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  1. Only showing results from www.britannica.com

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  2. Dec 3, 2024roller coaster, elevated railway with steep inclines and descents that carries a train of passengers through sharp curves and sudden changes of speed and direction for a brief thrill ride. Found mostly in amusement parks as a continuous loop, it is a popular leisure activity.. Overview. On a traditional roller coaster, gravity powers much of the trip. The potential energy for the entire ride ...
  3. Dec 3, 2024Roller coaster - Steel Coasters, Thrill Rides, Amusement Parks: Roller coasters experienced a downturn in the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s. A shortage of disposable income meant that hundreds of coasters were torn down and very few were built. By mid-century only Philadelphia Toboggan Company and National Amusement Devices, led by Aurel Vaszin, were still building ...
    • Ron Toomer

      Ron Toomer (born May 31, 1930, Pasadena, California, U.S.—died September 26, 2011, Bedford, Texas) was an American engineer and roller coaster designer who could be considered the sovereign of steel coasters. His work with Arrow Dynamics (founded as Arrow Development Company in 1946) brought to life such influential steel thrillers as the tubular track Runaway Mine Ride (1966), the inverted ...

    • Amusement Park

      Other articles where amusement park is discussed: roller coaster: Coney Island amusement park: …American trolley companies were building amusement parks at the end of their lines to attract evening and weekend riders. The best-known trolley terminus was Coney Island in New York City, which became home to several competing theme parks inspired by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in ...

    • Corkscrew

      Other articles where corkscrew is discussed: roller coaster: Introduction of steel coasters: …worked on the company's helix-shaped corkscrew coaster, which first appeared at Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, Calif.) in 1975. It added 360-degree rolls to the coaster design canon—the first inversion of the modern era. Toomer said, "A big part of the attraction of roller coasters is that ...

    • Roller Coaster

      roller coaster, elevated railway with steep inclines and descents that carries a train of passengers through sharp curves and sudden changes of speed and direction for a brief thrill ride. Found mostly in amusement parks as a continuous loop, it is a popular leisure activity.. Overview. On a traditional roller coaster, gravity powers much of the trip. The potential energy for the entire ride ...

  4. The first roller coaster was invented in Russia. Roller coasters have their origins in a form of ice sledding that became popular in Russia in the 15th century. An adaptation opened in 1784 in St. Petersburg that included carriages on grooved tracks. Further adaptations were made in the 19th century in France and in the United States that led ...
  5. By locking into the grooves of the ratchet rail, it prevents roller coasters from rolling backward should the lift chain break. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The safety chain dog system in roller coasters. How roller coasters stay on their tracks. Learn why railroads were so important during the American Civil War ...
  6. In roller coaster: Coney Island amusement park …Thompson's Switchback Railway, it was Phillip Hinkle's 1885 technological advancement that gave the industry a lift. The Hinkle coaster's route was elliptical and featured a powered hoist that pulled cars to the top of the first hill, making it a far more exciting ride than the slow-moving Switchback.
  7. Ron Toomer (born May 31, 1930, Pasadena, California, U.S.—died September 26, 2011, Bedford, Texas) was an American engineer and roller coaster designer who could be considered the sovereign of steel coasters. His work with Arrow Dynamics (founded as Arrow Development Company in 1946) brought to life such influential steel thrillers as the tubular track Runaway Mine Ride (1966), the inverted ...
  8. Other articles where amusement park is discussed: roller coaster: Coney Island amusement park: …American trolley companies were building amusement parks at the end of their lines to attract evening and weekend riders. The best-known trolley terminus was Coney Island in New York City, which became home to several competing theme parks inspired by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in ...
  9. Other articles where S&S-Arrow is discussed: roller coaster: Introduction of steel coasters: …Company (later Arrow Dynamics; now S&S-Arrow), led by Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon, to design the bobsled-style Matterhorn (1959), the first steel coaster. Tubular steel rails and nylon wheels expanded the possibilities of coaster design while making the rides themselves dramatically smoother.
  10. Other articles where corkscrew is discussed: roller coaster: Introduction of steel coasters: …worked on the company's helix-shaped corkscrew coaster, which first appeared at Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, Calif.) in 1975. It added 360-degree rolls to the coaster design canon—the first inversion of the modern era. Toomer said, "A big part of the attraction of roller coasters is that ...

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