A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements designed to produce a thrilling experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters first appeared in the 17th century, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island.
A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to an upright position. Early forms of inversions were circular in nature and date back to 1848 on the Centrifugal railway in Paris. These vertical loops produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders. As a result, the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975, designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Elements have since evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such as Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster with 14.
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.
Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (1946–1981) and Arrow Huss (1981–1986), which were responsible for several influential advancements in the amusement and theme park industries. Among the most significant was tubular steel track, which provided a smoother ride than the railroad style rails commonly used prior to the 1960s on wooden roller coasters. The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, built in 1959, was Arrow's first roller coaster project.
The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is a steel roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Designed by Ron Toomer and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the public on 28 May 1994 as the tallest and steepest roller coaster in the world, featuring a height of 213 feet (65 m) and a drop angle of 65 degrees. It held the title as the tallest until 1996 when Fujiyama opened in Japan. Construction of the ride cost £12 million. The ride was sponsored by Pepsi until 2011, at which time Pepsi Max was removed from the name.
Southport Pleasureland is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The park originally operated from 1913 to 2006 as Pleasureland Theme Park under the ownership of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach company. In 2007, the park re-opened under the ownership of Norman Wallis.
The Grand National is a wooden roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool, Lancashire in the United Kingdom. It was designed and constructed by American engineer Charles Paige in 1935 and is now one of two surviving wooden Möbius Loop roller coasters in the world. Grand National is the only surviving twin-track roller coaster in Britain in which two cars race against one another. This ride has an individual lap bar and seatbelts as the restraints.
Frontierland Western Theme Park was a theme park in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, situated on Marine Road West, which operated from 1906 to 7 November 1999, with a final year consisting of only travelling rides in 2000. Frontierland originally operated as West End Amusement Park, Fun City and Morecambe Pleasure Park from 1906 to 1986 before being transformed into Frontierland for the 1987 season, in an attempt to defeat dwindling visitor numbers.
The Suspended Looping Coaster is a model of steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma. There are at least 39 different installations across the world. The minimum rider height requirement is 130 centimetres. Vekoma is now marketing a Suspended Thrill Coaster as a successor to the Suspended Looping Coaster. The Odyssey is the largest, fastest and tallest SLC ever built at Fantasy Island in the UK.
Revolution, formerly Irn Bru Revolution, is an Arrow Development shuttle roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Resort. It was Europe's first fully looping roller coaster. The ride consists of two raised sections of track with a vertical loop in the centre. The train is launched off the first raised platform, into the loop, and up onto the second platform, where it repeats the process in reverse. As a result of the design, riders are required to climb a series of stairs to get to the loading station. Until the introduction of Infusion, it was the park's only looping coaster.
Big Dipper is a wooden out and back roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Resort, Blackpool, England. Originally built in 1923, it was extended in 1936 and was designated as a Grade II listed building on 19 April 2017. It operates with two trains, each containing three four-bench cars, seating two people per bench. After Scenic Railway, Big Dipper is the second-oldest in-use rollercoaster in Britain. The ride has 1 lapbar per row.
Corkscrew is a steel roller coaster at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan. It was manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Corkscrew was the park's first roller coaster during the Deer Park days.
Avalanche is a steel bobsled roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool, England. It is the first and, as of 2022, the only bobsled roller coaster in the United Kingdom. It was designed for the park by Mack of Germany in 1988.
Clown Coaster is a children's steel coaster manufactured by Pinfari that opened at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in October 2011. It previously operated in the Beaver Creek section of Pleasure Beach Blackpool from 1995 to 2008 as Circus Clown. The theming of the ride was a ride through a circus with Morgan the Clown. Prior to relocating to Pleasure Beach, Circus Clown operated for a season at Harbour Park.
Blue Flyer is a Wooden roller coaster at Nickelodeon Land, Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool, England. It was built in 1934. It is believed to have been built by Charlie Paige. It is a family coaster.
Knightmare was a custom roller coaster at the now defunct Camelot Theme Park in Chorley, Lancashire, United Kingdom. It was built by Zierer and designed by Anton Schwarzkopf.
Pleasure Beach Resort, formerly known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. The park was founded in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and his partner John Outhwaite. The current managing director is Amanda Thompson.
ICON is a launched roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Manufactured by Mack Rides of Germany, the ride opened on 25 May 2018 at a total cost of £16.25 million. The ride is the first multi-launch roller coaster in the United Kingdom, and the first brand new rollercoaster at the park in 16 years. It uses a series of linear magnetic synchronous motors to propel and slow the trains along the track.
A Launched Loop is a type of steel launched shuttle roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. With 8 different installations, 7 of them being relocated at least once, the ride was introduced in 1977, with the last one opening in 1993.
