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.
Blue Fire, an inverting launched roller coaster, at Europa-Park, Germany
Dragon Challenge was a unique inverted roller coaster that featured a dueling layout, located at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida
A close-up of the tubular steel tracks of Galactica at Alton Towers
Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom's Steel Force and Thunderhawk roller coasters, just outside Allentown, Pennsylvania. Steel Force is the eighth-tallest steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and has a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h).
A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements designed to produce a thrilling experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters first appeared in the 17th century, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island.
The Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne, is the world's second-oldest operating roller coaster, built in 1912.
The Promenades-AĆ©riennes in Paris, 1817
Thompson's Switchback Railway, 1884
Steel Force (left) and Thunderhawk (right), two roller coasters at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Steel Force is the eighth longest steel roller coaster in the world.