L. A. Thompson built the world's first amusement railway, a small switchback at Coney Island in 1884. Todd called him the 'Scenic Railway King'. He had the Zone's Scenic Railway running by June 1914. His crew of 35 or 40 men then moved east to build the Racer beside and around the Aeroscope field, one of the longest rides of its kind, which took five months.
Safety was its selling point. The wheel flanges were on the outside of the rails, so derailment was practically impossible. It had a full block-signal system and a brakeman on every train. Two trains were started at once by a power starter and really raced, the winner decided by differences in momentum from unequal loads. 'Fat girls were of great assistance to victory,' Todd noted. The Racer cost a little under $42,500 and took in $133,789.45, twelfth among all concessions.
At a glance
- Built in five months beside and around the Aeroscope field.
- Cost a bit less than $42,500; receipts $133,789.45.
- Outside wheel flanges, block signals, a brakeman on each train, simultaneous power-started races.
Afterward
Removed with the Zone in 1916. A modern account says the founders of Alameda's Neptune Beach bought 'the exposition's roller coaster' and moved it there in 1916; which Zone coaster that was is unverified.
Where it stood
Safety Racer stood at about 37.80231 N, 122.42694 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. XXVIII, pp. 148-149
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. LXVI, p. 364
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. V (1921), ch. XXIV, p. 162
- Map of the Zone concessions, spring 1915 (reproduced in 'Let Me Get There', USC Scalar), Spring 1915 map of the Zone concessions