Beyond the Rails

There is a unique and profound melancholy to the image of an abandoned amusement park. The skeletal silhouette of a roller coaster against a grey sky, the faded paint on a carousel horse, the silent, weed-choked midway—these are scenes from a world where joy has died. These parks, once vibrant epicenters of summer screams and … Read more

For over a century, the evolution of the roller coaster has been a relentless forward march, a technological arms race driven by a singular human desire: to be thrilled. From the rickety wooden latticeworks of the 1920s to the 400-foot steel towers of the 21st century, each generation has seen innovations that were once thought … Read more

Behind every record-breaking drop, every breathtaking inversion, and every moment of weightless airtime is an elite engineering firm, a master architect of adrenaline. Theme parks like Cedar Point or Six Flags may be the famous stages, but they are not the ones who design and build the star attractions. That role belongs to a small, … Read more

For millions of people, a roller coaster is the ultimate two-minute thrill. But for a select few, it is the thrilling result of a lifelong passion and a demanding, highly specialized career. The role of a “roller coaster designer” is one of the most coveted dream jobs in the world, evoking images of creative geniuses … Read more

The question of when the first roller coaster was invented is a deceptively complex one. Unlike a singular invention like the lightbulb, the roller coaster was not born in a single “eureka” moment from the mind of one inventor. Instead, it is the product of a slow, centuries-long evolution, a gradual refinement of an idea … Read more