Why are Roller Coasters Called Roller Coasters?

Nobody knows for certain where the name "rollerRegardless of the origin of the name, "roller
coaster" came from, but some people believe itcoaster" is a very apt description of the ride.
came from an early American design where theExcept for the chain that moves the roller
slides were fitted with rollers over which a flatcoaster train to the top of the first (largest) hill,
sled would coast. This design would be similar tothe cars only move using their own kinetic
the roller conveyor ramps used for moving boxesenergy, with no mechanical or fuel-powered help
in shipping warehouses. Of course, roller coastersat all. So, indeed, it coasts on rollers. Perhaps the
eventually changed their design to where thefact that the name was descriptive even after
wheels were fitted onto the vehicle rather thanthe switch from wheeled ramps to wheeled cars
the ramp.made it easy for the old term to "stick."
There is an anecdote that the name "rollerEarly roller coasters were sometimes referred to
coaster" originated from a roller skating rink inas switchback gravity railroads, after the gravity
Haverhill Massachusetts in the late 1880s. At thispowered railroads that were used to haul coal
rink was a ride with a toboggan style sled raiseddown from high mountain coal seams. The very
to the top of a track that consisted of hundredsfirst roller coaster in America was built as a
of rollers (like the roller conveyor rampsswitchback railway at Coney Island by La Marcus
mentioned above). This so-called Roller TobogganThompson. It screamed along at 6 mph, and
would roll down gentle hills to the floor. The twomade a lovely tour of the beach at Coney Island.
men who invented the ride, Stephen E. JackmanWhether the moniker "roller coaster" came from
and Byron B. Floyd say that they were first toearly gravity powered railroads or from
use the term "roller coaster," and there is someamusement rides based on roller ramps and sleds
evidence to back this account up.may never be known.