A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss, which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in the construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine, which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment.
Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne
Vuoristorata at Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki, Finland is the oldest wooden roller coaster in the country; it opened in 1951 and is still in operation.
Colossos, one of the world's largest wooden roller coasters at Heide Park, Germany
Thunderbird in the PowerPark amusement park
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-Aériennes 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.