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The first roller coaster built in America was the Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway that was put up in Coney Island in 1884. It only went 6 mph, but it was such a hit that the builder recovered his investment in less than a month.

The Cyclone, also at Coney Island was built in 1927 with an 85 foot drop and 60 degree angles. No wonder it is still considered the “gold standard” in coaster design. The first tubular steel coaster was the Matterhorn Bobsled Ride built at Disneyland in 1959. They were quieter and allowed corkscrews and other tricks you couldn’t get with a wooden coaster.

But wooden coasters have remained popular, being built ever higher. The coaster is actually put together on the ground and then the pieces are put in place with cranes, where they are then bolted together. Wooden ties are then added as cross braces to connect the sections together sturdily.The construction of wooden roller coasters is an interesting process. It involves cutting many, many pieces of wood to the correct length. Special fire inhibiting adhesive is spread by a caulk tube in between the layers of lumber to inhibit the spread of a fire anywhere on the coaster.

In the building phase, the sections that are last to be needed are built first, and then the next-to-last sections are constructed and layered on top of them so that the last sections to be needed will be on the bottom of the pile and at the top of the pile are the pieces that are needed first.

One reason coasters are still made from wood is that, a structure with no give to it would cause the rails to wear unevenly and have to be replaced more often. Wood also allows the structure to have an opportunity to move and stretch as the train goes by. In sharp curves where G-forces maximize, this bit of flexibility is necessary to keep the cars from shaking too much or riders to be injured by excessive forces. The track itself is then made from 2 x 12 and 2 x 10 boards laminated (layered) on top of each other. The first layer is secured, and then additional layers are nailed into each lower layer. The ends are staggered to overlap each other to ensure sufficient track strength.

Andrea Smith is a freelance writer and Theme Park enthusiast from the UK. She writes for Techy Zone about roller coasters, thrill rides and theme parks in the UK.

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