Title: A Ride Through the History of the Roller Coaster
1A Ride Through the History of the Roller Coaster
Lauren Friedman June 26, 2004
2In the Beginning
- 1650 - The origin of the roller coaster dates
back to the Russian ice slides built in the mid
1600s.
3- 1817 - Russes a Belleville was the first roller
coaster to lock the cars to the track.
4- The Ariel Walk, located in France, was one of the
worlds first roller coasters.
5- 1846 - The worlds first looping coaster with a
13-foot diameter was imported to France from
England.
6Into America
- 1872 - The Mauch Chunk Switchback railway is
considered the first American roller coaster.
7- In 1878, Richard Knudson was one of the first to
patent a roller coaster.
8Coney Island, New York
- Thompsons Switchback Railway opened in 1884 in
Coney Island, New York. It charged five cents per
ride.
9The loop-the-loop was one of the first looping
roller coasters in the world. It opened in 1901
in New Yorks Coney Island.
10The Dark Days of Roller Coasters
- 1929 - During the Great Depression many of the
countries roller coasters fell into a state of
disrepair.
11Roller Coasters Rejuvenated
- 1957 - A number of dare devils attempted to jump
between the racing trains on the cyclone racer in
Long Beach, California. Some were lucky, some
were not.
12Amusement Parks Take Over
- 1975 - The Corkscrew at Knotts Berry Farm in
California was the worlds first modern inverted
roller coaster.
13- 1987 - The Vortex at Paramounts Kings Island was
built featuring six inversions. It sparked a race
among parks and designers to build taller and
faster coasters.
141996 - Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa debuted as
the largest inverted roller coaster. It featured
seven inversions.
152000 - Millennium Force at Cedar point was the
first full-circuit roller coaster to break the
300 foot barrier.
16References
- www.discoverychannel.com
- www.ultimaterollercoasters.com