, Thompson’s ride, called the <span id="ref910757"></span>Switchback Railway, was little more than a leisurely gravity-powered tour of the beach there. Still, its popularity enabled him to recoup his $1,600 investment in only three weeks.</p><span class="marker p8"></span><span class="marker AM8 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Within a few months, however, Thompson’s <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="monopoly" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/monopoly" data-type="EB">monopoly</a> on Coney Island coasters was over. Charles Alcoke also built a slow scenic railway, connecting the ends of the track in a continuous loop in order to return riders to their starting position. Although the Alcoke coaster challenged the attendance records of Thompson’s Switchback Railway, it was <span id="ref910760"></span>Phillip Hinkle’s 1885 technological advancement that gave the industry a lift. The Hinkle coaster’s route was elliptical and featured a powered hoist that pulled cars to the top of the first hill, making it a far more exciting ride than the slow-moving Switchback. Thompson, who built 50 more Switchbacks in the United States and Europe, went on to construct the <span id="ref910765"></span>Scenic Railway on the <span id="ref910762"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boardwalk-Atlantic-City-New-Jersey" class="md-crosslink">Boardwalk</a> in <span id="ref910763"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-City-New-Jersey" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">Atlantic City</a>, N.J., in 1887. It was a rolling tour through elaborate artificial scenery—vividly coloured tableaus, biblical scenes, and flora—illuminated by lights triggered by the approaching cars. This ride was the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="precursor" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precursor" data-type="MW">precursor</a> of Space Mountain at <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walt-Disney/Feature-length-cartoons#ref1843" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">Disneyland</a> in Anaheim, Calif., and other 20th-century theme-park journeys.</p><span class="marker p9"></span><span class="marker AM9 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Nearer the end of the 19th century, the roller coaster industry literally was turned upside down. Somersaulting looped track rides had first been attempted in Paris in the middle of the century. The rides were based on a popular child’s toy that exploited <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/science/centrifugal-force" class="md-crosslink" data-show-preview="true">centrifugal force</a> to keep a small ball rolling on a looped track without falling off. But passengers found the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="inversions" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/inversions" data-type="EB">inversions</a> uncomfortable and dangerous, and looping coasters were not seen again until 1895, when Lina Beecher installed the <span id="ref910767"></span>Flip-Flap Railway at Paul Boyton’s Sea Lion Park in Coney Island. Though uncomfortable and still dangerous, the 25-foot (7.5-metre) circular loop became popular despite operating for only a few years.</p><span class="marker p10"></span><span class="marker AM10 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">In an attempt to reduce the high g-forces of the vertical loop, Edward Prescott built the 1901 <span id="ref910770"></span>Loop-the-Loop at Coney Island, with a softer, oval-shaped design. It was better crafted than Flip-Flap, but it would still be another 75 years before a successful vertical loop was realized. Although <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="hampered" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/hampered" data-type="EB">hampered</a> by a low seating capacity that eventually ran it aground, Loop-the-Loop was the top ride for coaster enthusiasts for the next six years, until the advent of the first high-speed coaster, Drop-the-Dip (later called <span id="ref910777"></span>Rough Riders). These increased levels of danger, however, brought improvements in safety, such as the introduction of lap bars, which kept passengers seated. Prior to lap bars, riders simply held on to seat handles during inversions while being pressed into their seats by the g-forces of the vertical loop.</p><span class="marker p11"></span><span class="marker AM11 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h6"></span><section id="ref256894" data-level="1"> <h2 class="h1">Expansion in the United States</h2> <div class="assemblies medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="rw-slide col-100 px-20"><figure class="md-assembly card print-false" data-assembly-id="41082"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video"><a data-id="48527" class="d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/video/48527/Animation-safety-chain-dog-John-Miller-version-1910"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/27/48527-138-855A64EA/Animation-safety-chain-dog-John-Miller-version-1910.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Examine the components of a roller coaster's safety chain dog system patented by John Miller" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://content.jwplatform.com/manifests/OMhhdyEP.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://cdn.britannica.com/27/48527-138-855A64EA/Animation-safety-chain-dog-John-Miller-version-1910.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/pCLQrGoB", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://content.jwplatform.com/manifests/8ZHec7OC.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mb-5 d-inline-block font-16 font-sans-serif">Examine the components of a roller coaster's safety chain dog system patented by John Miller</div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/roller-coaster/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div><div class="rw-slide col-100 px-20"><figure class="md-assembly card print-false" data-assembly-id="41083"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="video"><a data-id="48528" class="d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/video/48528/John-Miller-Animation-underfriction-upstop-wheel-American-1919"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/28/48528-138-E8DBD859/John-Miller-Animation-underfriction-upstop-wheel-American-1919.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Learn how a roller coaster's underfriction wheel works with a guide wheel to keep it on track" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://content.jwplatform.com/manifests/31Ui4oIz.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://cdn.britannica.com/28/48528-138-E8DBD859/John-Miller-Animation-underfriction-upstop-wheel-American-1919.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/WkDINPqy", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://content.jwplatform.com/manifests/nzvx3ew0.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mb-5 d-inline-block font-16 font-sans-serif">Learn how a roller coaster's underfriction wheel works with a guide wheel to keep it on track</div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/roller-coaster/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The golden age of coasters arrived in the United States in the 1920s, when more than 1,500 roller coasters were in operation in the country. Coasters were among the biggest attractions at amusement parks, and improvements in safety helped to advance coaster design. <span id="ref911049"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Miller-American-engineer" class="md-crosslink">John Miller</a>, who was chief engineer for La Marcus Thompson and worked with other designers, owned more than 100 <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="patents" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/patents" data-type="EB">patents</a>, notably on safety features. His most important was the <span id="ref911003"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/technology/safety-chain-dog" class="md-crosslink">safety chain dog</a>, or safety ratchet (patented in 1910), which prevented cars from rolling backward down the lift hill in the event the pull chain broke. It attached to the track and clicked onto the rungs of the chain. His <span id="ref911050"></span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/technology/underfriction-wheel" class="md-crosslink">underfriction wheels</a>, or upstop wheels (1919), kept coaster cars locked on their tracks, which enabled them to safely reach high speeds, bank suddenly, and turn upside down.</p><span class="marker p12"></span><span class="marker AM12 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">In the 1920s <span id="ref910780"></span>Riverview Park in Chicago came closest to rivaling Coney Island, with always at least 6, and sometimes as many as 11, coasters in operation. The <span id="ref910783"></span>Fireball (formerly the Blue Streak) was hyped as the fastest coaster ever built, but the Chicago park’s claim that it reached speeds of 100 miles (160 km) per hour was likely exaggerated by almost 35 percent. The Chicago <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/topic/building-code" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">building code</a> limited track height to 72 feet (22 metres), but the Fireball was one of the first coasters to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="circumvent" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circumvent" data-type="MW">circumvent</a> this law by ending the first drop in a man-made ditch. In 1924 the Fireball was outpaced by the <span id="ref910784"></span>Bobs, a collaboration between noted inventors Frederick Church and <span id="ref910786"></span>Harry Traver. Riders of the Bobs traveled along 3,253 feet (991.5 metres) of track with 16 hills and 12 curves.</p><span class="marker p13"></span><span class="marker AM13 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Traver, who in 1903 had invented the graceful Circle Swing after viewing seagulls circling the mast of a ship, is perhaps best known for three terrifying rides built in 1927—the <span id="ref910787"></span>Cyclone at Crystal Beach (Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada), the Lightning at <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Revere" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Revere" data-type="EB">Revere</a> Beach (Revere, Mass.), and the Cyclone at Palisades Park (Fort Lee, N.J.). Not only did the Cyclone at Crystal Beach feature a 90-foot (27-metre) drop and hairpin turns, but a nurse was always on duty on the loading platform.</p><span class="marker p14"></span><span class="marker AM14 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company turned the local Coney Island park near <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/place/Cincinnati" class="md-crosslink autoxref" data-show-preview="true">Cincinnati</a>, Ohio, into its test bed with the introduction of the Wild Cat and the completely enclosed Twister. Indeed, the <span id="ref910789"></span>Wildcat at Rocky Springs (Lancaster, Pa.), built in 1928 by Philadelphia Toboggan, is considered the steepest wooden coaster ever made, with a reputed drop of 90 feet 3 inches (27.5 metres) at 60 degrees. It was demolished in 1984.</p><span class="marker p15"></span><span class="marker AM15 am-inline"></span><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD15 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">The most memorable classic coaster still standing may be the <span id="ref910790"></span>Cyclone at New York City’s Coney Island. Built in 1927 by the Harry C. Baker Company and based on a design by Vernon Keenan, the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Cyclone" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Cyclone" data-type="EB">Cyclone</a> had a remarkably steep 58-degree drop, considered intense even by later standards. From its 10-foot (3-metre) lighted sign to the slogan of “steepest drops, sharpest turns, fastest speeds” on each ticket, the Cyclone has long been a quintessential roller coaster experience.</p><span class="marker p16"></span><span class="marker AM16 am-inline"></span><span class="marker MOD16 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548if_/https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":2,"pageId":1245496,"pageLength":1740,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [{"id":1012,"name":"SUBSCRIPTION_LINK_DESKTOP","selector":"#fake"}] </script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548js_/https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-101/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.101.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-101/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.101.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548js_/https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-6636134-11" async="async"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> function gaPageLoad(pathname, documentLocation) { pathname = pathname || location.pathname; documentLocation = documentLocation || document.querySelector('html').getAttribute('data-ytrk-page'); if (documentLocation) { documentLocation = documentLocation.replace(/ /g, '/'); if (documentLocation.charAt(0) !== '/') { documentLocation = '/' + documentLocation; } window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag() { dataLayer.push(arguments); } gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('set', { 'dimension1': 'ANONYMOUS', 'dimension2': 'B', }); //console.log( "*****[UA]***** -> ", documentLocation + pathname + decodeURI(location.search) ); gtag('config', 'UA-6636134-11', { 'page_path': documentLocation + pathname + decodeURI(location.search), 'link_attribution': true, }); } } gaPageLoad(); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//web.archive.org/web/20230806112548/https://www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> <script defer src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230806112548js_/https://static.cloudflareinsights.com/beacon.min.js/v8b253dfea2ab4077af8c6f58422dfbfd1689876627854" integrity="" data-cf-beacon="{"rayId":"7f26ebdb7abd9663","version":"2023.7.0","b":1,"token":"5cc7d7124de641b181da990fc8c9a0b6","si":100}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> </body> </html>

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Roller coaster | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica