Side friction roller coaster

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The scenic railway ride at Luna Park, Melbourne has been running since 1912. The brakeman stands between the two carriages.

A side friction roller coaster is an early roller coaster design that does not have an extra set of wheels under the track to prevent cars from becoming airborne. Before the invention of up-stop wheels, coaster cars were built to run in a trough, with wheels under the car and side plates to help keep the cars on the track. Because the cars were not firmly anchored and could derail if they took a corner too fast, the largest side friction coasters required a brakeman to ride on the train and slow it down when necessary.

The invention of up-stop wheels in the 1920s allowed much more scope for height and speed in coaster designs, leaving side friction coasters to quickly fall out of favor. Only two have been built since World War II, and none since 1951. Today, there are only nine left in the world. Seven of them are located in Europe, one in Australia, and one in North America. A tenth one that had been "standing but not operating," since 2003, the "Runaway Coaster" at the defunct Rotunda amusement park in Kent, England, was demolished on April 5, 2007.

[edit] List of operating side friction roller coasters

• Leap the Dips at Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA, USA, the world's oldest operating roller coaster. It opened in 1902, and after being closed for several years, was restored and re-opened in 1999.
• The Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne in Australia, the world's oldest continuously operating roller coaster, functional since 1912.
• Rutschebanen (the name literally means "The Roller Coaster") at Tivoli Gardens in Denmark. Opened in 1914.
• The Scenic Railway at Dreamland Margate in Kent, England. Opened in 1920, and given Grade II "listed" status by English Heritage (the equivalent of a national historic landmark in the United States). The Scenic Railway's survival is under threat despite its historic significance, as the owners of Dreamland have closed the park and want to redevelop the land.
• The Hullámvasút at Vidámpark in Budapest, Hungary. Built in 1922, opened in 1926, after it was set on fire, this is the oldest operating roller coaster in Central Europe.
• The Roller Coaster at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach in Norfolk, England. Opened in Paris in 1929, and moved to Norfolk in 1932.
• Rutschebanen (the name literally means "The Roller Coaster") at Dyrehavsbakken in Denmark. Opened in 1932.
• The Hochschaubahn at Wurstelprater in Vienna, Austria. Opened in 1950 as a replacement for the original, which was destroyed during World War II.
• Vuoristorata at Linnanmäki in Helsinki, Finland. Opened in 1951. To date, this is the last side friction coaster ever built.

[edit] External links

• An article on the remaining side friction coasters
• The "Save Dreamland" web site, a campaign to preserve the park and its side friction coaster.

[edit] Videos

• Leap The Dips On-Ride Video
• Rutschebanen On-Ride Video (Tivoli)
• Dreamland Scenic Railway On-Ride Video