A
roller coaster train describes the
vehicleA vehicle is a mechanical means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.Vehicles may be propelled or pulled by...
(s) which transports
passengerA passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination.There are two common contexts in which the term is used:...
s around a
roller coasterThe 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...
's circuit. More specifically, a roller coaster train is made up of two or more "cars" which are connected by some sort of specialized
jointA universal joint, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy-Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a joint in a rigid rod that allows the rod to 'bend' in any direction, and is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion...
. It is called a "
trainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway....
" because the cars follow one another around the track -- the same reason as for a railroad train. Individual cars often vary in design and can carry anywhere from one to eight or more passengers each.
Roller coaster trains have
wheelA wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by...
s that run on the sides (side friction or guide wheels) and underneath the track (upstop wheels) as well as on top of it (road wheels), these lock the train to the tracks and prevent it from jumping the track.
A
roller coaster train describes the
vehicleA vehicle is a mechanical means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.Vehicles may be propelled or pulled by...
(s) which transports
passengerA passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination.There are two common contexts in which the term is used:...
s around a
roller coasterThe 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...
's circuit. More specifically, a roller coaster train is made up of two or more "cars" which are connected by some sort of specialized
jointA universal joint, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy-Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a joint in a rigid rod that allows the rod to 'bend' in any direction, and is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion...
. It is called a "
trainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway....
" because the cars follow one another around the track -- the same reason as for a railroad train. Individual cars often vary in design and can carry anywhere from one to eight or more passengers each.
Basic safety features
Roller coaster trains have
wheelA wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by...
s that run on the sides (side friction or guide wheels) and underneath the track (upstop wheels) as well as on top of it (road wheels), these lock the train to the tracks and prevent it from jumping the track. The side wheels can be mounted on the outside or inside of the train, depending on the manufacturer (although outside-mounted wheels are more common). The wheels are sometimes located between the cars, as well as at the front and rear of the entire train.
Roller coaster trains also have
restraintA safety harness is a form of protective equipment designed to protect a person, animal, or object from injury or damage. The harness is an attachment between a stationary and non-stationary object and is usually fabricated from rope, cable or Webbing and locking hardware...
s that keep the passengers in their seats. Restraints are of two major types, lapbar and over-the-shoulder. Restraints always use two locking mechanisms, one on each side, for redundancy. If one fails, the restraint will remain locked. Most roller coasters also have a seatbelt that acts as a secondary safety device. On over-the-shoulder restraints, this seatbelt is used to hold the main restraint down. The seatbelt also acts as a measuring device, it is exactly long enough to accommodate the largest body size the coaster is designed for.
Lapbar restraints consist of a padded bar mounted to the floor or side of the train that swings backwards into the rider's lap. These restraints are usually found on roller coasters that lack inversions. Some inverting roller coasters, notably ones created by
Anton SchwarzkopfAnton 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.-Biography:...
safely operate without the need for shoulder restraints. Lapbar restraints, like buzz bars give the rider much greater freedom of movement than over-the-shoulder restraints, enhancing the feeling of danger. However, lapbar restraints are not quite as safe as over-the-shoulder restraints, as evidenced by several accidents. Some roller coasters have had their lapbar restraints replaced with over-the-shoulder restraints. Others have had shoulder restaints replaced with lap bar restraints, allowing for a more comfortable ride.
Over-the-shoulder restraints, the most common type, consist of a roughly U-shaped padded bar mounted to the top of each seat that swings downward. Almost all roller coasters that have inversions have this type of restraint. Additionally, all
Inverted roller coasterAn 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...
s and
Floorless roller coasterA floorless roller coaster is defined as a coaster with trains that ride above the track and allow the passenger's legs to dangle. The manufacturer's web site reads, "A new generation of Sitting Coasters with dangling feet close to the track."The floorless roller coaster is a fairly new concept in...
s have this type of restraint, as there is simply no place to mount a lapbar restraint. One disadvantage of over-the-shoulder restraints is that they can provide discomfort to the rider (known among coaster enthusiasts as
headbanging), especially on rougher roller coasters.
However, there is one operating roller coaster that does not have either of these safety features:
Leap-The-DipsLeap-The-Dips is the world's oldest operating wooden roller coaster and North America's last surviving side friction roller coaster. It is located at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania and was built in 1902 by the E. Joy Morris Company. Leap-the-Dips operated until 1985, when it closed due to...
, the world's oldest operating roller coaster and
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
's last surviving
side friction roller coasterA 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...
. As a side friction coaster, it does not have wheels under the track. Rather, it runs in a trough with wheels that run along the sides of the through to keep the train in place and is only held on by gravity Additionally,
Leap-The-Dips simply does not require restraints as it is only 41 ft (12.5 m) high and has an average speed of only 10 mph (16 km/h). Until early 2006,
The RollercoasterRollercoaster is a wooden roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Blackpool in Blackpool, England. It was built in 1933 by Charles Paige.The Rollercoaster uses the lift hill of the former Velvet Coaster, which was removed in 1932. A train from the Velvet Coaster can be seen to the side in the...
at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the UK also operated without any restaints, although seatbelts were added to the ride in the 2007 Season. During 2008, trains from the
Big DipperBig Dipper is a wooden out and back roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Blackpool, England. The ride was first built in 1923 by John Miller but was extended in 1936 by Charlie Paige and Joe Emberton; adding arches over the south entrance of the park and additional drops...
Rollercoaster were installed on the ride. "The Rollercoaster" now operates with lapbars, although the original train is still stored on the transfer track in the station.
Physics
In general, the longer a roller coaster train becomes, the more
momentumIn classical mechanics, momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object . For more accurate measures of momentum, see the section "modern definitions of momentum" on this page...
it gains throughout the ride's course. A roller coaster train that is fully loaded will also have more momentum than one that is empty or nearly empty.