Herbert Paul Schmeck (born 1890 in Reading, Pennsylvania, died 1956) was an American roller coaster designer. From 1923 to 1955, Schmeck designed 84 coasters for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. As a designer and president, the company became the most prominent manufacturer of roller coasters in the United States. [1] [2]
Schmeck originally worked as a carpenter for the Reading Furniture Works, before he was hired to work on a construction crew for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. He was offered more jobs when his work ethic impressed company owners. [3] He served as a foreman at Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in 1916. There he worked with designer John A. Miller on the construction of "The Giant Coaster." He continued to work with the Philadelphia Tobaggan Company assisting with the construction of coasters. Despite no formal training as an engineer, Schmeck learned to design rides by studying blueprints and with his construction knowledge. [3] In 1923 Schmeck designed his first coaster, the Wild Cat at Hersheypark. He later mentored John C. Allen. [1]
Two of his designs, Phoenix at Knoebels' Amusement Resort, and Comet at The Great Escape have frequently been honored as two of the top ten roller coasters. [1]
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A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are often found in amusement parks and theme parks around the world. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, related to the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. The track in a coaster design does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters demonstrate. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably Wild Mouse roller coasters, run with single cars.
Hersheypark is a family theme park in the eastern United States in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss, which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in the construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine, which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels, wooden roller coasters, toboggans and later, roller coaster trains.
Great Coasters International, Inc. is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, the company expanded beyond the United States and began building coasters in Europe and Asia. Günter Engelhardt GmbH handles the company's marketing rights in Europe. In addition to designing and building new roller coasters, GCI also refurbishes and re-tracks existing roller coasters, regardless of manufacturer.
Elitch Gardens was a family-owned seasonal amusement park, theater, and botanic garden in the West Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver, Colorado, United States, at 38th and Tennyson streets. For more than a century Elitch's was one of the most popular entertainment destinations in Colorado. It was nationally known for its luscious gardens, the Elitch Theatre, the Trocadero Ballroom, and the premier wooden roller coaster, Mister Twister. The park moved to downtown Denver in 1994 and later became Six Flags Elitch Gardens. The former location has been redeveloped.
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.
The Wild One is a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags America in Prince George's County, Maryland. It features a 450° spiral helix and a series of bunny hills that produce a significant amount of air time. The wooden coaster was previously known as Giant Coaster when it was located at Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts. It operated there from 1917 to 1984. It is the oldest coaster in any Six Flags park.
Comet is a wooden roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Hollow section of Hersheypark, next to Skyrush. Built in 1946 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the coaster features a double out and back track layout. When built it was jointly owned by Hershey Park and PTC. The maximum speed is 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).
Phoenix is a wooden roller coaster located at the Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Prior to its purchase by Knoebels, its relocation in the mid-1980s, it was operated under the name "The Rocket" at Playland Park in San Antonio, Texas.
Thunderhawk is a wooden roller coaster with an out-and-back layout located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Originally opening as The Coaster in 1924, Thunderhawk is the oldest operating roller coaster in the Cedar Fair chain and one of the oldest in the world still in operation. It was manufactured by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters and designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck, who studied under the legendary John A. Miller and went on to mentor another renowned designer, John C. Allen.
Wildcat's Revenge is an upcoming steel hybrid coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally constructed as a wooden roller coaster named Wildcat, it was the first roller coaster manufactured by Great Coasters International (GCI). It opened to the public on May 26, 1996, as the anchor attraction of the Midway America section of the park. The roller coaster cost $5.6 million was built on a 2-acre (0.81 ha) plot that had previously been used for parking. The ride traversed a 90-foot lift hill and twelve banked turns, subjecting riders to forces of up to 3.5 Gs. From 1998 to 2009, Wildcat ranked among the top 50 wooden roller coasters in the Golden Ticket Awards. Wildcat initially received critical acclaim, but it gained a negative reputation for its increasing roughness.
The Wild Cat, originally named The Joy Ride, was a wooden roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The roller coaster was constructed in 1923 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). Under an agreement between Hersheypark and PTC, Hersheypark leased the land the coaster occupied, while PTC owned and operated the coaster. The agreement was for 15 years, at which point they had the option to extend the contract. The contract was ultimately extended to 1945. The roller coaster operated from June 16, 1923, through September 1945. PTC and Hershey Park elected to close The Wild Cat and construct a new roller coaster in 1946.
Playland Park was an amusement park formerly located at 2222 North Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Playland Park opened in 1943 and was owned by Jimmy Johnson. Prior to this it operated as a small venue at Brackenridge Park ca. 1942. It was the original home of The Rocket, a popular wooden roller coaster. Ed Gaida, who lived at Playland Park and had access to records and archives, wrote a book about the park and Johnson.
Wildcat is a wooden roller coaster located at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut. It was built in 1927 and is the park's centerpiece. It is one of the world's oldest roller coasters still in operation at the same location. It greatly resembles the now-defunct Wildcat roller coaster at Elitch Gardens Theme Park in Denver. Wildcat has received the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) Coaster Landmark Award for its historical significance.
Chance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. The company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are located in Wichita, Kansas.
Known by a variety of names over its 101-year existence, Rocky Glen Park was a park near Moosic, Pennsylvania. Founded by Arthur Frothingham in 1886 as a picnic park, it was transformed into an amusement park by engineer and entrepreneur Frederick Ingersoll in 1904. The trolley park was a popular Pennsylvania attraction that featured rides, arcades, and restaurants – even as a "wild west" theme park in the 1970s – until its closure in 1987.
The Comet is a wooden roller coaster located at Waldameer Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. It was designed by Herbert Schmeck and built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1951. It is similar to other Schmeck-designed PTC junior wooden coasters which feature a layered, figure-8/oval layout. However, the Comet is taller than the previous junior wooden coaster designs. The Comet is an ACE Coaster Classic.
The history of Hersheypark begins with the founding of the town of Hershey in 1903. Milton Hershey, The owner of the Hershey Chocolate Company surveyed a nearby area of land, which was to become a leisure park for the employees of his chocolate company. People began visiting the grounds of the future park in 1904 and 1905, while the park's first pavilion was built in the fall of 1905. The park was formally opened on May 30, 1906, when it opened as Hershey Park. The park slowly added rides until 1923, when the first roller coaster, the Wild Cat, was built. From then on, rides were regularly added, except during World War II. The park was redeveloped into Hersheypark in 1970, through a multi-phase project. Since then, it has added ten roller coasters, expanded to over 110 acres, and features many other attractions including shows with sea lions, well-known acts including Weird Al Yankovic and Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in the Hersheypark Amphitheater, and a short-lived laser light show.