All About Shuttle Roller Coasters

A shuttle coaster, unlike a complete circuit coaster, stops at some point along the ride without going back to the loading platform. Once the coaster stops, the train will then travel in reverse.

Shuttle Coasters – A Compact but Mighty Idea

Believe it or not, shuttle coasters were actually the very first roller coaster built. It’s rumored that the Empress of Russia, Catherine of the Great, was very fond of something called the ice slides.

In the winter, wooden slopes were put up allowing people to sled down them in the winter time. In the summer, when there was no ice or snow to help with the sledding, there was a groove for cart wheels so people could continue amusing themselves with this slide.

These became known as “Russian Mountains” and date back to around 1874. Some of these Russian Mountains looked a bit like a U. The riders would come down the slope, gather speed, go up the other side then come back down in reverse. Much like the modern day shuttle coasters!

History of the Modern Day Shuttle Coaster

The first “modern” shuttle coaster was Switchback Railway that opened at Coney Island in 1884. A coaster cart moved on a track between two towers. This was such a success, that LA Thompson went on to make more roller coasters.

Next up in the shuttle coaster journey would be the first launched shuttle coasters in 1977 by Arrow Development and Anton Schwarzkopf. Then in 1979 Japanese manufacturer Meisho Amusement Machines debuted a “loop coaster” at Tojoko Land.

Vekoma got into the mix of things in 1984 with its debut of Boomerang which featured a traditional lift hill instead of a launch like the other shuttle coasters.

In 1997 Intamin got into the game with its reverse freefall coaster, but unlike Vekoma who built over 50 Boomerangs, Intamin only built 2 reverse freefall coasters. At this time, only Superman: Escape from Krypton still exists at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

What are the Elements of a Shuttle Coaster?

In essence, any coaster that doesn’t complete a circuit of the track is a shuttle coaster. These coasters share many of the same elements that a closed circuit coaster would share. Some have hill lifts, some are launched, there could be one or more inversions and they could be steel or wooden.

However, all shuttle coasters will go in reverse when they reach the end of the track.

Examples of Shuttle Coasters

According to the Roller Coaster Database, there are a number of coasters in the shuttle category. So the list below is not an exhaustive list. Instead, it has examples from a variety of manufacturers.

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