A powered roller coaster is a roller coaster

Roller coaster

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 which relies on a motor in the train to complete the course, often replacing a traditional chain lift hill. This allows for both compact layouts that start out with curving hills, or long, extended layouts that would need too many lifts to be feasible. The most common manufacturers of powered coasters are Mack

MACK Rides

Mack Rides is a German company that designs and constructs roller coasters. The family that owns the company also owns Europa Park.-History:The creation of the Mack company goes back to 1780, by Paul Mack, when he started building carriages. The Mack company started to design roller coasters in 1920....

, Wisdom Rides, and Zamperla

Zamperla

Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....

. Due to the family-oriented nature of the rides, height restrictions can be as little as 36 inches or taller for someone to ride.

The most common model of powered coasters is the Zamperla Dragon coasters (also called "Dragon Wagons," although there are non-powered versions of these coasters). Other installations include Casey Junior, Le Petit Train du Cirque at Disneyland Park (Paris)

Disneyland Park (Paris)

Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...

 (built by Vekoma

Vekoma

Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V. is a roller coaster and thrill ride designer with its facilities based in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld under the name "Veld Koning Machinefabriek" and had first manufactured agricultural machinery and mining equipment...

), Thunder Run

Thunder Run

Thunder Run is a unique powered roller coaster, themed after a runaway mine train, found at Canada's Wonderland, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Rather than having a traditional chain lift hill, the train has an electric motor onboard...

 at Canada's Wonderland, Runaway Mine Train

Runaway Mine Train (Alton Towers)

The Runaway Mine Train is a powered steel roller coaster made by MACK Rides of Germany. The ride is located in the Katanga Canyon area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England....

 at Alton Towers

Alton Towers

Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...

 and High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride at Islands of Adventure

Islands of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...

.

The train on a powered coaster usually picks up electricity from contacts in the rails (similar to an electric locomotive

Electric locomotive

An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...

 or a monorail

Monorail

A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...

) and may contain multiple motors. Some powered coasters are powered by a flexible cable connected to the train. Another component of powered coasters is an extra "track" in the center of the rails. This allows the motor(s) to "grip" the track and propel the train forward.

A powered coaster generally runs a single train and may traverse the circuit multiple times before stopping at the station.

A very rare Powered Coaster can be found at Camelot Theme Park

Camelot Theme Park

Camelot Theme Park is a resort and theme park located in the English county of Lancashire. It is based on the legend of Camelot. It is located on a site near the village of Charnock Richard, west of Chorley. The site is owned by The Story Group, and operated by Knights Leisure...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The "Dragon Flyer" ride has diesel engine in the front of the themed dragon and is driven around the roller coaster track by the Ride Staff.

Due to the trains not being powered by gravity, many roller coaster enthusiasts do not count powered coasters as part of their "track record" also known as "credits".

Members of the showmen's guild may also hire smaller powered coasters to travel with them whenever they present a funfair. Powered coasters that travel with funfairs are usually slightly smaller, but to make up for this, they circuit the track more.

Model types

• Zamperla
  Zamperla
  Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....
  
   - Dragon Coaster
• Wisdom Rides - Orient Express

Appearances

• Santa's Village AZoosment Park as "Dracor, the Dragon Coaster" (Zamperla - Dragon Coaster) (1986-2006) and "Dragon Coaster" (Wisdon Rides - DOrient Express) (2011-Present)