From humble beginnings to dominating modern theme park skylines, roller coasters are steeped with a rich history of technical advancements. Here’s a timeline of many highlights that influenced the development of roller coasters throughout the years.
On April 14, 1979 The Beast opened at Kings Island in Ohio, USA, as the world’s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster. Featuring more than 1.4 miles (2.25 km) of track, it remains the longest wooden coaster to this day.
King Kobra opened at Kings Dominion in Virginia, USA, as the world’s first launched roller coaster. Using a 50-ton counterweight, the coaster train was launched at speeds of 53 mph (85 km/h) to go through a vertical loop and travel up a vertical spike, to then reverse and travel backwards through the course.
Hot on the heels of Arrow Dynamics, Schwarzkopf partnered with roller coaster designer Intamin to build Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, USA. The coaster opened on May 8, 1976 and featured the first clothoid loop, which produced fewer intense g-forces than a circular vertical loop.
Focused on continuing to push the boundaries of steel roller coaster design, Arrow Dynamics debuted the first modern inversion at Knott’s Berry Farm in California, USA, with the Corkscrew. This coaster featured two back-to-back corkscrew inversions. The iconic coaster has since been relocated to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho, USA.
Roller coasters reentered as the focus of amusement parks with the opening of Kings Island in Ohio, USA, which featured The Racer. This was the first amusement park to use a coaster as a central attraction, a model which was subsequently copied to other parks around the world.
Werner Stengel first worked with Anton Schwarzkopf in 1963 to help design the first few Schwarzkopf roller coasters. Stengel recognized how important design was to the coaster industry, which encouraged him to found his own Engineering firm in 1965. In total, Stengel Engineering (now Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH) has designed over 450 coasters; so much so that an estimated 3/4 of the world’s top steel coasters had direct involvement from Stengel Engineering.
Walt Disney, inspired by the live-action film Third Man on the Mountain, opened Matterhorn Bobsleds, a mountain-themed toboggan coaster at Disneyland in California, USA. The steel track design was the first of its kind, using a tubular design that allowed for train wheels to maintain closer contact with the track, creating a smoother ride.
Nightmare opened at Joyland in Kansas, USA, as John C. Allen’s first roller coaster. Allen would go on to design many beloved wooden coasters including Blue Streak at Cedar Point and Racer at Kings Island in Ohio, USA.
Following up on his 1926 patent, former British aviator John Norman Bartlett worked with John A. Miler to design and build Flying Turns, a Bobsled Coaster where the train free wheels through a trough (a.k.a chute), at Lakeside Park in Ohio, USA. Instead of sitting side-by-side, riders sit in a single row behind one other, similar to athletes in a bobsleigh. Flying Turns at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania, USA opened in 2013, some 40 years after the last Bartlett model was destroyed.
During the economic high times of the roaring twenty’s, there was a massive explosion of roller coasters, with more than 300 built throughout the decade. Many of these were based on John A Miller’s new Upstop Wheel design that ensured the train would stay on the track, allowing for more aggressive track layouts.