Harry Traver built the perhaps one of the most famous roller
coasters of all time, the Crystal Beach Cyclone. This wooden coaster reached
speeds of about 60 mph, and reached 4 maximum vertical G forces, in 1927.
Picture Courtesy of Coaster-net.com
The Puritas Springs Cyclone was known as one of the best terrain coasters ever
built, boasting a great low lying out and back design, complete with a turn
around at the top edge of a cliff.
Picture Courtesy of Coaster-net.com
The Blue Streak in Woodcliffe Pleasure Park debuted as the world's tallest (127
feet) and fastest (65.5 mph) roller coaster. It held these records from 1928 to
1977, over 30 years after the coaster was sadly demolished.
Picture Courtesy of Coasterglobe.com
George Ferris imagined, designed and eventually built the first
Ferris wheel. The wheel stood 264 feet tall, higher than most in operation
today.
The very first computer was invented in 1936 by Konrad Zuse, and that was merely
a calculator. That would have to mean that, the roller coasters and rides
mentioned above were drawn out, built and operating long before the word
computer was acknowledged. Which brings a few questions about: How did they
manage without the modern technology of today?
A roller coaster in today's up to date world is designed in many different
computer programs, put together to calculate what can and cannot happen, what is
thrilling and what isn't.
The roller coasters of the golden age took a lot more than a few clicks of a
mouse and half dozen cups of coffee. It took countless hours and millions of
calculations (with pencil and paper, not calculators) patience, great
mathematical skill, but most importantly it took vision.
Without programs that three dimensionally render a design, you are left with
your own imagination, or as some proved, things in nature. George Ferris stared
at the waterwheel outside of his house for years before drawing the first plans
for the biggest Ferris wheel ever created, in 1883. Fred Church designed his
classic Aeroplane Coaster in 1928 based on the motion of a plane tail spinning
out of control. The coaster was symmetrically perfect, with pacing that has
still been untouched to this day.
Picture Courtesy of Coaster-net.com
Trial and error also played a big role in the golden age. This term is nearly
extinct in the computer era, but back then, there was no other way to test your
design, than to truly test, your design. You build, you ride, and you fix
mechanical errors. If a segment of the track needed more support, you added them
in along the way. In today's society, such a thing is unheard of.
Today, thanks to these technological advances, we have roller coasters beyond
imagination. That is, beyond imagination, and more towards the record books.
Take our very own Kingda Ka for instance. Harry Traver would have laughed for
hours if you told him a roller coaster would some day exceed heights of 400
feet. And I am sure we are not done with the height barrier. We have rides that
invert ten times, we have rides that break 100 mph. Almost every roller coaster
built in the past ten years that isn't a clone, has held some kind of record.
Sure, a record is wonderful to boast. But what happened to those rides that were
built to ride for years and years! The rider ship on Kingda Ka will surely
plummet when the record is eventually broken. No longer will Six Flags Great
Adventure be able to boast two world records, and that will surely hurt its
publicity. A ride like the Aeroplane Coaster, which boasted a brilliant ride,
not a brilliant record, would surely please for years.
It is amazing what guys like Harry Traver, Fred Church, and even George Ferris
accomplished without any equipment necessary to build anything today. These men
came up with an idea, and went for it. They didn't care about the records up for
grabs, they just wanted to built a magnificent ride, that people around the
world would want to come and see.
Special thanks to
Coasterglobe.com and Coaster-net.com
for the pictures
Inspired by an article in ACE's
Rollercoaster