Roller Coaster History How Roller Coasters Evolved in the United States

The First U.S. Roller Coaster Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway Built by LaMarcus Thompson Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, 1884 Two 45-foot towers connected with two sets of track Top speed of 6 miles per hour

More Coasters in the 1800s Later in 1884 – First coaster with continuous track developed 1885 – Mechanical hoist used to raise cars to top of hill instead of towing them manually 1895 – Coaster designers began experimenting with loops

The 1900s 1901 –Loop-the-Loop built at Coney Island 1907 – First coaster to have lap bars opened 1992 – First successful inverted coaster opened

Popular Roller Coaster Locations Cedar Point – Sandusky, Ohio –15 Roller Coasters Indiana Beach – Monticello, Indiana –5 Roller Coasters Six Flags Magic Mountain – Valencia, California –15 Roller Coasters Morey’s Piers – Wildwood, New Jersey –7 Roller Coasters

Popular Roller Coaster Locations (Continued) Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom – Louisville, Kentucky –6 Roller Coasters Paramount’s Kings Island – Kings Mills, Ohio –12 Roller Coasters Six Flags Over Georgia – Austell, Georgia –9 Roller Coasters

Numbers of Amusement Park Roller Coasters

Newest Roller Coasters LocationCoasterTypeOpened Cedar Point Wicked Twister Steel2002 Indiana Beach Lost Coaster Wooden2002 Magic Mtn XSteel2002 Morey’s Piers RC-48Steel2000

Newest Roller Coasters (Continued) LocationCoasterTypeOpened Six Flags KY Road Runner Steel2000 Kings Island Son of Beast Wooden2000 Six Flags GA SupermanSteel2002

Cedar Point Roller Coasters Blue Streak Cedar Creek Mine Ride CorkscrewGemini Jr. Gemini Iron Dragon Disaster Transport Magnum XL-200 Mean Streak WildcatRaptorMantis Woodstock’s Express Millennium Force Wicked Twister

References Kruidhof, Jessica, and Selene Kucera, The Effects of New Technology on Roller Coaster Thrills, Safety and Economics, abstract, University of Texas at Austin Mechanical Engineering Department, Fall 1997, (May 2002) Marden, Duane, Roller Coaster Database, 1996, (May 2002) Midlink Magazine, North Carolina State University, 1994, (May 2002)