Wooden roller coasters often feel rough due to the nature of the material and the design of the ride. Unlike steel coasters with smooth, precision-engineered tracks, wooden coasters use lumber, which can have imperfections and natural variations in texture. As a result, the ride experience on a wooden coaster can be more turbulent and jarring, as the coaster car encounters these irregularities in the track.
Additionally, wooden coasters tend to age and wear more quickly than steel coasters, which can further contribute to a rougher ride over time. While some enthusiasts appreciate the classic and nostalgic feel of wooden coasters, others may find them rougher compared to their steel counterparts.
Below we’ll answer 12 questions about wooden roller coasters that expand on the wood design and comfort of the ride. We’ll end with a table that compares wood and metal rollercoasters and how they stack up to one another in terms of comfort.
12 Cool Questions About Wooden Roller Coasters Answered
The earliest wooden roller coasters date back to at least the 1800s in France although before that, there were sled-like rides in Russia that could also be considered a precursor to what we now know as the roller coaster.
With that in mind, here are 12 common questions about wooden roller coasters answered in detail.
Why are wooden roller coasters so rough?
Modern roller coasters are made largely from both wood and steel. If you’re ever been on both wooden and steel roller coasters, you will notice that the steel rides are smoother, not as rough and they tend to be bigger, faster and with more loops and other features.
The steel components of a steel-based roller coaster also allow the manufacturers to build these rides with the ability to turn upside down in loops and corkscrews as the metal is stronger and more durable than wood.
Metal is malleable and more durable and simply offers a more comfortable and softer ride than wood. Other reasons that wooden roller coasters are rough when compared to metal coasters:
- Wood is a natural material that can warp and shift over time, causing the coaster track to become uneven. This can lead to a bumpy ride.
- Wooden coasters often have a lot of lateral movement (side-to-side) compared to steel coasters, which can make the ride feel more jarring.
- The design of wooden coasters is often more focused on creating a thrilling and intense experience rather than providing a smooth ride. This can include steep drops, sharp turns, and sudden changes in direction that can make the ride feel rougher.
- Maintenance and upkeep of wooden coasters can also play a role in their roughness. If the track is not regularly inspected and maintained, it can become more rough over time.
What is better: wooden or steel roller coasters?
In some respects it’s a personal preference depending on several criteria that may or may not be of importance to you:
Nostalgia: Wooden roller coasters tend to offer more of a nostalgic feel than steel ones given that they came first. Having said that, steel roller coasters have been around for decades now too and have a nostalgic feeling to older people too.
Loops and corkscrews: Wooden roller coasters aren’t able to do the same 360 loops and corkscrew turns that modern steel-based roller coasters can. Steel has the strength and durability that wood doesn’t so steel roller coasters tend to be built faster, higher and more breath-taking in terms of the drops, loops and twists and turns.
Thrill: If you’re looking for the fastest, highest, scariest ride with the most drops, inversions and loops, the bigger steel roller coasters will suit you more than any wooden roller coaster will. If you’re ok with less speed, loops and other perks, a smaller wooden coaster may suffice.
Where is the best place to sit in a wooden roller coaster?
Sitting in the front row of a roller coaster tends to offer the rider the most amount of weightlessness, greatest value of negative Z acceleration, the greatest time spent in free fall. In other words, the front row tends to offer the most fun
according to a report provided by a student at Claremont College who researched it.
One argument for sitting in the back row is that on a long train with many cars, you are the last people to see where the ride is going when you reach the top of an incline. You can’t see the downslope until the riders in front have already started descending, adding to the excitement due to the unknown.
How did wooden roller coasters originate?
Like many inventions, the roller coaster has its roots in earlier inventions. In 16th and 17th century Russia, wooden sleds were designed to be pushed down a hill in winter at a high rate of speed. This is considered to be the earliest known precursor to the modern roller coaster.
The Russian rides involved 70′ high wooden slopes that were built to accommodate the sleds sliding down at a high rate of speed. While the original rides were sleds used strictly in winter, over time sleds with wheels were used in the summer as well.
In France due to weather than wasn’t as cold as the winters they have in Russia, inventors took the sled idea and built waxed slides and sleds with wheels to create their version. Over time, rides were made more complex with higher rates of speed and wider turns to create more excitement for riders.
In the mid 1880s, roller coasters started appearing in the United States and to this day, it tends to be the country most associated with large theme parks featuring dozens of rides including many wooden and steel roller coasters although many of the larger rides are also located throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
What are the major periods of wooden roller coaster design?
There are two distinct periods of wooden roller coaster design that first began in the 1920s and then continued with the second distinct period that began in 1972. While steel roller coasters are the norm these days, wooden coasters continue to exist and be produced albeit not nearly as frequently as in the past.
In the United States, the roller coaster industry began in the mid 1800s in Pennsylvania. However it wasn’t until 1884 that the world’s first commercially successful roller coaster called the Gravity Switchback Railway debuted at Coney Island in New York.
Due to the success of the Gravity Switchback Railway, the first modern era of commercial roller coaster design followed in the 1920s.
In the 1970s after decades of decline, several factors led to a resurgence in the roller coaster business. The debut of the Kings Island Racer wooden coaster in Cincinnati, Ohio and subsequent showcasing of new rides on American tv helped to excite a new generation of ride goers with faster, higher and scarier rides with more modern technology used in the design and build processes.
Even a Hollywood disaster movie such as 1977’s Rollercoaster brought new attention to the industry even though the film focused on an attack on a theme park and didn’t necessarily portray the rides in a positive light.
What are the most famous early wooden roller coasters?
Some of the famous names in roller coasters were built during the 1920s including the Crystal Beach Cyclone in Ontario, Canada which was a ride that lasted around 40 seconds after the incline and featured a nurse on standby to tend to participants who fainted during the ride or otherwise needed assistance.
New York’s Coney Island Cyclone, New York’s Rye Beach Aeroplane, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Giant Dipper were among other famous coasters of the era.
Other famous early wooden roller coasters included the Zippin Pippin in Memphis, Scenic Railway in Melbourne, Australia and the Rutschebanen in Copenhagen, Denmark. All three of these rides were built in the mid 1910s.
By the 1920s, around 2,000 wooden coaster rides existed in the US due to increased demand and wider availability along with more sophisticated and complex designs. Today there are less than 125 wooden designs still in use.
What is the oldest wooden roller coaster in the world?
The oldest roller coaster in the world is the wooden Leap The Dips which is located in Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA which was built in 1902. Although closed for almost 4 years, it reopened in 2020.
Lakemont Park is one of the 10 oldest surviving amusement parks in the US so it’s fitting that it would also be home to the oldest surviving coaster, too.
The first patent awarded to a roller coaster ride was Patent #128,674 by John G. Taylor in 1872 for a wheeled gravity amusement ride that was called “Improvement in Inclined Railways.” It was basically a wooden track with a decline and incline that could carry a roller coaster car of sorts and thus was a very basic (by today’s standards) example of a roller coaster.
The reference to railways indicates how early roller coasters were referred to by railway-centric names due to the fact that they traveled on tracks like trains and since the roller coaster business really hadn’t been defined yet.
What type of wood are roller coasters made from?
Wooden roller coasters are often made using construction-grade wood such as Douglas fir, pine or southern yellow pine that has been pressure treated to build the structure of the ride along with steel running rails and tracks as well as steel-based cars for riders to sit in.
The wood is laminated to protect against the elements and even though the ride involves the use of steel and other materials, wooden roller coasters are referred to as such due to the wooden structure and track.
In the past, oak was often used for wooden roller coasters due to its strength and some later wooden coasters were also made with other types of wood depending on what the local markets offered.
Who are the major manufacturers of wooden roller coasters?
Wooden roller coaster manufacturers who exist today include:
- The Gravity Group, LLC (USA)
- Great Coasters International (USA)
- Intamin Amusement Rides Int. Corp. Est. (Liechtenstein)
- Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (USA)
Other manufacturers specialize in steel coasters but have built a small number of wooden ones too.
Many other famous wooden roller coaster manufacturers existed but are now long since out of business or were swallowed up by other companies. Names include Philadelphia Toboggan Company, Curtis Summers, Stand Company, Dinn Corporation and S&S Worldwide.
What constraints do wooden roller coasters have?
Wooden roller coasters don’t run nearly as fast, aren’t built nearly as high, tend to be shorter in overall length, have shorter drops, and have fewer inversions than steel roller coasters.
The fastest wooden roller coaster called Goliath at Six Flags Great America reaches 72 MPH (116 km/h) whereas the fastest steel roller coaster in Dubai called Formula Rossa reaches 149 MPH (240 km/h).
The tallest wooden roller coaster is the T Express in South Korea measuring almost 184′ (56.0 m) high whereas the tallest steel roller coaster is the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure which is 456′ (139 m) high.
The longest wooden roller coaster is The Beast at Kings Island measuring 7,359′ (2,243 m) whereas the longest steel roller coaster is the Steel Dragon 2000 in Japan measuring 8,133′ (2,479 m) in length.
The wooden roller coaster with the single largest drop during the ride is Goliath with a drop length of 180′ (55 m) whereas the steel roller coaster with the single largest drop during the ride is Kingda Ka with a drop length of 418′ (127 m).
The wooden roller coaster with the most inversions (loops) is Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar Park and Wildfire in Sweden with 3 inversions each whereas the steel roller coaster with the most inversions is The Smiler at Alton Towers with 14 inversions.
Is a wooden or metal roller coaster track faster?
The fastest steel roller coasters run faster than the fastest wooden roller coasters due to the stronger design of the steel which enables coaster manufacturers to build them higher, longer, faster, with more loops and inversions, greater drops and rolls and ultimately more speed than wooden roller coasters.
One advantage wooden roller coasters may have is that they tend to lose less energy than steel ones due to the tire design and materials used but by the end of a ride, a steel coaster will have picked up more speed than a comparable wooden one.
Why do people like wooden roller coasters?
People often like wooden roller coasters for nostalgia reasons since they are the original. Since wooden roller coasters tend to be shorter in length, not quite as fast and with fewer inversions and shorter drops, a person who wants to try a roller coaster may opt for the wooden one accordingly and skip the larger and scarier steel one.
Another reason people may prefer a wooden roller coaster is that the ride tends to be a bit rougher and not as smooth, if you’re ok with that feeling.
Final thoughts
Wooden and steel rollercoasters are the two most common styles that are built. Here’s a table that compares the two styles in terms of what they offer riders:
Here’s a table comparing wood and steel rollercoasters based on various factors:
| Factor | Wood Rollercoasters | Steel Rollercoasters |
|---|---|---|
| Ride Quality | More natural, classic feel | Smoother, more precise movements |
| Noise | Can be noisier due to wooden structure | Generally quieter due to steel structure |
| Cost | Often less expensive to build | Generally more expensive to build |
| Maintenance | Requires more frequent maintenance | Requires less frequent maintenance |
| Longevity | Typically has a shorter lifespan | Typically has a longer lifespan |
| Durability | More susceptible to weather and wear | More resistant to weather and wear |
| Speed and Loops | May not support high speeds and loops | Supports high speeds and complex loops |
| Customization | Offers unique shapes and designs | Offers versatile shapes and designs |
| Experience Variation | Offers a unique, traditional feel | Can provide a wide range of experiences |
| Innovation | Limited in terms of technological advancements | Allows for advanced ride technologies |
| Environmental Impact | Generally considered more eco-friendly | May have a higher environmental impact |
| Ride Intensity | Can provide more intense “rattling” experience | Can provide smoother but intense experience |
| Rider Comfort | Some find wooden rides more uncomfortable | Generally more comfortable for riders |
| Popularity | Classic appeal with nostalgia | Widely popular with modern designs |
| Availability | Limited availability due to design constraints | More widely available and diverse |
Keep in mind that each type of rollercoaster has its own unique characteristics and advantages, and the choice between wood and steel rollercoasters depends on various factors including the park’s theme, target audience, budget, and desired ride experience.