First steel coaster? - CoasterBuzz

Now it is a firmly held belief that the Matterhorn was the first steel coaster. But my question is, is it the first steel coaster or the coaster with the first tubular steel tracks.

For instance Miler Coaster Co. uses steel but it is not tubular, more like an inverted L. Were there any coasters of this construction type in existance before Matterhorn? When exactly did this type of track appear?

But the real reason that this topic is being started is found in Robert Coker's new book. In this book he has a picture of a steel coaster that predates the Matterhorn. It was in France and was operational before Matterhorn, I believe he dated it as 1954 (Matterhorn opened in 1959). Now the picture shows a triangular shaped track, much like Intamin's. But this track was inverted like this, /_\. The cars look somewhat like Jumbo Jet cars or those found on the Whizzer, Zambezi Zinger, Tigg'r (single bench down the middle with two cars). It appears that the road wheels rode on the top rail while the upstop and side wheels rode on the bottom two rails. It's hard to tell exactly, but that would mean three rails are used, quite bizzare. It also appears the the rails are tubular, but I'll have to look closer later tonight. So does anyone have any idea about this coaster. Maybe Coker got his dates mixed up, but I don't know. So was Matterhorn really the first tubular steel coaster?

I think Matterhorn is the first catologed steel coaster on record. Like the flip-flap, first looping coaster, they said it wasnt.

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Stop the lawyers, not the rides!

There is a steel coaster in Cleveland older than Matterhorn:

http://rcdb.com/installationdetail635.htm

1952

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Matterhorn is the first steel coaster to use a tubular track design. There were coasters w/ non-tubular steel track before Matterhorn.

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NUTS - National Union of Thrill Seekers! [Brought to you by the maker of 'LoCoSuMo!']

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh on 6/18/2002. ***

I thought that coasters existed with steel track before the Matterhorn, but the coaster in question apparently has tubular track.

yeah, Matterhorn has the first tubular steel rails, but I thought is was the first successful steel track. I thought I read that somewhere, but don't be mad if I'm not right! j/k

By the way, does anyone know how many Gs they think the Flip-Flap pulled? All I heard was "a lot".

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www.EverythingRollerCoaster.com
~Santa Cruz Trip Report just added with lots of pix!

*** This post was edited by CoasterCrazyOne on 6/18/2002. ***

T was only about 3 gs, but the G force was "constant", and thats why the vertical loops are in the shape of a teardrop, for more displaced forces.

It gave the riders wiplash before also.

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Stop the lawyers, not the rides!

I thought any steel coasters that pre-dated the Matterhorn used I-beam track. I know High Speed Thrill Coaster at Knoebels is steel, built in 1955, and uses I-beam tracks, not tubular track.

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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!

Oh, Soggy beat me to it, High Speed Thrill Coaster at Knobel's Grove is a steel coaster that is older than the Matterhorn.

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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

some times these first ______ facts are wrong. for eample, it is often said that revolution at SFMM is the first modern looping coaster when corkscrew opened at KBF AT LEAST 5 months prior.
(corkscrew opened in 1975, revolution opened in 1976)

Disney wanted someyhing smoother than the wild mice with the flat surface. Corkscrew was made before Revolution, but the Corkscrew had no loops, just corkscrews. Revolution was first to have a 360 degree loop.

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HuKeD oNN fonickS dusinT wOrK"[;.