Mine roller coaster
A mine train roller coaster (ger .: Mine Train roller coaster) is usually in the Wild West style or the style of a Mine themed roller coaster , where the passengers will experience a thrilling ride through a mine, a mountain range or other Western scenery. The trains are mostly replicas of mine railways or wagons with which ore, coal and other raw materials are brought to the surface. The storylines of many mine coasters are mainly based on the " Great Gold Rush ", which was married in Colorado , among other places .
Typical driving elements of mine coasters are strongly transversely inclined curves and helices , while descents from great heights are usually avoided (the height differences are typically no more than 15 meters). For this reason, many mine coasters have more than one lift hill . The rails of some mine coasters have wooden sleepers , but they have no function, but are only attached to the rails for decoration and are intended to give the impression that they are real train tracks.
history
The first mine roller coaster of its kind is Runaway Mine Train ( Run-A-Way Mine Train until 1995 ) at Six Flags Over Texas amusement park . Built in 1966 by Arrow Dynamics , it is the oldest roller coaster in the park and - together with the Matterhorn Bobsleds in Disneyland , California, built in 1959 (also by Arrow Dynamics ) - one of the first steel roller coaster with tubular rails.
Types and manufacturers
Mine coasters are available in different designs from various manufacturers, including Vekoma , who were responsible for the construction of the Colorado Adventure in Phantasialand and Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland Resort Paris with the Custom MK-900 M model . Mack Rides operates a similar ropeway with the Alpenexpress Enzian in Europa-Park , a powered coaster that is constructed in the style of a mine rollercoaster, but cannot be categorized as a pure mine rollercoaster, as powered coaster roller coasters can have different thematic designs.