Shuttle roller coaster
Encyclopedia
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...
that ultimately does not make a complete circuit, but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards. These are sometimes referred to as boomerang roller coasters, due to the ubiquity of 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...
's Boomerang
Boomerang (roller coaster)
Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians...
coaster model.
Early history
The first shuttle coasters were in fact the first roller coasters ever built. Inspired by the so-called "Russian MountainsRussian Mountains
Russian rollercoaster were a predecessor to the roller coaster.The earliest roller coasters were descended from Russian winter sled rides held on specially constructed hills of ice, sometimes up to 200 feet tall...
," these wheeled cars built on tracks found popularity in the early 19th century in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In 1884, the Switchback Railway
Switchback railway
The original Switchback Railway at Coney Island was the first roller coaster designed as an amusement ride in America. It was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and constructed in 1884. It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a...
opened at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, and consisted of a car that traveled on two tracks between two towers. It was the first roller coaster designed as an amusement ride in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
First launched shuttle coasters
The first two launchedLaunched roller coaster
The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster which has increased in use in the last decade. In place of a traditional chain lift, the launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or series of Linear Induction Motors , Linear Synchronous Motors ,...
shuttle coaster designs were introduced in 1977 by competitors Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...
and Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs....
.
Arrow's first Launched Loop coasters were Black Widow (now closed) at Six Flags New England
Six Flags New England
Six Flags New England , formerly Riverside Amusement Park, is a Six Flags theme park, named for the New England region, in which it is located. Located off of Massachusetts State Route 159, Six Flags New England is located less than from the major City of Springfield, Massachusetts, in the nearby...
, Demon (also closed) at Kings Island
Kings Island
Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. Opened in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting Company and now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Kings Island is the most visited seasonal amusement park in the U.S...
, and Zoomerang at Circus World (renamed Afterburner
Afterburner (Fun Spot)
Afterburner is a roller coaster at Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo in Angola, Indiana. It was the only operating roller coaster with an inversion in the state of Indiana until 2008 when Steel Hawg opened at Indiana Beach. It is also notable for formerly using an elevator to transport passengers to...
and relocated to Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo
Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo
Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo was a smaller family amusement park located in Angola, Indiana, USA. Although it was small in comparison to parks in neighboring states, such as Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure, it remained one of the largest parks in the region...
). Arrow's models used an electric motor to launch the train.
Greased Lightnin’
Greased Lightnin’ is a shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.This coaster is currently not in use. When it opened in 1977 as Tidal Wave at Marriott's Great America, it was among the first Schwarzkopf "Shuttle Loop" coasters...
) at Great America in California. These coasters, all of which used a dropped weight as a launch mechanism, are now retired. At least three remaining weight-drop shuttle loop coasters continue to operate, including one at Hopi Hari
Hopi Hari
Hopi Hari is a Brazilian theme park located at Km 72 of Bandeirantes Highway, Vinhedo in the state of São Paulo. It is located 30 km from Campinas and 80 km from São Paulo....
in Brazil, one at Gold Reef City
Gold Reef City
Gold Reef City is a large amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located on an old gold mine, the park is themed around the gold rush on the Witwatersrand. Park staff wear period costumes of the 1880s, and the buildings on the park are designed to mimic the same period...
in South Africa, and one at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Kentucky Kingdom is an amusement park located in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The park is located on of land which includes a collection of 27 amusement rides and a water park named Splashwater Kingdom...
as Greezed Lightnin'. Schwarzkopf switched to a flywheel launch mechanism in 1978 with Montezooma's Revenge
Montezooma's Revenge
Montezooma's Revenge is a steel shuttle roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It opened on May 21, 1978. Designed by Anton Schwarzkopf, it is one of eight flywheel-launched units manufactured for theme parks around the world...
at Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....
and Greezed Lightnin'
Greezed Lightnin' (Six Flags Astroworld)
Greezed Lightnin is a steel Shuttle Looper roller coaster at Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock, Texas, relocated from Houston's Six Flags Astroworld....
at Astroworld
Six Flags Astroworld
AstroWorld was a seasonally operated theme park located on approximately of land between Kirby Drive and Fannin Avenue, directly south of Loop 610 in Houston, Texas, USA...
.
Vekoma's Boomerang
In 1984 Vekoma debuted its BoomerangBoomerang (roller coaster)
Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians...
shuttle coaster, which features a lift hill rather than a launched train. In addition to the original Boomerang, Vekoma also designed the Invertigo or Inverted Boomerang, and the Giant Inverted Boomerang
Giant Inverted Boomerang
A Giant Inverted Boomerang is a type of steel shuttle roller coaster manufactured by Vekoma. The ride is a larger, inverted version of Vekoma's popular Boomerang sit down roller coasters...
. As of 2007, 47 Boomerangs and its variants are currently in operation around the world.
Linear motor launched shuttle coasters
In 1996 Premier RidesPremier Rides
Premier Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States. The company was the first to use Linear Induction Motors on their roller coasters. Jim Seay has been the sole owner and company president since 1996....
debuted the first coasters ever to use linear induction motors (LIM)s
Linear motor
A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled" so that instead of producing a torque it produces a linear force along its length...
, and in 1997, opened Batman & Robin: The Chiller
Batman & Robin: The Chiller
Batman & Robin: The Chiller was a sit down dual track looping shuttle roller coaster designed by Premier Rides that operated at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey from 1997 to 2007. Due to the constant downtime and flaws in the ride's operation, Six Flags removed the ride from the...
at Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
, a pair of dueling launched shuttle coasters.
Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...
introduced its reverse freefall coaster in 1997. In these models, the train is accelerated out of the station along a long, level track using linear synchronous motors, rises straight up a vertical tower, then free falls back down to return to the station. The two operating reverse freefall coasters are Tower of Terror
Tower of Terror (roller coaster)
The Tower of Terror II is a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach speeds making it the tallest and fastest roller...
at Dreamworld
Dreamworld
Dreamworld is a large theme park situated on the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is currently Australia's largest theme park with over 27 rides including 4 roller coasters. The park is made up of several themed lands: Ocean Parade, Kid's World, Wiggles World, Gold Rush Country, Rocky Hollow, Tiger...
and Superman: The Escape
Superman: The Escape
Superman: Escape from Krypton is a launched steel shuttle roller coaster located in the Samurai Summit area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California that opened in 1997. It is similar to Tower of Terror II, which opened two months prior in Dreamworld, Australia...
(now Superman: Escape from Krypton) at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain is a theme park located in Valencia, California north of Los Angeles. It opened on Memorial Day weekend on May 30, 1971 as Magic Mountain, by the Newhall Land and Farming Company. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added the name Six Flags to the park's title. In...
, both of which first broke the 300 foot and 400 foot barriers.
In 1998, Intamin introduced its first impulse coaster, Linear Gale at LaQua in Japan, which featured inverted
Inverted roller coaster
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...
trains traversing two vertical towers. In 2000 Intamin introduced a variation with a spiral tower and later another variation with two spiral towers. With each pass through the station the train accelerates faster and travels further up the towers.