The very first roller coasters were actually huge wooden ramps covered with ice. These sled ramps were first built in Russia and were called "Russian Mountains." Eventually the idea became so popular that it "caught on" in other countries with warmer climates, so ice was not possible. One-person sleds with wheels were built and riders rolled down ramps on those (1700's).

By the 1800's "continuous circuit slides" were developed. Humans, animals, or even cables were used to pull the sleds back up to the top. Later tracks were placed on the slides to keep the sleds on course.

The first actual pay-to-ride type coaster in the Unites States was built by LaMarcus Thompson at Coney Island, New York. This was a train-like car that rode down a wavy track, then up a hill and turned around to go back. It cost only 5 cents to ride this "Switchback Railway," and Thompson made all his building expenses back in one week! Other early models included a design with tracks made of hundreds of wheels on which passengers rode toboggans. Thompson then created other designs around the U.S. and even in Europe. The fastest of these went about ten or twelve miles per hour.

John Miller built switchback coasters for Thompson, and soon had his own patents on over 100 different roller coaster improvements. Many of his coasters are still in use today. The Jack Rabbit at Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania (pictured here) is one of Miller's creations. (To see another one of his creations, check out the website joyrides.com and look for "The Racer" at Kennywood Park.) The Philadelphia Toboggan Company is also known for many different designs.

The time period just before the Great Depression was known as the Golden Age of Roller Coasters, because over 1,500 coasters were in operation around the world. During the Depression many amusement parks went broke and the coasters were torn down. Few were built during World War Two, which followed the Depression.

Harry Traver designed a few new rides, but mostly they were flatter coasters and non-coaster rides. However, he did make the most physically punishing ride ever built. It was called the Cyclone and it was at Crystal Beach in Ontario, Canada. People often left the ride with broken ribs or snapped bones, so they put in a nurse's station next to the ride. Most of Traver's rides are no longer around today, but he is the one responsible for the idea of using steel to build the structure of the roller coaster. (Prior to that, wood was used for the structure.)

During the Great Depression many amusement parks went bankrupt, because people didn't have enough money to go there. After the Depression, Walt Disney started Disneyland and it was a clean, safe amusement park that appealed to people.

During the "baby boomer" generation (1948 to 1978) people had more spending money and more free time. Eventually amusement parks designed settings with a theme such as "western towns" or "children's stories." One of these was Six Flags Over Texas. It had a three-hundred-foot oil derrick and a ride that simulated an out of control mine train. Many other "theme parks" were built around the world. Parks started competing for the fastest, tallest, steepest, and the most appealing rides.

In 1975 the first loop in a roller coaster was attempted, and about that same time a corkscrew design was also invented. The Cedar Point amusement park made a ride called the Corkscrew. During the 1970's and 1980's parks tested coasters that were as high as 200 feet, with up to seven loops. They also created the first suspended coaster, where the train hung underneath the track and was free to swing from side to side.

In 1989 Cedar Point created the Magnum XL 200. It broke all records for height, speed, and steepness. It was also one of the first steel coasters designed to imitate the ride of a wooden coaster. There were no loops, and it didn't matter because it was still a thrill.

Next came the Steel Phantom at Kennywood Park, which had a 225-foot drop. After that was Super Man the Escape at Six Flag's Magic Mountain, which sent the passengers 400 feet in the air and straight back down. Japanese designers created the Ultra Twister with a nearly 90 degree drop and the first coasters which passengers rode standing up!

The first "inverted coaster" is called Batman The Ride at Six Flags Great America in Illinois (1992). The trains of this ride look more like ski-lift chairs. In the last decade such ideas as heart-line rolls and loops of all kinds have come along. Who knows what's next!

Click here to see the new coasters for 1999. There are expected to be 35 new coasters in all, with some parks having as many as 3 new coasters.

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