A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. People 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.
Oaks Park is a small amusement park located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The park opened in May 1905 and is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the country.
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.
Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View. Arrow was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman and Edgar Morgan. Originally located at 243 Moffett Boulevard, they relocated to a larger facility at 1555 Plymouth Street after Walt Disney Productions purchased one third of Arrow in 1960. They also had offices at 820 Huff Avenue.
Ronald Valentine Toomer was an American roller coaster designer credited for designing 93 roller coasters around the world. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1961 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was a part of the design team responsible for the Apollo spacecraft heat shield.
The Royal Melbourne Show is an agricultural show held at Melbourne Showgrounds every September. It is organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and has been running since 1848. Each year Royal Melbourne Show attracts attendances of up to half a million people.
A 4th Dimension roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster whereby riders are rotated independently of the orientation of the track, generally about a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the track. The cars do not necessarily need to be fixed to an angle.
Iron Dragon is a steel suspended roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Built in 1987 by Arrow Dynamics, it is located in the Celebration Plaza section of the park.
The Bat was a suspended roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. Designed by Arrow Development, the ride was billed as the first and only suspended roller coaster in the world when it opened to the public on April 26, 1981. The model took several years to develop and was considered a prototype by Arrow. Though the ride was very popular, it was plagued with mechanical problems and frequent closures that led to a short lifespan. The ride was permanently closed in 1983 after only three seasons and removed from the park in April 1985.
The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the town of North Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, New York, US.
The Myrtle Beach Pavilion was a historic pay-per-ride, no parking fee, 11-acre amusement park that was located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the corner of 9th Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard. It was just a few blocks down from another Myrtle Beach amusement park, the Family Kingdom Amusement Park; both in the "heart" of Myrtle Beach. "The Pavilion" had well over 40 different attractions for kids and thrill-seekers alike, and included the wooden rollercoaster Hurricane: Category 5. Despite all the best efforts made by citizens to save the park, it was lost to redevelopment in 2007. While the park was officially closed and became a vacant lot on 9th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in 2007, some of the rides and attractions were moved to Broadway at the Beach. Broadway at the Beach and the land at 9th Avenue are both owned by Burroughs & Chapin.
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, later simply known as Morgan, was a manufacturer of roller coaster trains, custom amusement rides, roller coasters, children's rides and other amusement devices. Founded in 1983, the company was originally headquartered in Scotts Valley, California. In 1991, the company moved to La Selva Beach, California and into a new 55,000 square-foot indoor manufacturing facility that also featured an acre of outdoor space. That facility was later increased to 75,000 square feet. The company produced a variety of rides from 1983 until 2001, but is probably best known for its steel hyper coasters.
DelGrosso's Park is a family-oriented amusement park located in Tipton, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Altoona, Pennsylvania. The park was purchased by the DelGrosso family in 1946 and was named "Bland's Park" until 2000. In 2000, the DelGrosso family decided to change its name to "DelGrosso's Amusement Park." The park is known for its family-friendly ride line-up, food, and games as well as free parking. The park hosts picnics and special music events in its pavilion/picnic area.
Corkscrew is an Arrow Development prototype Corkscrew roller coaster located at Silverwood Theme Park. Ten exact replicas of this same design were produced 1975–1979 at other scattered parks, followed by numerous other installations around the world featuring updated supports. After being sold as the prototype, this corkscrew originally operated at Knott's Berry Farm from 1975–89. Developed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, a Utah-based design firm, the "Corkscrew" was the first modern steel inverting roller coaster open to the public, with identical models opening at three other parks days later.
White Swan Park was a small amusement park on the border of Moon and Findlay townships in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh that operated from 1955 to 1989. It was located on the Penn-Lincoln Parkway West at McClaren Road, just 1½ miles south of the old Greater Pittsburgh International Airport site.
Mad Mouse is a steel roller coaster located at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan. It was manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Mad Mouse was the park's second steel roller coaster. Mad Mouse has blue track and yellow supports. It is also the tallest wild mouse roller coaster. The coaster was built on a location within the park that was previously used as the park's main entrance.
The Gold Coaster is a steel roller coaster operating at Dreamworld. The roller coaster is one of the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere, after originally being the tallest when it was first built. Designed by Arrow Dynamics, built in Melbourne by Able Leisure Pty. Ltd the ride was originally installed at Luna Park Sydney in 1995 as the Big Dipper before being sold and relocated to Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in 2001. When it was brought to Dreamworld, the ride was the first roller coaster to be opened on the Gold Coast since 1997. The roller coaster was named Cyclone from 2001 until 2015 when it was refurbished and named Hot Wheels SideWinder as part of the new Motorsport Experience themed land from 2015 to 2020.
Alan Schilke is an engineer and roller coaster designer based in Hayden, Idaho, United States. He first made his mark on the industry by designing the 4th Dimension roller coaster, X², while working with Arrow Dynamics. Schilke now works as a design engineer at Ride Centerline LLC and occasionally works with Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC).
