Bobsled roller coaster

A bobsled roller coaster is a roller coaster that uses a track design that is essentially a "pipe" with the top half removed and has cars that are sent down this pipe in a freewheeling mode. The name derives from the great similarity to the track design used for the winter sport of bobsleigh.

Bobsled roller coaster
Avalanche at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Status	In Production: Mack Rides Discontinued: Intamin, and John Norman Bartlett
First manufactured	1929
No. of installations	21
Manufacturers	Intamin, John Norman Bartlett, and Mack Rides
Restraint Style	Lap-bar
Bobsled roller coaster at RCDB

Most modern bobsled roller coasters are made of steel; however, the first bobsled coasters, known as Flying Turns, were made of wood. On October 4, 2013, after seven years of construction, Knoebels in Pennsylvania opened the world's only modern wooden Flying Turns coaster, Flying Turns. The ride was scheduled to open in 2007, but had been delayed due to dysfunctional wheels and other issues. As there were no historic plans available, the new coaster was designed entirely from scratch.

Both the bobsled coaster and the Flying Turns coaster are buildable in the RollerCoaster Tycoon and Thrillville series of video games.

Installations

As of 2012, 21 bobsled roller coasters have been built. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates.

Name	Park	Country	Opened	Closed	Type	Manufacturer	Status
Flying Turns	Lakeside Park	United States	1929	1930 - 1954*	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[1]
Flying Turns	Euclid Beach Park	United States	1930	September 28, 1969	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[2]
Flying Turns	Rocky Point Park	United States	1931	1938	Wood	John Norman Bartlett/Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters	Removed	[3]
Flying Turns	Forest Park	United States	1934	July 19, 1963	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[4]
Flying Turns	Steeplechase Park	United States	1934	September 14, 1939	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[5]
Flying Turns	Riverview Park Formerly Century of Progress	United States	1935 May 27, 1933	1967 October 31, 1934	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[6][7]
Lake Placid Bobsled	Palisades Amusement Park	United States	1937	1946	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[8]
Bobsled	Coney Island Formerly Flushing Meadows Park	United States	1941 April 30, 1939	1974 October 27, 1940	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[9][10]
Flying Turns	HersheyPark	United States	1942 (intended)	N/A	Wood	Philadelphia Toboggan Co.	Cancelled	[11][12][13]
Screamin' Delta Demon	Opryland USA†	United States	April 1984	October 31, 1997	Steel	Intamin	Removed	[14]
Schweizer Bobbahn	Europa Park	Germany	1985	—	Steel	Mack Rides	Operating	[15]
Disaster Transport Formerly Avalanche Run	Cedar Point	United States	May 11, 1985	July 29, 2012	Steel	Intamin	Removed	[16]
Bobbaan	Efteling	Netherlands	1985	September 1, 2019	Steel	Intamin	Removed	[17]
La Vibora Formerly Sarajevo Bobsled	Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Magic Mountain	United States	1986 1984	2024 1986	Steel	Intamin	Removed	[18][19]
Reptilian Formerly Avalanche	Kings Dominion	United States	1988	—	Steel	Mack Rides	Operating	[20]
Avalanche	Pleasure Beach Blackpool	United Kingdom	June 22, 1988	—	Steel	Mack Rides	Operating	[21]
Munich Autobahn	Kobe Portopialand	Japan	April 1991	March 31, 2006	Steel	Mack Rides	Removed	[22]
Schweizer Bobbahn	Heide Park	Germany	1994	—	Steel	Mack Rides	Operating	[23]
Alpine Bobsled Formerly Rolling Thunder Formerly Sarajevo Bobsled	Great Escape Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great Adventure	United States	1998 1989 1984	2023 1995 1988	Steel	Intamin	Removed	[24][25][26]
Trace Du Hourra	Parc Astérix	France	March 31, 2001	—	Steel	Mack Rides	Operating	[27]
Flying Turns	Knoebels	United States	October 5, 2013	—	Wood	Knoebels	Operating	[28]
Montanha Russa	Parque Shanghai	Brazil	—	—	Wood	—	Removed	[29]

• * Denotes that exact closing date is not known.
• † The Screamin' Delta Demon was transported to Old Indiana Fun Park following Opryland's closure in 1998, but was never reassembled and eventually scrapped.^[30]

References

1. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Lakeside Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
2. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Euclid Beach Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
3. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Rocky Point Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
4. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Forest Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
5. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Steeplechase Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
6. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Century of Progress)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
7. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Riverview Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
8. Marden, Duane. "Lake Placid Bobsled  (Palisades Amusement Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
9. Marden, Duane. "Bobsled  (Flushing Meadows Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
10. Marden, Duane. "Bobsled  (Coney Island)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
11. Jenkins Jr., Torrence (2006). Herbert P. Schmeck The Forgotten Legacy. Knepper Press. pp. 91–93.
12. Rutherford, Scott (2004). "PTC built one Flying Turns at Rocky Point; Hershey's ride was designed, but never built". Amusement Today. Vol. 8, no. 2. p. 23.
13. "Around The Grounds". Billboard Magazine. June 12, 1943. p. 43.
14. Marden, Duane. "Screamin' Delta Demon  (Opryland USA)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
15. Marden, Duane. "Schweizer Bobbahn  (Europa Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
16. Marden, Duane. "Disaster Transport  (Cedar Point)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
17. Marden, Duane. "Bobbaan  (Efteling)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
18. Marden, Duane. "Sarajevo Bobsleds  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
19. Marden, Duane. "La Vibora  (Six Flags Over Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
20. Marden, Duane. "Avalanche  (Kings Dominion)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
21. Marden, Duane. "Avalanche  (Pleasure Beach Blackpool)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
22. Marden, Duane. "Munich Autobahn  (Kobe Portopialand)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
23. Marden, Duane. "Schweizer Bobbahn  (Heide Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
24. Marden, Duane. "Sarajevo Bobsled  (Six Flags Great Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
25. Marden, Duane. "Rolling Thunder  (Six Flags Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
26. Marden, Duane. "Alpine Bobsled  (Great Escape)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
27. Marden, Duane. "Trace Du Hourra  (Parc Asterix)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
28. Marden, Duane. "Flying Turns  (Knoebels)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
29. Marden, Duane. "Montanha Russa  (Parque Shanghai)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
30. Marden, Duane. "Screamin' Delta Demon  (Old Indiana)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 7, 2012.

External links

Media related to Bobsled roller coasters at Wikimedia Commons