Gravity Pleasure Switch Back Railway
| Gravity Pleasure Switch Back Railway | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Data | |
| Type | Wood - sitting |
| category | Shuttle |
| Manufacturer | LaMarcus A. Thompson |
| Designer | LaMarcus A. Thompson |
| opening | June 13, 1884 |
| length | 183 m |
| height | 15 m |
| Max. speed | 11 km / h |
| Inversions | 0 |
Gravity Pleasure Switch Back Railway in Coney Island ( Brooklyn , New York , USA ) was the first roller coaster in America. It was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and built in 1884.
The model for this system was the "Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway", a coal mine railway in what is now Jim Thorpe ( Pennsylvania ), which Thompson had operated a few years earlier and was used for entertainment purposes . The journey in the vehicle with a speed of just 11 km / h cost the passengers five cents.
Thompson patented his invention and, due to the success, later built other railways of this type in several locations in the USA.
The runway processes were not yet automated and so the vehicles were pushed to the start and at the end of the day they were pushed back to the starting height and turned for the return journey. The later development of the steam-powered chain lift , patented by Charles Alcokes, marked the end of these manually operated lifts . Thompson continued to build many roller coasters, such as the first Scenic Railways a short time later , the Coney Island Cyclone and soon even complete amusement parks.
Like many of these early roller coasters, the Switchback Railway was quickly overtaken by technical developments, dismantled and probably replaced by larger systems.
swell
- Steven J. Urbanowicz (2002): The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion , Citadel Press Kensington, New York. ISBN 0806523093 . Page 4.
- Scott Rutherford (2000): The American Roller Coaster , MBI Publishing Company, Wisconsin. ISBN 0760306893 .