A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel track,which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs,supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely on wheels made of polyurethane or nylon to keep each train car anchored to the track. The introduction of tubular steel drastically changed roller coaster innovation,allowing for greater speeds,higher drops,and more intense elements such as inversions.
An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars,letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster was pioneered by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger &Mabillard in the early 1990s with the development of Batman:The Ride,which opened at Six Flags Great America on May 9,1992.
A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster where passengers aboard a train stand throughout the course of the ride. The first manufacturer to employ the format was TOGO,a Japanese company that converted two traditional roller coasters in 1982 to stand-up configurations. Arrow Dynamics followed suit in the United States the following year with their own conversion. The first roller coaster designed from the ground up as a stand-up coaster was King Cobra,built by TOGO,which opened at Kings Island in 1984. Intamin and Bolliger &Mabillard (B&M) have also designed stand-up models beginning in the 1990s,with the latest opening in 2023 as Pipeline:The Surf Coaster in SeaWorld Orlando,which was the first stand up roller coaster built since 1999's Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH,a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs around the world.
Bolliger &Mabillard,officially Bolliger &Mabillard Consulting Engineers,Inc. and often abbreviated B&M,is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey,Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard,both of whom had worked for Giovanola.
A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least 200 feet (61 m). The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster,Magnum XL-200,which features a height of 205 feet. The next hypercoaster,Pepsi Max Big One,opened five years later at Blackpool Pleasure Beach featuring a height of 213 feet (65 m).
Superman:Escape from Krypton,originally known as Superman:The Escape,is a steel shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia,California. At the time of its opening in 1997,it was the tallest roller coaster in the world,a title which it lost to Top Thrill Dragster in 2003 and regained in 2024 with the closure of the then-tallest coaster,Kingda Ka. Its maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) was tied for the fastest with Tower of Terror II,a similar roller coaster which opened two months earlier at Dreamworld in Australia. Both were the first to utilize Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) launch technology to propel vehicles,although the intended opening date in 1996 at Magic Mountain was postponed due to issues with the launch system.
Green Lantern,formerly known as Chang,was a stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township,New Jersey. Green Lantern stood 155 feet (47 m) tall and featured a top speed of 63 miles per hour (101 km/h). The 4,155-foot-long (1,266 m) ride featured five inversions and had a duration of approximately 21⁄2 minutes. The steel coaster was designed and built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger &Mabillard.
El Toro is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township,New Jersey. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Intamin,the ride opened to the public on June 11,2006. Intamin subcontracted Rocky Mountain Construction to build the ride,and the coaster's track was prefabricated,allowing for quicker installation and lower construction costs. El Toro is the main attraction of the Mexican-themed section of the park,Plaza Del Carnaval. It replaced another roller coaster,Viper,which closed following the 2004 season.
A fourth-dimension roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster where riders are rotated independently of the track's orientation about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the track. This feature allows riders to experience inversions without the track rotating upside down. Some fourth-dimension roller coasters are controlled,with seats that rotate based on the spacing of two additional rails on the track. Others are free-spinning,where the seats flip primarily due to forces exerted by the ride's elements,offering a different experience during each ride.
Flashback was a steel roller coaster made by Intamin of Switzerland. The coaster was located in the Six Flags Plaza area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia,California. The model of the ride,a Space Diver coaster,was intended to be mass-produced,however,Flashback was the only installation.
A bobsled roller coaster is a roller coaster that uses a track design that is essentially a "pipe" with the top half removed and has cars that are sent down this pipe in a freewheeling mode. The name derives from the great similarity to the track design used for the winter sport of bobsleigh.
La Vibora was a steel bobsled roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington,Texas,United States. The roller coaster had operated at the park from 1986 to 2024.
Ultra Twister was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure from 1986 to 1988 and then at Six Flags AstroWorld from 1990 until that park was closed and demolished by Six Flags in 2005. The ultratwister-design is that of a pipeline roller coaster,created by Japanese company TOGO.
Batman The Escape was a stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston,Texas,United States. Manufactured by Intamin,the ride featured one inversion and originally opened as Shockwave at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1986. After briefly operating at Six Flags Great Adventure,it was moved a second time to AstroWorld,where it reopened in 1993 as Batman The Escape. The coaster operated there until the park's permanent closure in 2005. The track was eventually moved to Six Flags Darien Lake,placed into storage,and never reassembled.
An Impulse roller coaster is a form of a launched inverted roller coaster manufactured by Intamin. The first Impulse roller coaster appeared in Japan,and the ride type has since evolved to include four specific layouts,three of these varieties being built in the United States. It uses LIMs to launch a train out of the station and up a vertical spiral. The train then falls backward,is powered again through the station,and heads up a back tower. The train then falls forward,and continues in this fashion for a total of 2½cycles per ride. On the final forward launch,with a slightly reduced speed,the train is sent up the front tower,and brakes then deploy on the launch track. The train then slows down and heads back into the station.
Wing Coaster is engineering firm Bolliger &Mabillard’s designation for its winged roller coaster designs. Winged roller coasters are a type of steel roller coaster where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which nothing is above or below the riders. B&M began development on the first Wing Coaster between 2007 and 2008 leading to the opening of Raptor at Gardaland on 1 April 2011. There were eighteen B&M-designed Wing Coasters either under construction or operating worldwide as of 2024,with one more standing but not operating.
Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) is a manufacturing and construction company based in Hayden,Idaho,United States. It is best known for its I-Box track and Topper Track for wooden roller coasters. Founded by Fred Grubb and Suanne Dedmon in 2001,it has built over 20 roller coasters. In 2023,amusement ride manufacturer Larson International merged with it.
Martin &Vleminckx Ltd. is a thrill ride and roller coaster manufacturing and construction company headquartered in Montreal,Québec,Canada with an affiliated office in Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada,a manufacturing facility in Orlando,Florida,United States,and two subsidiaries,including a warehouse in China.
