User:Tinned Elk/Sandbox citations

Mauch Chunk Switchback Gravity Railroad
This is often designated as the first roller coaster in the United States.

In 1827, a mining company in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania constructed a 14-kilometre downhill track, known as a gravity railroad, to deliver coal (and a miner to operate the mine train's brake) to the Lehigh Canal in Mauch Chunk, PA (now known as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Mules would haul the trains of empty mine cars to the top of Summit Hill. Once the trains were loaded with coal, they were allowed to roll back down the winding mountain path with the mules riding in their own cars. Known as the Summit Hill-Mauch Chunk Railroad, by 1829 a growing number of tourists were allowed to take a ride for 50 cents a ride.

In 1845 the owner, Josiah White, overhauled and expand the track operation to make a complete loop with a pair of parallel tracks starting in March Chunk. The 2,322 ft ascent to the top of Mount Pisgah was accomplished by a steam-driven cable system which pulled a pair of cars --one at the top, the other at the bottom, passing at the halfway point. A ratchet system prevented the cars from rolling backwards. The train would then coast down six miles to the base of Mount Jefferson where it was raised to another peak and coasted back to Mauch Chunk. The entire circuit was 18 miles.

By the 1870s the name had been changed to Mauch Chunk-Summit Hill & Switch Back Railroad. The switchback in this case referred to a reverse in direction that the cars made during the descent, where the car entered a dead-end track and stopped while the track was switched behind it. The case would then begin rolling back out in the opposite direction and continue down the hill.

In 1872 the railroad was no longer needed to haul coal, and the whole operation was converted into a tourist attraction. Atop Mount Jefferson there was a restaurant, hotel and other activities, so the tourists could enjoy their time on the railroad in addition to the view and thrills. By 1874 train service was available from New York City. It is reported that 35,000 people road the railroad each year. In 1912 the name was once more changed to the Mauch Chunk Switch Back Railway. The attraction closed in 1937.

The railway featured concepts that would later be present in the world of roller coasters, i.e. the list system, anti-rollback devices and gravity powereed operation. p14

soon realized he was The Switchback Gravity Railroad Foundation was formed to to study the feasibility of preserving and interpreting the remains of the Switchback Gravity Railroad on top of Mount Pisgah.

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