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Physics-Rollercoaster

THE RUSSIAN MOUNTAINS
The first "scream machines" were not out-of-control trains but sleds on man-made ice-covered hills constructed of cut lumber and tree trunks. Elaborate constructions often stretching several city blocks, the 50 mile-per-hour rides earned the nickname "Flying Mountains." Children and adults would make the tedious trek up 70 feet (five stories) of stairs and climb into an ice-block sled outfitted with a straw seat. The trip back down lasted little more than a few fleeting seconds.
Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway
Whereas the Russian Mountains is usually credited as the first wheeled coaster, the Switchback in 1784 at St. Petersburg is perhaps more worthy of the crown. Carriages in grooved tracks traveled up and down small hills powered by the height and slope of the initial descent. Almost 50 years later, the first tracks were laid for the American predecessor of the roller coaster, the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Pennsylvania.
Coney Island
It began in 1884, when La Marcus Thompson, the "Father of the Gravity Ride," opened a 600-foot switchback railway at Coney Island. With a top speed of six miles per hour, Thompson's ride was little more than a leisurely, gravity-powered tour of the beach. Still, its popularity enabled him to recoup his $1,600 investment in only three weeks.
Within a few months, however, Thompson's monopoly on Coney Island coasters was over. Charles Alcoke also built a slow scenic railway, connecting the ends of the track in a continuous loop in order to return riders to their starting position. Although the Alcoke coaster raised the bar, challenging the attendance records of Thompson's Switchback Railway, it was Phillip Hinkle's 1885 technological advancement that gave the whole industry a lift. The Hinkle coaster 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.

HISTORY OF ROLLER COASTER INNOVATIONS
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