science · 05 February 1901 · 123 years ago
In 1901, an improved loop-the-loop centrifugal railway was patented by Edwin Prescott of Arlington, Mass. (U.S. No. 667,455). He had installed at Coney Island in 1900, named as Boynton's Centrifugal Railway. It had a 75-ft incline and a 20-ft-wide loop. This patent was to improve on his previous patent for a roller coaster with a purely circular loop (16 Aug 1898, No. 609,164), The early constant-radius circular shape resulted in an uncomfortable shock to passengers as the car entered the loop. The new design was made to offer more comfort by varying the radius of the curve of the loop. The entry point of the loop began with a greater radius. The radius decreased toward the horizontal diameter of the loop. The patent also covered other details of coaster construction.
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