John C. Allen

This article is about the roller coaster designer. For other persons named John C. Allen, see John Allen.

John C. Allen
Born	(1907-05-21)May 21, 1907 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	August 17, 1979(1979-08-17) (aged 72)
Occupation	Roller coaster designer
Years active	1934–1979
Known for	Philadelphia Toboggan Company manufacturers

John C. Allen (May 21, 1907 – August 17, 1979) was a roller coaster designer who was responsible for the revival of wooden roller coasters which began in the 1960s. He attended Drexel University. He started working for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1934 as a coaster operator and rose to become president of the company by 1954. He has designed more than 25 coasters and made significant contributions to roller coaster technology. He once said, "You don't need a degree in engineering to design roller coasters, you need a degree in psychology."

Coasters (incomplete list)

Name	Location	Built	Closed
Valley Volcano	Angela Park	1956	1989
Jet Flyer/Sea Dragon	Gooding Zoo Park/(Wyandot Lake/Jungle Jack's Landing)	1956	Operating
Tornado	Wedgewood Village	1960	1969
Skyliner	Lakemont Park	1960	Operating
Golden Nugget Mine/Black Diamond	Knoebels Amusement Resort	1960	Operating
Starliner	Miracle Strip/Cypress Gardens	1963	2008
Blue Streak	Cedar Point	1964	Operating
Swamp Fox	Grand Strand Park/Family Kingdom	1966	Operating
Cannon Ball	Lake Winnepesaukah	1967	Operating
Zingo	Bell's Amusement Park	1968	2006
Great American Scream Machine	Six Flags Over Georgia	1973	Operating
Rebel Yell	Kings Dominion	1975	Operating
Woodstock Express	Kings Dominion	1975	Operating
Screamin' Eagle	Six Flags St. Louis	1976	Operating
The Racer	Kings Island	1972	Operating
Woodstock Express	Kings Island	1972	Operating
Ghost Town Jet / Mighty Lightnin' / Comet	Rocky Glen Park	1959	1987 (Demolished 1994)
Skyliner	Fair Park	1965	Demolished

Sources

• John C. Allen at Encyclopædia Britannica