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The Scenic Railway at Luna Park in Melbourne, Australia,

is the world’s second oldest continually operating roller coaster, built in 1912

L

ong considered the “bread and butter” of the theme park industry, the year 2010 marks the 125th anniversary of the world’s first roller coaster

patent. Now, as this core attractions sector continues to grow and diversify, Adrian Lennox takes a look back at how these track-based amusements have developed over the years and what manufacturers believe will happen to the roller coaster sector in the future

THE roller coaster, perhaps more than any other amusement attraction, embodies everything a theme park sets out to achieve: imposing grandeur, unbridled excitement and the ability to take visitors to the dizzy heights of excess. So synonymous has the roller coaster sector become

with the world theme park industry that it would be hard to imagine even the humblest of venues without some kind of coaster ride - let alone those sprawling mixed-use venues, for which the latest generation of high-tech mega- installations act as a totem of sorts, presiding over the guests and tempting them to push the envelope of human experience just that little bit further. The history of the roller coaster can be traced back to

basic ice slides constructed in 17th century Russia. Becoming popular with the upper classes around Saint Petersburg, the “rides” were built to heights of around 21 m, consisted

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of a 50-degree drop and were reinforced by wooden supports. Across the Atlantic in the early 19th century, a mining company in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, constructed the Mauch Chunk gravity railroad, a brakeman-controlled, 14km downhill track used to deliver coal to a nearby town. By the 1850s, the “Gravity Road” - as it became known - was providing rides to thrill-seekers for 50 cents a time. However, it was not until LaMarcus Adna Thompson came onto the scene that the first true roller coasters began to flood the burgeoning US attractions market. In 1884, Thompson, an inventor and businessman from Ohio, opened the Switchback Railway at Coney Island in New York. Passengers climbed to the top of a platform and rode a bench-like car down the 180m track up to the top of another tower where the vehicle was switched to a return track and the passengers took the return trip. Thompson

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