Bobsled roller coaster explained

A bobsled roller coaster is a roller coaster that uses a track design that is essentially a "pipe" with the top half removed and has cars that are sent down this pipe in a freewheeling mode. The name derives from the great similarity to the track design used for the winter sport of bobsleigh.

Most modern bobsled roller coasters are made of steel; however, the first bobsled coasters, known as Flying Turns, were made of wood. On October 4, 2013, after seven years of construction, Knoebels in Pennsylvania opened the world's only modern wooden Flying Turns coaster, Flying Turns. The ride was scheduled to open in 2007, but had been delayed due to dysfunctional wheels and other issues. As there were no historic plans available, the new coaster was designed entirely from scratch.

Both the bobsled coaster and the Flying Turns coaster are buildable in the RollerCoaster Tycoon and Thrillville series of video games.

Installations

As of 2012, 21 bobsled roller coasters have been built. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates.

Name	Park	Country	Opened	Closed	Type	Manufacturer	Status
Flying Turns	Lakeside Park		1929	1930 - 1954*	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[1]
Flying Turns			1930	September 28, 1969	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[2]
Flying Turns	Rocky Point Park		1931	1938	Wood		Removed	[3]
Flying Turns				1934	July 19, 1963	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[4]
Flying Turns			1934	September 14, 1939	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[5]
Flying Turns	Riverview Park Formerly Century of Progress		1935 May 27, 1933	1967 October 31, 1934	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[6] [7]
Lake Placid Bobsled			1937	1946	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[8]
Bobsled	Coney Island Formerly Flushing Meadows Park		1941 April 30, 1939	1974 October 27, 1940	Wood	John Norman Bartlett	Removed	[9] [10]
Flying Turns	HersheyPark		1942 (intended)	N/A	Wood	Philadelphia Toboggan Co.	Cancelled	[11] [12] [13]
Screamin' Delta Demon	Opryland USA†		April 1984	October 31, 1997	Steel		Removed	[14]
Schweizer Bobbahn			1985		Steel		Operating	[15]
Disaster Transport Formerly Avalanche Run			May 11, 1985	July 29, 2012	Steel		Removed	[16]
Bobbaan			1985	September 1, 2019	Steel		Removed	[17]
La Vibora Formerly Sarajevo Bobsled	Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Magic Mountain		1986 1984	2024 1986	Steel		Removed	[18] [19]
Reptilian Formerly Avalanche			1988		Steel		Operating	[20]
Avalanche			June 22, 1988		Steel		Operating	[21]
Munich Autobahn	Kobe Portopialand		April 1991	March 31, 2006	Steel		Removed	[22]
Schweizer Bobbahn			1994		Steel		Operating	[23]
Alpine Bobsled Formerly Rolling Thunder Formerly Sarajevo Bobsled	Great Escape Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great Adventure		1998 1989 1984	2023 1995 1988	Steel		Removed	[24] [25] [26]
Trace Du Hourra			March 31, 2001		Steel		Operating	[27]
Flying Turns			October 5, 2013		Wood		Operating	[28]
Montanha Russa	Parque Shanghai				Wood		Removed	[29]

• * Denotes that exact closing date is not known.
• † The Screamin' Delta Demon was transported to Old Indiana Fun Park following Opryland's closure in 1998, but was never reassembled and eventually scrapped.^[30]

Notes and References

1. Flying Turns. Lakeside Park. 10483. September 4, 2012.
2. Flying Turns. Euclid Beach Park. 1909. September 4, 2012.
3. Flying Turns. Rocky Point Park. 2123. September 4, 2012.
4. Flying Turns. Forest Park. 2100. September 4, 2012.
5. Flying Turns. Steeplechase Park. 2153. September 4, 2012.
6. Flying Turns. Century of Progress. 3469. September 4, 2012.
7. Flying Turns. Riverview Park. 2359. September 4, 2012.
8. Lake Placid Bobsled. Palisades Amusement Park. 2115. September 4, 2012.
9. Bobsled. Flushing Meadows Park. 3467. September 4, 2012.
10. Bobsled. Coney Island. 3468. September 4, 2012.
11. Book: Jenkins Jr., Torrence . Herbert P. Schmeck The Forgotten Legacy . Knepper Press . 2006 . 91–93 .
12. News: Rutherford . Scott . PTC built one Flying Turns at Rocky Point; Hershey's ride was designed, but never built . Amusement Today . 2004 . 8 . 2 . 23 .
13. News: Around The Grounds . Billboard Magazine . June 12, 1943 . 43 .
14. Screamin' Delta Demon. Opryland USA. 170. September 7, 2012.
15. Schweizer Bobbahn. Europa Park. 974. September 4, 2012.
16. Disaster Transport. Cedar Point. 19. September 5, 2012.
17. Bobbaan. Efteling. 899. September 6, 2012.
18. Sarajevo Bobsleds. Six Flags Magic Mountain. 98. September 6, 2012.
19. La Vibora. Six Flags Over Texas. 99. November 10, 2024.
20. Avalanche. Kings Dominion. 282. September 7, 2012.
21. Avalanche. Pleasure Beach Blackpool. 789. September 7, 2012.
22. Munich Autobahn. Kobe Portopialand. 1199. September 7, 2012.
23. Schweizer Bobbahn. Heide Park. 282. September 7, 2012.
24. Sarajevo Bobsled. Six Flags Great Adventure. 493. September 7, 2012.
25. Rolling Thunder. Six Flags Great America. 494. September 7, 2012.
26. Alpine Bobsled. Great Escape. 495. September 7, 2012.
27. Trace Du Hourra. Parc Asterix. 1038. September 7, 2012.
28. Flying Turns. Knoebels. 3458. September 7, 2012.
29. Montanha Russa. Parque Shanghai. 9045. October 15, 2016.
30. Screamin' Delta Demon. Old Indiana. 171. September 7, 2012.