roller coaster
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
roller coaster
n.
- A steep, sharply curving elevated railway with small open passenger cars that is operated at high speeds as a ride, especially in an amusement park.
- An action, event, or experience marked by abrupt, extreme changes in circumstance, quality, or behavior: "the demographic roller coaster caused by the baby boom" (American Demographics).
Gale's How Products Are Made:
Top
How is a roller coaster made?
Background
A roller coaster is an amusement park ride where passengers sit in a series of wheeled cars that are linked together. The cars move along a pair of rails supported by a wood or steel structure. In operation, the cars are carried up a steep incline by a linked chain. When the cars reach the top of the incline, they roll free of the chain and are propelled downward by gravity through a series of drops, rises, and turns. Finally the cars are braked to a stop at the starting point, where the passengers get out and new passengers get on. Roller coasters are considered by many to be the most exciting ride in any amusement park.
History
The origins of the roller coaster probably date back to Russia in the 1400s, where ice sledding was a popular winter activity. It became so popular that people in relatively flat areas constructed their own hills out of snow and ice. The tops of these artificial hills were reached by way of elevated wood towers with stairways from the ground. For a small charge, people could climb the stairway and take a quick, exciting ride down the hill on a sled.
By the 1700s, many owners of ice hills found a way to extend the profit potential of the ride beyond the winter months. They mounted wheels under small sleds and replaced the ice hills with ones constructed of wood. Brightly colored lanterns were hung along the slope to allow night operation.
Visitors from France saw these rides, which they called the Russian Mountains, and took the idea back with them. The first wheeled coaster opened in Paris in 1804, and the coaster craze quickly spread throughout France. As the popularity of the rides grew, operators vied for the public's patronage by building faster and more exciting coasters. Unfortunately, safety devices did not keep pace with the speed, and accidents were common. By the mid-1800s, the increasing number of injuries and a general loss of public interest took their toll. One-by-one the Russian Mountain coasters were dismantled.
The development of the roller coaster might have stopped there had it not been for a defunct coal-hauling railroad in the United States. The Mauch Chunk inclined railroad was built in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s to haul coal from a mine atop a mountain to barges in a canal below. Mules hauled the empty cars up the hill, and gravity brought the loaded cars, along with the mules, back down. In 1874 mining operations changed, and the railroad began hauling sightseers instead of coal. The one-and-a-half hour round trip cost one dollar and was an immediate success. The railroad continued to carry passengers until it closed in 1938.
The success of the Mauch Chunk inclined railroad as a tourist attraction provided the inspiration for several similar amusement park rides on a smaller scale. In the United States, LaMarcus Thompson built his Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway ride at the beach on Coney Island, New York, in 1884. For a nickel, riders rode cars that coasted from one elevated station to another over a series of gentle hills supported on a wooden trestle. At the opposite end, the cars were switched onto a parallel track for the return trip.
The second roller coaster on Coney Island was built in late 1884 when Charles Alcoke opened his Serpentine Railway. Alcoke's coaster was the first to use an oval-track design. Riders sat sideways on open benches as they were whisked along at what was then considered to be a break-neck speed of 12 mph (19 kph). A third coaster was built on Coney Island in 1885 by Phillip Hinkle. Hinkle's coaster incorporated a chain lift to carry the cars up the first hill, thus allowing the passengers to board at ground level and saving them a climb.
Roller coaster development hit its peak in the 1920s when there were more than 1,500 wooden coasters in operation in the United States. The economic hardships of the 1930s and the wartime material shortages of the 1940s put an end to that era. Amusement parks closed by the hundreds, and their wooden roller coasters either fell into disrepair or were tom down. It wasn't until Walt Disney opened the Matterhom Bobsled ride at Disneyland in 1959 that the era of modern steel roller coaster design began. Ironically, it took the construction of a new wooden coaster—the massive Racer at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1972—before the coaster craze really caught on again.
By the late 1990s it was estimated there were over 200 major roller coasters in operation in the United States, with more being added every year. In May of 2000, the Millenium Force opened at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. At 310 ft (94 m) tall and going 92 mph (148 kmp), it is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.
Raw Materials
Roller coasters are generally classified as either wooden coasters or steel coasters depending on the materials used for the support structure.
Wooden coasters use massive wooden trestle-style structures to support the track above the ground. The wood is generally a construction grade such as Douglas fir or southern yellow pine and is painted or otherwise treated to prevent deterioration. The wooden components are supported on concrete foundations and are joined with bolts and nails. Steel plates are used to reinforce critical joints. As an example of the immense number of parts required to build a wooden coaster, the American Eagle built for Six Flags Great America in Gumee, Illinois, used 2,000 concrete foundations; 1.6 million ft (487,680 m) of wood; 60,720 bolts; and 30,600 lb (13,910 kg) of nails. It was coated with 9,000 gal (34,065 L) of paint.
Steel coasters may use thin, trestle-style structures to support the track, or they may use thick tubular supports. The track is usually formed in sections from a pair of welded round steel tubes held in position by steel stanchions attached to rectangular box girder or thick round tubular track supports. All exposed steel surfaces are painted. Steel coasters can be just as complex as wooden ones. For example, the Pepsi Max Big One coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England, used 1,270 piles driven into the sandy soil for the foundation; 2,215 tons (2,010 metric tons) of steel, and 60,000 bolts. There were 42,000 sq. yd (35,087 sq. m) of painted surfaces.
The track and lift chain on both wooden and steel coasters are made of steel, and the cars usually have steel axles and substructures. The car bodies may be formed from aluminum or fiberglass, and the car wheels may be cast from urethane or some other long-wearing, quiet-running material.
Design
The design of a roller coaster ride is the first and most important part of the manufacturing process. Because each roller coaster is unique, every detail must be designed literally from the ground up.
To begin, roller coaster designers must consider what kind of riders will use the coaster. If the coaster is designed for small children, the hills and curves will be gentle, and the cars' speed will be relatively slow. Families usually want a somewhat faster ride with plenty of turns and moderate forces. Ultimate thrill seekers want extreme heights and speeds.
Designers must then consider the space available for the coaster. Roller coasters not only take a lot of ground space, but also a lot of air space. Designers look at the general terrain, other surrounding rides, power lines, access roads, lakes, trees, and other obstacles. Some amusement parks have added so many rides that a new roller coaster has to be designed to thread its way through existing rides and walkways.
The next objective for the designers is to achieve a unique "feel" for the coaster. Designers can draw on a number of techniques to provide a memorable ride. The initial incline can be made steeper or the speed of the lift chain can be made slower to heighten the apprehension of the passengers. Once up the incline, the first drop is usually designed to be the steepest, and therefore the fastest and scariest. Other drops can be designed with a brief flattened section in the middle, and are called double dips. Drops with very abrupt transitions to a flat or upturned section are called slammers because they slam the passengers down into their seats. Letting the cars run close to the ground, in what is called a gully coaster, gives the illusion of increased speed.
The advent of steel construction for coasters has allowed a number of variations on the basic roller coaster ride. In some modern coasters, the passengers sit suspended below the tracks rather than riding on top of them. In others, the passengers ride standing up rather than sitting down. Some coasters, known as bobsleds, have no track at all, and the cars roll free in a trough, like a bobsled run.
Most of the actual design and layout of a roller coaster is done on a computer. The height of the first incline must be calculated to give the cars enough energy to propel them all the way through the ride and back to the station. The horizontal and vertical forces that the loaded cars exert on the track must be calculated at every point to ensure that the support structure is adequate. Likewise, the forces exerted on the passengers must be calculated at every point. These forces are usually expressed as "g's," which are multiples of the force that gravity exerts on our bodies. For example, if a person weighs 100 lb (45.5 kg), then a 2 g force would exert 200 lb (91 kg) of force on that person. Coasters in the United States generally exert no more than about 3.5 g's, which is the limit that most people find tolerable. Three coasters outside the United States exert more than 6.5 g's and are considered ultra-extreme. Jet fighter pilots black out at about 10 g's.
Because each coaster usually incorporates one or more new and untried features, a working prototype of the new features may be built for testing and evaluation. The prototype is erected at the manufacturer's facility, and weighted test cars outfitted with instrumentation are propelled through the test section at the desired speed. Based on these tests, the designers may alter their original design before building the final product.
When the calculations, design, and testing are complete, a computer-aided drafting (CAD) program is used to prepare detailed drawings for each of the thousands of parts that will be used to build the new coaster.
The Manufacturing Process
The actual physical construction of a roller coaster may take place in a factory or on the amusement park site depending on the type and size of the coaster. Most steel coasters are built in sections in a factory, then trucked to the site and erected. Most wooden coasters are built piece-by-piece on the site. Here is the typical sequence of operations for manufacturing both modern steel coasters and classic wooden coasters.
Preparing the site
- Before the roller coaster can be installed, the area where it is to be located needs to be cleared and prepared. This is usually done in the off season when the amusement park is closed. If it must be done while the park is still open, the area is fenced off to prevent the public from wandering onto the construction site.
- If there are existing structures, vegetation, or utilities that need to be moved or demolished, this work is done first. If any of the surrounding terrain needs to be filled or excavated, that work is also done at this time.
- Holes for the support structure foundations are surveyed and drilled or dug. Sturdy wooden forms are constructed to hold the concrete for each foundation point. In some areas where the soil is very sandy, large wooden piles may be driven into the ground as foundations rather than using poured concrete. If concrete is used, it is brought to the site in mixer trucks and pumped into place by a concrete pump with a long, articulating arm that can reach each foundation form. Connector plates are imbedded into the concrete on top of each foundation to allow attachment of the supports.
Erecting the main support structure
- When the foundation is in place, work begins on the main support structure. The supports for steel coasters—in fact, almost all the parts for steel coasters—are made in a factory and shipped to the job site in sections on trucks. In the factory, the pieces for each support are cut and welded into the required shape using fixtures to hold them in the proper orientation to each other. If a complex three-dimensional bend is required, this may be done in a hydraulic tube bender that is controlled by information from the computer. On wooden coasters, the material for the supports is usually shipped to the site as unfinished lumber and the individual pieces are cut and assembled on site. In either case, the lower portions of the main supports are lifted by a crane and are attached to the connector plates protruding from the foundation points.
- Once the lower supports are in place, they may be temporarily braced while the upper sections are lifted into place and connected. This work continues until the main support structure is complete.
Installing the track
- With the main support structure in place, the track is installed. On steel coasters, sections of track are fabricated in the factory with the stanchions and tubular tracks welded to the track supports. After the sections are brought to the site, they are lifted into place, and the track ends are slid together. The sections are then bolted to the main support structure and to each other. On wooden coasters, wood tie beams are installed across the top of the main support structure along the entire length of the ride. Six to eight layers of flat wood boards are installed lengthways on top of the tie beams in two rows to form a laminated base for the rails. The rails themselves are formed from long, flat strips of steel screwed into the wood base.
- On steel coasters, walkways and handrails are welded in place along the outside of the track to allow maintenance access and emergency evacuation of passengers. On wooden coasters, the portions of the tie beams outside of the track are used as walkways, and handrails are installed.
- The lift chain and anti-rollback mechanisms are installed on the lift hill, and the braking device is installed on the final approach to the station.
Fabricating the cars
- The individual cars for the coaster are fabricated in the factory. The subframe pieces are cut and welded. The bodies are stamped from aluminum or molded in fiberglass, then fastened to the subframe. Seat cushions may be cut from foam, mounted on a base, and covered with an upholstery. Running wheels and guide wheels are bolted in place with locking fasteners. Brake fins, anti-rollback dogs, and other safety components are installed.
Finishing the ride
- When the main construction is completed, electrical wiring is installed for the lighting, and the entire ride may be painted. The boarding station is constructed, signs are installed, and the landscaping is put in place.
Quality Control
The design and construction of roller coasters are covered by numerous governmental safety regulations. The materials used must meet certain strength requirements, and the actual construction is subject to periodic inspection. Every day, the coaster must be thoroughly inspected before it goes into operation.
Before the ride is open to the public, the cars are filled with weighted sandbags and sent through several circuits to ensure everything is operating properly. Government safety inspectors check make a final review before they give approval to operate.
The Future
The current trend to higher, longer, and faster coasters will probably continue for the near future. This is especially true now that roller coasters have become popular in Europe, Asia, and many other foreign countries. In the meantime, coaster designers will be looking for new ways to give riders a physical and visual thrill.
Where to Learn More
Books
Bennett, David. Roller Coaster: Wooden and Steel Coasters, Twisters, and Corkscrews. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books, 1998.
Cook, Nick. Roller Coasters, or, I Had So Much Fun, I Almost Puked. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1998.
Periodicals
Lindsay, D. "Terror Bound." American Heritage (September 1998): 76-89.
Ruben, P. L. "Scream Machines." Popular Mechanics (August 1998): 80-83.
Other
World of Coasters. http://www.rollercoaster.com (November 29, 1999).
[Article by: Chris Cavette]
Answer of the Day:
Top
roller coaster
|
|
|
Riding the Roller Coaster At the Arizona State Fair |
| robot | |
| sailing capital |
From our Archives: Today's Highlights, January 20, 2006
Sign Language Videos:
Top
roller coaster
sign description: One hand moves up and down in front of the body.
The Dream Encyclopedia:
Top
Roller Coaster
A roller coaster may indicate that the dreamer is experiencing frequent ups and downs, perhaps caused by erratic behavior on the part of the dreamer or an associate.
Random House Word Menu:
Top
categories related to 'roller coaster'
- 1970’s
- Entertainments and Spectacles - roller coaster: elevated railway constructed in curves and inclines as frightening amusement park ride
- Drug Names and Forms - roller coaster: Slang. combination of stimulant and tranquilizer in one pill
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Roller coaster
For other uses, see Roller coaster (disambiguation).
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885. In essence a specialized railroad system, a roller coaster consists of a track that rises in designed patterns, sometimes with one or more inversions (such as vertical loops) that turn the rider briefly upside down. The track does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters exhibit. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained.[1] Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably wild mouse roller coasters, run with single cars.
|
Contents
|
History
Main article: History of the roller coaster
Russian mountain
The oldest roller coasters are believed to have originated from the so-called "Russian Mountains", which were specially constructed hills of ice, located especially around Saint Petersburg.[2] Built in the 17th century, the slides were built to a height of between 70 and 80 feet (24 m), consisted of a 50 degree drop, and were reinforced by wooden supports.
Some historians say the first real roller coaster was built under the orders of Russia's Catherine the Great in the Gardens of Oranienbaum in Saint Petersburg in the year 1784. Other historians believe that the first roller coaster was built by the French. The Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville (The Russian Mountains of Belleville) constructed in Paris in 1812 and the Promenades Aeriennes both featured wheeled cars securely locked to the track, guide rails to keep them on course, and higher speeds.[3]
The name Russian Mountains to designate a roller coaster is preserved in most Latin languages. Ironically, the Russian term for roller coasters is американские горки ("amerikanskie gorki") "American Mountains".
Scenic gravity railroads
In 1827, a mining company in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania constructed the Mauch Chunk gravity railroad, an 8.7 mi (14 km) downhill track used to deliver coal to Mauch Chunk (now known as Jim Thorpe), Pennsylvania.[4] By the 1850s, the "Gravity Road" (as it became known) was providing rides to thrill-seekers for 50 cents a ride. 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 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York in 1884.[5] Passengers climbed to the top of a platform and rode a bench-like car down the 600 ft (180 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.[6] This track design was soon replaced with an oval complete circuit.[3] In 1885, Phillip Hinkle introduced the first full-circuit coaster with a lift hill, the Gravity Pleasure Road, which was soon the most popular attraction at Coney Island.[3] Not to be outdone, in 1886 LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented his design of roller coaster that included dark tunnels with painted scenery. "Scenic Railways" were to be found in amusement parks across the county,[3] with Frederick Ingersoll's construction company building many of them in the first two decades of the 20th century.
See also: Scenic Railway Roller Coaster and Scenic Railway (Dreamland)
Popularity, decline and revival
By 1919, the first underfriction roller coaster had been developed by John Miller.[7] Soon, roller coasters spread to amusement parks all around the world. Perhaps the best known historical roller coaster, The Cyclone, was opened at Coney Island in 1927.
The Great Depression marked the end of the first golden age of roller coasters, and amusement parks in general went into decline. This lasted until 1972, when The Racer was built at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio (near Cincinnati). Designed by John Allen, the instant success of The Racer began a second golden age, which has continued to this day.
Steel roller coasters
In 1959 Disneyland introduced a new design breakthrough with Matterhorn Bobsleds. This was the first roller coaster to use a tubular steel track. Unlike wooden coaster rails, which are generally formed using steel strips mounted on laminated wood, tubular steel can be easily bent in any direction, which allows designers to incorporate loops, corkscrews, and many other maneuvers into their designs. Most modern roller coasters are made of steel, although wooden coasters are still being built.
New designs and technologies are pushing the limits of what can be experienced on the newest coasters. Electromagnetically launched coasters are examples of such technologies.
Etymology
There are several explanations of 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.[3] This design was abandoned in favor of fitting the wheels to the sled or other vehicles, but the name endured.
Another explanation is that it 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, claim that they were the first to use the term "roller coaster".[6]
The term jet coaster is used for roller coasters in Japan, where such amusement park rides are very popular.[8]
In many languages, the name refers to "Russian mountains". Contrastingly, in Russian, they are called "American mountains". In Scandinavian languages, the roller coaster is referred as "mountain-and-valley railway"
Mechanics
 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
Main article: Physics of roller coasters
The cars on a typical roller coaster are not self-powered. Instead, a standard full circuit coaster is pulled up with a chain or cable along the lift hill to the first peak of the coaster track. The potential energy accumulated by the rise in height is transferred to kinetic energy as the cars race down the first downward slope. Kinetic energy is then converted back into potential energy as the train moves up again to the second peak. This hill is necessarily lower, as some mechanical energy is lost to friction.
Not all rides feature a lift hill, however. The train may be set into motion by a launch mechanism such as a flywheel launch, linear induction motors, linear synchronous motors, hydraulic launch, compressed air launch or drive tire. Such launched coasters are capable of reaching higher speeds in a shorter length of track than those featuring a conventional lift hill. Some roller coasters move back and forth along the same section of track; these are known as shuttles and usually run the circuit once with riders moving forwards and then backwards through the same course.
A properly designed ride under good conditions will have enough kinetic, or moving, energy to complete the entire course, at the end of which brakes bring the train to a complete stop and it is pushed into the station. A brake run at the end of the circuit is the most common method of bringing the roller coaster ride to a stop. One notable exception is a powered roller coaster. These rides, instead of being powered by gravity, use one or more motors in the cars to propel the trains along the course.
If a continuous-circuit coaster does not have enough kinetic energy to completely travel the course after descending from its highest point (as can happen with high winds or increased friction), the train can valley: that is, roll backwards and forwards along the track, until all kinetic energy has been released. The train will then come to a complete stop in the middle of the track. This, however, works somewhat differently on a launched coaster. When a train launcher does not have enough potential energy to launch the train to the top of an incline, the train is said to "roll back." On some modern coasters, such as Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Kingda Ka in Jackson, New Jersey and Stealth at Thorpe Park in Surrey, UK this is an occurrence highly sought after by many coaster enthusiasts.[citation needed]
In 2006, NASA announced that it would build a system using principles similar to those of a roller coaster to help astronauts escape the Ares I launch pad in an emergency.[9]
Safety
|
|
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
Many safety systems are implemented in roller coasters. One of these is the block system. Most large roller coasters have the ability to run two or more trains at once, and the block system prevents these trains from colliding. In this system, the track is divided into several sections, or blocks. Only one train at a time is permitted in each block. At the end of each block, there is a section of track where a train can be stopped if necessary (either by preventing dispatch from the station, closing brakes, or stopping a lift). Sensors at the end of each block detect when a train passes so that the computer running the ride is aware of which blocks are occupied. When the computer detects a train about to travel into an already occupied block, it uses whatever method is available to keep it from entering. The trains are fully automated.
The above can cause a cascade effect when multiple trains become stopped at the end of each block. In order to prevent this problem, ride operators follow set procedures regarding when to release a newly loaded train from the station. One common pattern, used on rides with two trains, is to do the following: hold train #1 (which has just finished the ride) right outside the station, release train #2 (which has loaded while #1 was running), and then allow #1 into the station to unload safely.
Another key to safety is the control of the roller coaster's operating computers: programmable logic controllers (often called PLCs). A PLC detects faults associated with the mechanism and makes decisions to operate roller coaster elements (e.g. lift, track-switches and brakes) based on configured state and operator actions. Periodic maintenance and inspection are required to verify structures and materials are within expected wear tolerances and are in sound working order. Sound operating procedures are also a key to safety.
Roller coaster design requires a working knowledge of basic physics to avoid uncomfortable, even potentially fatal, strain to the rider. Ride designers must carefully ensure the accelerations experienced throughout the ride do not subject the human body to more than it can handle. The human body needs time to detect changes in force in order to control muscle tension. Failure to take this into account can result in severe injuries such as whiplash. The accelerations accepted in roller coaster design are generally in the 4-6Gs (40–60 m s−2) range for positive vertical (pushing you into your seat), and 1.5-2Gs (15–20 m s−2) for the negative vertical (flying out of your seat as you crest a hill).[citation needed] This range safely ensures the majority of the population experiences no harmful side effects. Lateral accelerations are generally kept to a minimum by banking curves. The neck's inability to deal with high forces leads to lateral accelerations generally limited to under 1.8Gs.[citation needed] Sudden accelerations in the lateral plane result in a rough ride.
Despite safety measures, accidents can, and do, occur.[10] Regulations concerning accident reporting vary from one authority to another. Thus in the USA, California requires amusement parks to report any ride-related accident that requires an emergency room visit, while Florida exempts parks whose parent companies employ more than 1000 people from having to report any accidents at all. Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts has introduced legislation that would give oversight of rides to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Ride accidents can also be caused by riders themselves or ride operators not following safety directions properly, and, in extremely rare cases, riders can be injured by mechanical failures. In recent years, controversy has arisen about the safety of increasingly extreme rides. There have been suggestions that these may be subjecting passengers to translational and rotational accelerations that may be capable of causing brain injuries. In 2003 the Brain Injury Association of America concluded in a report that "There is evidence that roller coaster rides pose a health risk to some people some of the time. Equally evident is that the overwhelming majority of riders will suffer no ill effects." [11]
A similar report in 2005 linked roller coasters and other thrill rides with potentially triggering abnormal heart conditions that could lead to death.[12] Autopsies have shown that recent deaths at various Disney parks, Anheuser-Busch parks, and Six Flags parks were due to previously undetected heart ailments.
Statistically, roller coasters are very safe compared to other activities. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 134 park guests required hospitalization in 2001 and that fatalities related to amusement rides average two per year. According to a study commissioned by Six Flags, 319 million people visited parks in 2001. The study concluded that a visitor has a one in one-and-a-half billion chance of being fatally injured, and that the injury rates for children's wagons, golf, and folding lawn chairs are higher than for amusement rides.[13]
Types of roller coasters
|
|
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
Today, there are two main types of roller coaster:
Steel coasters are known for their smooth ride and often convoluted shapes that frequently turn riders upside-down via inversions. Wooden coasters are typically renowned by enthusiasts for their rougher ride and "air time" produced by negative G-forces when the train reaches the top of hills along the ride. There are also hybrid roller coasters that combine a steel structure with wooden tracks, or a wooden structure with steel tracks.
Modern roller coasters take on many different forms. Some designs take their cue from how the rider is positioned to experience the ride. Traditionally, riders sit facing forward in the coaster car, while newer coaster designs have ignored this tradition in the quest for building more exciting, unique ride experiences. Variations such as the stand-up roller coaster and the flying roller coaster position the rider in different ways to provide different experiences. Stand-up coasters involve cars that have the riders in a standing position (though still heavily strapped in). Flying coasters have the riders hanging below the track face-down with their chests and feet strapped in. Vekoma "Flying Dutchman" coasters have the riders starting out sitting above the track, then they fully recline so that the riders are looking at the sky. Eventually, they twist into the "flying" position. B&M flying coasters have the riders hanging below the track like in an inverted (hanging) coaster. To go into the flight position, the section of the car where the riders' feet are raised to the track. That way, they start in the flight position. In addition to changing rider viewpoint, some roller coaster designs also focus on track styles to make the ride fresh and different from other coasters.
See Roller coaster elements for the various parts of a roller coaster and the types of thrill elements that go into making each roller coaster unique.
By height
Several height classifications have been used by parks and manufacturers for marketing their roller coasters. The classifications are not always agreed upon, defined consistently, or accepted throughout the industry.
A Kiddie coaster is a roller coaster specifically designed for families and younger riders.
A Hyper Coaster or Mega Coaster is a type of roller coaster with a height or drop that ranges from 200 feet (61 m) to 299 feet (91 m) and completes a full circuit. The first roller coaster to be classified as a hyper coaster is Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point designed by Arrow Dynamics. Since its debut, hyper coasters have become one of the most predominant types of roller coasters worldwide. Bolliger & Mabillard and Intamin are the leading manufacturers of this type.
A Giga Coaster is a type of roller coaster with a height or drop that ranges from 300 feet (91 m) to 399 feet (122 m) and completes a full circuit. The term was coined by a Cedar Point and Intamin partnership following the construction of Millennium Force. The only other official giga coaster is Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion.[14] Although Morgan and Bolliger & Mabillard have not used the term giga[15], both have a roller coaster in this class.
| Name | Park | Manufacturer | Status | Opened | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millennium Force | Cedar Point | Intamin | Operating | May 13, 2000 | 310 feet (94 m) |
| Steel Dragon 2000 | Nagashima Spa Land | Morgan | Operating | August 1, 2000 | 318 feet (97 m) |
| Intimidator 305 | Kings Dominion | Intamin | Operating | April 2, 2010 | 305 feet (93 m) |
| Leviathan | Canada's Wonderland | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | May 2012 | 306 feet (93 m) |
A Strata Coaster is a type of roller coaster with a height or drop that is 400 feet (120 m) or more and completes a full circuit. Only two strata coasters have been built that utilize Intamin's hydraulically launched accelerator coaster design. The first was Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, which opened in 2003 at a height of 420 feet (130 m). The second was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, which opened in 2005 at a height of 456 feet (139 m) - also making it the tallest roller coaster in the world. Superman: Escape From Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain was the first to break the 400-foot (120 m) barrier, but since it's a shuttle roller coaster that doesn't complete a full circuit and its drop is only 328 feet (100 m), most do not classify it as a strata roller coaster.
| Name | Park | Manufacturer | Status | Opened | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Thrill Dragster | Cedar Point | Intamin | Operating | May 4, 2003 | 420 feet (130 m) |
| Kingda Ka | Six Flags Great Adventure | Intamin | Operating | May 21, 2005 | 456 feet (139 m) |
Gallery
- Roller Coasters
-
Riding Fahrenheit, located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
-
Hypersonic XLC, the world's first production Thrust Air 2000 (now defunct)
-
Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point is the first strata coaster ever built.
-
Riding Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park, Germany.
-
Raptor, a steel inverted coaster, is located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
-
Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas before being refurbished into a hybrid steel-wood coaster.
-
Lightning Racer at Hersheypark is a racing, dueling roller coaster made by GCI.
-
This all-wooden roller coaster, built in 1951, dominates the Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki, Finland.
-
Coney Island Cyclone in Brooklyn, New York was built in 1927 and refurbished in 1975.
-
Son of Beast in Kings Island was the only wooden coaster to have a loop. The loop was removed in 2006, and the ride has been SBNO since 2009.
-
Jack Rabbit at Kennywood Park outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was built in 1920.
-
Phoenix, built in 1947, at Knoebles Grove in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. It was relocated from Playland Park in 1984.
-
Oblivion (roller coaster) at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England.
-
Griffon splashing down into a pool at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
-
Great Bear is the first steel inverted coaster in Pennsylvania, located at Hersheypark.
-
Behemoth, at Canada's Wonderland, was the highest (230 ft) and fastest (77mph) coaster in Canada before Leviathan opened.
-
"Montu", a popular inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
-
Black Mamba at Phantasialand, Germany
-
Euro-Mir, a spinning roller coaster at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany
-
Dragon Khan at PortAventura in Salou (Tarragona), Spain
.jpg)
_01.jpg)
_06.jpg)
Major roller coaster manufacturers
- Allan Herschell Company (Defunct)
- Arrow Dynamics (bought by S&S Power, renamed S&S Arrow then later renamed S&S Worldwide)
- Bolliger & Mabillard
- Bradley and Kaye
- Chance Morgan
- Custom Coasters International (Defunct)
- Dinn Corporation (Defunct)
- Dynamic Structures
- Fabbri Group
- Gerstlauer
- Giovanola (Defunct)
- The Gravity Group
- Great Coasters International
- Intamin
- Mack Rides
- Maurer Söhne
- Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters
- Pinfari (Defunct)
- Premier Rides
- Preston & Barbieri
- S&S Worldwide
- Schwarzkopf (Defunct)
- TOGO (Defunct)
- Vekoma
- Zamperla
- Zierer
See also
- List of roller coaster rankings
- Amusement park (List of amusement parks)
- RollerCoaster Tycoon
- Thrillville: Off the Rails - video game with roller coaster design simulator
References
- ^ http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/glossary/#s
- ^ Robert Coker (2002). Roller Coasters: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the Ultimate Scream Machines. New York: Metrobooks. 14. ISBN 1-58663-172-1.
- ^ a b c d e Steven J. Urbanowicz (2002). The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion. Kensington, New York: Citadel Press. 4. ISBN 0-8065-2309-3.
- ^ "Roller Coaster History: Early Years In America". Retrieved on July 26, 2007.
- ^ Chris Sheedy (2007-01-07). "Icons — In the Beginning... Roller-Coaster". The Sun-Herald Sunday Life (Weekly Supplement) (John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd.): p. 10.
- ^ a b Scott Rutherford (2000). The American Roller Coaster. Wisconsin: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7603-0689-3.
- ^ http://patimg2.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=01319888&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page
- ^ Robb and Elissa Alvey. "Theme Park Review: Japan 2004", themeparkreview.com. Retrieved on March 18, 2008.
- ^ Chris Bergin (November 3, 2006). "NASA will build Rollercoaster for Ares I escape". NASA Spaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-01. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:S7qzGsFcgC4J:www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/%3Fcid%3D4888+http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/%3Fcid%3D4888&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=1. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- ^ "Verified Injury Accidents at Theme and Amusement Parks". http://www.themeparkinsider.com/accidents/list.cfm.
- ^ Blue Ribbon Panel (2003-02-25). Blue Ribbon Panel Review of the Correlation between Brain Injury and Roller Coaster Rides — Final Report. Archived from the original on 2006-11-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20061129230533/http://www.biausa.org/Pages/blue_final_report.html. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- ^ Charlene Laino and Louise Chang, MD (2005-11-16). "Roller Coasters: Safe for the Heart?". WebMD.com. http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/115/111717.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- ^ Arthur Levine. "White Knuckles Are the Worst of It". themeparks.about.com. http://themeparks.about.com/cs/sixflagsparks/a/CoasterSafety.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- ^ "RCDB - Giga Coasters". http://www.rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&mo=8375. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Bolliger & Mabillard - Products". http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com/products/products_en.aspx. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
External links
 |
Look up roller coaster in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roller coaster |
- Roller Coaster Glossary
- Roller Coaster History - History of the roller coaster
- Roller Coaster Database - Information, statistics and photos for over 3700 roller coasters throughout the world
- Roller Coaster Patents - With links to the U.S. Patent office
- Roller Coaster Physics - Classic physics explained in terms of roller coasters
- How Roller Coasters Work
|
||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
Top
Rollercoaster
Dansk (Danish)
n. - rutsjebane
v. intr. - køre i rutsjebane
adj. - rutsjebane-
Français (French)
n. - montagnes russes
v. intr. - monter et descendre
adj. - qui monte et qui descend rapidement
Deutsch (German)
n. - Achterbahn
v. - Achterbahn fahren
adj. - auf und ab, plötzlich umschlagend
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (καταδυόμενο) τρενάκι του λούνα παρκ
v. - αυξομειώνομαι απότομα και συνεχώς
adj. - που αυξομειώνεται απότομα και συνεχώς
Italiano (Italian)
montagne russe, andare su e giù
Português (Portuguese)
n. - montanha-russa (f)
v. - agitar
adj. - difícil
Русский (Russian)
американские горки, жизнь то удачная то нет
Español (Spanish)
n. - montaña rusa
v. intr. - subir y bajar repentina y repetidamente
adj. - relativo o perteneciente a la montaña rusa
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - berg- och dalbana
v. - åka berg- och dalbana
adj. - berg- och dalbaneliknande
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
云霄飞车, 乘云霄飞车, 云霄飞车的
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 雲霄飛車
v. intr. - 乘雲霄飛車
adj. - 雲霄飛車的
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 롤러 코스트, 갑자기 변하는 사건
v. intr. - 갑자기 변하다
adj. - 돌변하는
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ジェットコースター, 急激な変化
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - רכבת הרים (בגן-שעשועים)
v. intr. - עלה וירד
adj. - עולה ויורד
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
Best of Web:
Top
roller coaster
Some good "roller coaster" pages on the web:
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Gale's How Products Are Made
How Products are Made. Copyright © 2002 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Read more
The Dream Encyclopedia
The Dreams Encyclopedia. 1995 ©Visible Ink Press (VisibleInkPress.com). All rights reserved.
Read more
Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
Write Brothers Inc.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Roller coaster.
Read more
Mentioned in
toss one's cookies
(Idiom)
Herman and Margaret Sitting in a Tree: Evening Shade (TV Episode)
(1991 TV Episode)
This Metal Mind
(1996 Visual Arts Film)
2005 University of Texas Rose Bowl
(2005 Sports & Recreation Film)
Kidsongs: Ride the Roller Coaster
(1990 Music Film)
» More