Blue Fire, an inverting launched roller coaster, at Europa-Park, Germany

Dragon Challenge was a unique inverted roller coaster that featured a dueling layout, located at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida

A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions than a traditional wooden roller coaster.

Arrow Dynamics introduced the steel roller coaster to feature tubular track to the thrill industry with their creations of the Matterhorn Bobsleds (Disneyland) in 1959 and the Runaway Mine Train (Six Flags Over Texas) in 1966.

As of 2006, the oldest operating steel roller coaster in North America is Little Dipper at Memphis Kiddie Park in Brooklyn, Ohio and has been operating since April 1952. The oldest operating steel rollercoaster in the world is Montaña Suiza at Parque de Atracciones Monte Igueldo (Spain). It has been operating since 1928.

Characteristics

A close-up of the tubular steel tracks of Galactica at Alton Towers

• Steel coasters have a generally smoother ride than their wooden counterparts, and due to their strength, rides can have more complex and faster turns and twists without injuring riders. However, some coaster enthusiasts prefer wooden coasters due to the jolting ride feeling more dangerous and giving a larger adrenaline rush.
• Almost all world records for tallest, fastest, and longest coasters are currently held by steel roller coasters.^[1]
• The fact that fewer supports are needed means steel roller coasters have made a large variety of features possible, such as loops, barrel rolls, corkscrews, zero-G rolls and beyond 90° drops.
• Occasionally steel tracks are combined with wooden frames typical for wooden roller coasters. These are sometimes referred to as Hybrid Roller Coasters. In many cases these were originally wooden roller coasters whose original wooden track was later replaced by steel, while some are built in this fashion originally. Examples include Excalibur at Valleyfair, Gemini and Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point, Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion, and New Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas.^[2]

There are different types of steel coasters, such as flying, inverted, floorless, and suspended.

Notable steel roller coasters

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom's Steel Force and Thunderhawk roller coasters, just outside Allentown, Pennsylvania. Steel Force is the eighth-tallest steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and has a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h).^[3]

The Smiler, a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster at Alton Towers, which holds the record for the longest inversion

• Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the world's tallest full-circuit inverted coaster^[4][5]
• Banshee at King's Island, the world's longest inverted coaster^[6]
• Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America, the first inverted roller coaster^[7]
• GateKeeper at Cedar Point, the world's tallest and fastest wing coaster, featuring the highest inversion in the world when it opened
• Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, the world's tallest roller coaster at 456 feet (139 m) and second fastest at 128 mph (206 km/h)^[8][9]
• Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, the first tubular steel roller coaster^[10]
• Millennium Force at Cedar Point, the first full-circuit roller coaster to exceed 300 feet (91 m) in height^[8][11]
• Mindbender at West Edmonton Mall's Galaxyland, the world's largest indoor steel roller coaster
• Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the world's fastest suspended roller coaster^[12]
• Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the world's tallest, fastest, and longest stand-up roller coaster^[13][14][15]
• Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags Over Texas, the first mine train roller coaster, built in 1966^[16]
• Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the first roller coaster to exceed 400 feet (120 m) in height^[8]
• The Smiler at Alton Towers, the most inversions in the world (14)^[17]
• Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland theme park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, formerly the world's steepest roller coaster with a beyond-vertical drop of 121°^[18][19] opened in 2011^[20]
• Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the world's tallest, fastest, and longest flying roller coaster^[21][22][23]
• Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, the world's first full-circuit roller coaster to exceed 400 feet (120 m) in height^[8][24]
• Tower of Terror II at Dreamworld, the first roller coaster to reach 100 mph (160 km/h) in speed and 300 feet (91 m) in height^[8][9]
• Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the world's first steel monorail roller coaster.^[25]
• X² at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the world's first 4th Dimension roller coaster^[26]
• Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm - world's first roller coaster to feature a hydraulic launch^[27]

Other examples

Impulse with 540° helix at Knoebels Amusement Resort

• Corkscrew at Silverwood, the world's first modern roller coaster to feature an inversion
• Formula Rossa at Ferrari World, the world's fastest roller coaster at 150 mph (240 km/h)
• Impulse, 540° Helix at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania
• Magnum XL-200, the first full-circuit roller coaster to exceed 200 feet (61 m)
• Moonsault Scramble at Fuji-Q Highland, the first roller coaster over 200 feet (61 m) in height
• Steel Dragon 2000, the world's longest roller coaster at 8,133 feet (2,479 m)
• The New Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the first modern roller coaster with a vertical loop
• Yukon Striker at Canada's Wonderland, the world's tallest dive coaster at 223 ft

References