History of Roller Coasters
The first roller coaster was invented by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1884. Thompson patented the “Switchback Railway”, the first roller coaster. On June 16, 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. The man who built the Coney Island Roller Coaster was entrepreneur LaMarcus Thompson.
Evolution of Roller Coasters
The modern rollercoaster is largely credited to Edwin Prescott. On August 16, 1898, Edwin Prescott, a roller coaster designer from Massachusetts, was granted a patent for an improvement to roller coasters – the vertical loop. His design was widely adopted and became the standard for rollercoaster construction.
Roller Coaster Designers
Rollercoaster designers are engineers who typically hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, civil engineering, or a related field. Thrill-seekers worldwide enjoy the breath-taking speeds, twists, flips, and turns of roller coasters. The roller coaster invention is the result of centuries of technological advances and design improvements.
Roller Coasters Worldwide
The idea to build roller coasters in France was promoted by visitors who had witnessed the ice sleds in Russia. Les Montagnes Russes á Belleville and Promenades Aeriennes began operating in Paris in 1917. Roller coasters were characterized by wheeled cars fitted with axles which fit into groove cuts made on the tracks. The oldest wooden roller coaster in the United Kingdom is the Scenic Railway at Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, Kent.