Negative-G - Lakemont Park and The Island Waterpark 2015 Page Eleven

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Leap The Dips, The worlds oldest roller coaster at Lakemont Park and The Island Waterpark, Altoona, Pennsylvania

John and Draven are getting ready to take Leap The Dips for a ride.

In order to keep the car from rolling forward in the station as it does not have brakes there one of the ride operators has to pull the car sideways off the track and keep a hold of it as you enter and exit the car. There is also no motorized system to send the car off to the lift. Instead manpower is used to get your ride started when the ride operator pushes you on your way.

The only motorized part of Leap The Dips is the lift hill.

Getting back to why Leap The Dips is a miracle is because this ride has been obsolete since 1912 when John Miller patented the "under-friction wheel" that added a third set of wheels underneath the coasters track locking the car to the it. That patent made it so coasters could have steep drops, banked turns and eventually go upside down and make it so coasters hang from the track.

Leap The Dips is what is known as a "side friction coaster" which means that it has wheels underneath the car to run on and then side friction wheels along the side of the car to steer it. The only thing holding the car on the track is gravity keeping designers from making what we today consider a thrilling ride.

As with all of the rest of the side friction coasters after John Miller showed the world how coasters could dive, twist and turn in a more extreme manner safely all of the side friction coasters days were numbered.