Coasters 101: An Engineer's Guide to Roller Coaster Design

by Nick Weisenberger

Have you ever wondered what it takes to design and build a roller coaster? At last, there’s a book that shows you. A mix of engineering and art, roller coasters are complex three-dimensional puzzles consisting of thousands of individual parts. Designers spend countless hours creating and tweaking ride paths to push the envelope of exhilaration, all while maintaining the highest safety standards. Coasters 101: An Engineer's Guide to Roller Coaster Design examines the numerous diverse aspects of roller coaster engineering, including some of the mathematical formulas and engineering concepts used.

A few of the topics covered include:

• Design Software and Computer Technology
• Project Management
• Wheel Design and Material Selection
• Track Fabrication Techniques
• Daily Inspections and Preventive Maintenance
• Amusement Industry Safety Standards
• Career Advice
• And much more!

This technical guide is the most detailed roller coaster design book to date and will take you through the entire process, from concept to creation. A must read for every enthusiast and aspiring roller coaster engineer!

Genres: Nonfiction, Engineering, Science

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2011

Reviews

[Mandy Dejonghe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t really think I was the intended audience for this

[Lars van Roon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book and very educational. There is some double information which was a bit much at some points. But the book is easy to read and understand.

[melanie butt · Rating 4 out of 5]

its maths

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't bad, but I can't help but feel like I wanted more, especially of the slightly harder technical stuff.
I am moderately interested in the technology behind roller coasters, and I found quite a lot of the information to be a bit shallow, or things that seemed very easy to know. With the book being only about 100 pages, the times were things got a bit more technical, seemed too few and too short.
I initially picked up this book because I had found a bit online showing some calculations for a few calculations about coaster design, however these that I found turned out to be the only ones in the book.

Seems ok for a quick overview of some concepts, but to get deeper knowledge other sources should be sought for.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very technical and often confusing. Fortunately, it was a combination of two of my favorite things, books and roller coasters, which made me enjoy it more than I could of. I see there’s even more involved in coaster design and maintenance than I realized.

[Kyle Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for a popular introduction to the engineering concepts of building a coaster. It is not a deep drive into any of the concepts but rather a quick overview.

[Michael Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

as a giant roller coaster nerd, this book being mathematics and engineering didn’t bother me at all. it’s a good read for any enthusiast :)

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from a goodreads giveaway. I do not believe that has in any way impacted this review.]
3.5 stars, rounding rounding to 4.

It's an interesting and informative look at roller coaster design. The book takes the tone that you don't know a lot, but that you're clever and willing to learn. It tackles the various elements of coasters (vehicles, launchers, safety, etc) is a way that's easy to understand. Whenever the author presents one of the example formulas (such as the one for calculating the bank of a curve) he is quick to explain how it works (though having a basic understanding of algebra is going to be helpful here.)

I feel that the book does a well enough job of covering the basics of coaster design, but there are a couple of sections that feel like wikipedia entries (especially the history and safety sections), and I also feel that the book could benefit from a few more diagrams (such as when discussing the seating configurations in the ride vehicle chapter) but for the most part this was an enjoyable introduction into coaster design.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great. It was a good first look at roller coaster design. It also gave great information and details about roller coasters in general.

[Vincent Schaefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent information on coasters. Quick read. Very technical