During its golden era around the turn of the last century, Coney Island was a roller coaster pioneer—from the Flip-Flap Railway in the 1890s to the Loop-the-Loop in 1901 to the Giant Racer in 1911. (The Cyclone was a latecomer when it replaced the Giant Racer in 1927, according to ultimaterollercoaster.com.)
But even before these coasters thrilled visitors, Coney Island was home to a ride that’s considered to be the first roller coaster in the United States: the “Switchback Railway.” How wild was it? By contemporary roller coaster standards, it sounds pretty tame.
“Passengers rode a train on undulating tracks over a wooden structure 600 feet long,” explains Westland.net. “The train started at a height of 50 feet on one end and ran downhill by gravity until its momentum died. Passengers then left the train and attendants pushed the car over a switch to a higher level. The passengers returned to their sideways facing seats and rode back to the original starting point.”
Clearly it doesn’t compare to the Cyclone’s 85-foot plunge. But then again, it wasn’t intended to generate adrenaline-pumping excitement. “It wasn’t supposed to be a thrill ride, just a tour of the beach, with people sitting sideways for the best view,” stated Robert Cartmell, described as an expert of roller coasters and author of “The Roller Coaster Book” in the June 17, 1984 edition of Newsday.
The Switchback Railway was an immediate hit, according to Cartmell, and it made tons of money for La Marcus Thompson, the man who built it. (Thompson charged five cents per ride.) Yet within months, it was closed for good—a victim of its own success.
“Someone got the bright idea of facing the seats forward and turning it into a thrill ride,” stated Cartmell. “They opened better rides down the street, and they built the track in a loop and added an engine to pull the cars back to the top.”
For a brief moment in time, the Switchback was the most exciting ride at Coney.
[Top image: Granger; second image: Wikipedia; third image: MCNY x2011.34.2098; fourth image: MCNY x2011.34.2091]
Tags: Coney Island 1880s, Coney Island First Roller Coaster, Giant Racer Coney Island Roller Coaster, Loop the Loop Coney Island Roller Coaster, Switchback Railway Coney Island, Switchback Railway First Roller Coaster
Ephemeral New York 
July 14, 2022 at 9:37 am |
This is so interesting. I think the early roller coasters reflected the mentality that people went for an outing, not to be exhiliarated, but to be “uplifted” by beautiful views and that they should behave and dress “properly.” Frederick Law Olmstead said as much: While he saw the parks he designed as stages for democracy, he believed that people should dress and otherwise behave in accordance with the standards of decorum that prevailed in “polite” society.
July 14, 2022 at 3:09 pm |
Interesting VV, thanks for your thoughts. The Switchback Railway seems to me to be similar to an elevated train, with the seats on the sides whisking passengers above the city at high speeds. Of course, the difference is that an el train is enclosed, and being out in the open air felt new and thrilling to people in the 1880s.
February 12, 2023 at 3:32 am |
We all wore shorts in the 50’s -60’s. We were native NYers.