Steel roller coaster

Dragon Challenge, the world's only Dueling Steel-Inverted roller coaster located at Islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida.

A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions than a traditional wooden roller coaster.

Arrow Dynamics first introduced the steel roller coaster to feature tubular track to the thrill industry with their creations of the Matterhorn (Disneyland) and the Runaway Mine Train (Six Flags Over Texas).

As of 2006, the oldest operating steel roller coaster in North America is Little Dipper at Memphis Kiddie Park in Brooklyn, Ohio and has been operating since April 1952. The oldest operating steel rollercoaster in the world is rodelbaan at de Waarbeek (Netherlands). It has been operating since 1930.

Characteristics

• Steel coasters have a generally smoother ride than their wooden counterparts, although it is sometimes argued that wooden roller coasters provide a bigger feeling of "threat" due to their rougher ride and can be more intense than steel roller coasters.
• Almost all world records for tallest, fastest, and longest coasters are currently held by steel roller coasters.^{[citation needed]}
• The fact that fewer supports are needed means steel roller coasters have made a large variety of features possible, such as Loops, Barrel Rolls, Corkscrews, Zero-G Rolls and Beyond 90° Drops

There are different types of steel coasters, such as flying, inverted, floorless, and suspended swinging.

Notable steel roller coasters

Blue Fire, an inverting launched roller coaster, at Europa-Park, Germany.

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom's Steel Force and Thunderhawk roller coasters, just outside Allentown. Steel Force opened in 1997 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster on the East Coast of the United States, with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h).

(NOTE: Dive and Vertical Drop coasters are the same)

• Air at Alton Towers - Worlds first flying roller coaster
• Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - world's tallest full-circuit inverted coaster
• Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America - first inverted roller coaster
• Battlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon at Universal Studios Singapore - World's tallest pair of dueling coasters
• Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland is the tallest and fastest in Canada.
• Colossus at Thorpe Park - world's first coaster with 10 inversions
• Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - world's tallest and fastest dive coaster
• Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure - world's tallest (456 ft) and second fastest (128 mph) roller coaster
• Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland - first tubular steel roller coaster
• Millennium Force at Cedar Point - first full circuit roller coaster to top 300 ft.
• Nemesis at Alton Towers - Europe's first inverted roller coaster
• Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain- world's fastest suspended roller coaster
• Oblivion at Alton Towers - world's first vertical drop roller coaster
• Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain - world's tallest, fastest, and longest stand up roller coaster
• Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags Over Texas - first mine train roller coaster; built in 1969.
• Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain- first roller coaster to top 400 ft
• Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain - world's tallest, fastest, and longest flying roller coaster
• Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point - world's first full-circuit roller coaster to top 400 ft
• Tower of Terror at Dreamworld - first roller coaster to reach 100 mph and first roller coaster to top 300 ft
• Ultimate at Lightwater Valley - Worlds second longest roller coaster
• X² at Six Flags Magic Mountain - World's first 4th Dimension roller coaster
• Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm - world's first Intamin Accelerator Coaster

• Blue Fire at Europa-Park - Europe's first coaster with a twisted horseshoe roll
• Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds - first roller coaster to feature a record breaking 4 inversions
• Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm (now at Silverwood) - first modern roller coaster ever to send riders upside down
• Goliath at Six Flags New England - world's largest boomerang roller coaster
• Furius Baco at PortAventura - world's first Wing-Rider roller coaster
• Magnum XL-200 - first full circuit roller coaster to top 200 ft
• Maverick at Cedar Point - first Terra Coaster, with Dual LSM launch (launch hill and flat launch) with a 95-degree drop and a terrain hugging layout
• Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood - first roller coaster to top 80 mph
• Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain- world's first looping roller coaster
• Space Shuttle at Enchanted Kingdom - world's tallest, longest, and fastest non-inverted Boomerang roller coaster
• Steel Dragon 2000 - world's longest roller coaster
• Storm Runner at Hersheypark - world's first rocket coaster to feature inversions
• Thirteen at Alton Towers - world's first vertical free fall drop coaster
• Vampire at Chessington World of Adventures - world's first suspended swinging coaster with floorless trains