Switchback Railway

This article is about the roller coaster. For the generic term, see Zig zag (railway). For the line in Glasgow, Scotland, see The Switchback. For the roller coaster at ZDT's Amusement Park, see Switchback (rollercoaster). For the former roller coaster in Sandusky, Ohio, see List of former Cedar Point attractions.

Switchback Railway
The original Switchback Railway at Coney Island
Coney Island
Location	Coney Island
Park section	Coney Island Cyclone Site
Status	Removed
Opening date	June 16, 1884 (1884-06-16)
General statistics
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	LaMarcus Adna Thompson
Designer	LaMarcus Adna Thompson
Model	Lift Packed
Track layout	Gravity pulled coaster
Lift/launch system	gravity
Height	50 ft (15 m)
Drop	43 ft (13 m)
Length	600 ft (180 m)
Speed	6 mph (9.7 km/h)
Duration	1:00
Max vertical angle	30°
Capacity	1600 riders per hour
G-force	2.9
Switchback Railway at RCDB

The original Switchback Railway was the first roller coaster at Coney Island and one of the earliest designed for amusement in America. The 1885 patent states the invention relates to the gravity double track switchback railway, which had predicated the inclined plane railway, patented in 1878 by Richard Knudsen. Coney Island's version was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and constructed in 1884. It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train that had started carrying passengers as a thrill ride in 1827.

For five cents, riders would climb a tower to board the large bench-like car and were pushed off to coast 600 ft (183 m) down the track to another tower. The car went just over 6 mph (9.7 km/h). At the top of the other tower the vehicle was switched to a return track or "switched back" (hence the name).

This track design was soon replaced with an oval complete-circuit ride designed by Charles Alcoke and called the Serpentine Railway. In 1885 Phillip Hinkle developed a lift system which appeared in his ride called Gravity Pleasure. The Gravity Pleasure also featured cars in which the passengers could face forward instead of in the awkward bench-like seats of the first two roller coasters. Not to be outdone, in 1886 LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented his design of coasters that included dark tunnels with painted scenery. Thompson built many more roller coasters across the country which were called "The L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway". Some of these operated until 1954.

Other rides

There was also a switchback railway at the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888.