Wooden rollercoasters have existed since the early 19th century. Since the 1920s, the track construction method has changed very little. It is essentially made by laminating layers of pine into an L- shape, keeping the cars locked onto the track. It is a process that is carried out by hand and in situ. You might think that wooden rollercoasters are outdated relics compared to today's high tech steel coasters but this is not the case. wooden rollercoasters are a completely different kind of ride experience offering a more character-full out of control feeling. Pictured above is Phoenix, it dates back to 1948 and is considered by many to be a wooden rollercoaster classic as thrilling as any modern equivalent.
Despite the apparent simplicity of wooden construction, building the track requires a great understanding of the material and a lot of skill. knowing the characteristics of the material and its limits is essential when designing the ride and can only be learned through experience.
One company that is built on experience is Great Coasters International. They are a modern wooden rollercoaster company started in 1994 by Mike Boodley, an engineer who had worked for another fledgling company Custom Coasters International and Clair Hain who had earned a reputation as a master of wooden track fabrication. This was at a time when parks had little interest in wooden rollercoasters as they were not seen as marketable. However, Boodley and Hain were convinced that there was a place for the wooden rollercoaster in the modern amusement park.
GCI took their knowledge and traditional techniques and combined it with the latest in modern engineering practices such as CAD and FEA. The result was a distinctive style of twister coaster which is smooth, fast paced and flowing. Today, GCI are a well established company employing 14 people. They are credited with reviving the wooden rollercoaster along with rival company CCI. They have sold rollercoasters all around the world including China.
However, there may be a new threat to traditional wooden coaster which comes in the form of Rocky Mountain Construction's Topper Track. This is a new track style which combines elements of steel coaster and wooden coaster construction. It is prefabricated in a factory and pieced together on site. This new track system offers a wooden rollercoaster at a reasonable price but with much fewer maintenance requirements than with traditional construction.
This new track style is allowing contorted manoeuvres to be possible that were inconceivable a few years ago in wood or steel. It has proven to be very popular with Rocky Mountain's order book rapidly filling.
One company that is built on experience is Great Coasters International. They are a modern wooden rollercoaster company started in 1994 by Mike Boodley, an engineer who had worked for another fledgling company Custom Coasters International and Clair Hain who had earned a reputation as a master of wooden track fabrication. This was at a time when parks had little interest in wooden rollercoasters as they were not seen as marketable. However, Boodley and Hain were convinced that there was a place for the wooden rollercoaster in the modern amusement park.
GCI took their knowledge and traditional techniques and combined it with the latest in modern engineering practices such as CAD and FEA. The result was a distinctive style of twister coaster which is smooth, fast paced and flowing. Today, GCI are a well established company employing 14 people. They are credited with reviving the wooden rollercoaster along with rival company CCI. They have sold rollercoasters all around the world including China.
Wood Coaster, a GCI coaster at Knight Valley near Shenzhen
This new track style is allowing contorted manoeuvres to be possible that were inconceivable a few years ago in wood or steel. It has proven to be very popular with Rocky Mountain's order book rapidly filling.
The twisted double barrel roll finale of Silver Dollar City's Outlaw Run
Whilst there is no doubt these developments are hugely exciting, I hope that parks continue to buy rollercoasters built in the traditional method as they offer a ride experience unlike anything else.
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