Crazy Coasters
During the 1700s, many
people in Russia enjoyed
ice slides. Several inches
of ice covered a steep
wooden frame. People
climbed stairs to the top
and slid down the ice to
the bottom.
It
’
s a Fact
D
uring the late 1800s, new and exciting
rides began to appear. One of the most
exciting was the roller coaster. No one is
sure who built the first roller coaster, but
many historians believe these rides began in
Russia or France in the early 1800s.
The first roller coaster in America was
the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in
Pennsylvania. These train tracks once
carried carts to coal mines. Later, they were
made into a runaway-train roller coaster.
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