Everyone seems to be praising Rocky Mountain Construction for inventing the Hybrid Coaster concept (steel track, wood supports) with coasters like Iron Rattler and New Texas Giant, but when you look carefully at the history of coasters, Arrow Dynamics was the first to do this with Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags over Texas in 1966, and then Cedar Creek Mine Ride at Cedar Point in 1969, and although they are kiddy coasters, they still count. In 1980, they made a thrilling hybrid coaster with Gemini. Excalibur at Valleyfair, while not as well known, is also in this category. RMC's hybrid coasters are definitely better than Arrow's, but still, I feel that Arrow Dynamics deserves credit for inventing the concept. Your thoughts?
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First with Wood-Steel Hybrid Coasters?
- Thread starter VF15
- Start date
therick311
Mega Poster
I'm not sure I have heard anyone say RMC invented the hybrid coaster. The only praise I have heard for rides like New Texas Giant and Iron Rattler are simply that they are great rides.
Out of curiosity, where did you hear that RMC invented this?
Out of curiosity, where did you hear that RMC invented this?
Although Arrow was the first to build standard wooden hybrid coasters, Rocky Mountain Construction (Alan Schilke & Fred Grubb to be exact) came up with the Iron Horse/I-Box track that allows for new designs and much smoother rides. Gravity Group has gone on to prove that they can also design and build wooden hybrid coasters with inversions, but theirs are not as smooth or as varied because they cannot use the new track.
BTW - Schilke worked for Arrow before RMC, but he designed Tennessee Tornado, X/X2, Timberhawk: Ride of Prey, Falken, Eejanaika, Steel Hawg and the Hellcat coasters for Arrow Dynamics/S&S Arrow, not their wooden hybrids.
BTW - Schilke worked for Arrow before RMC, but he designed Tennessee Tornado, X/X2, Timberhawk: Ride of Prey, Falken, Eejanaika, Steel Hawg and the Hellcat coasters for Arrow Dynamics/S&S Arrow, not their wooden hybrids.
therick311
Mega Poster
^ Ah, yeah. I know you mean.
Like ECG said, they did invent the I-Box track. Maybe it's more that they have invented their own new layout style, as opposed to the hybrid itself.
Like ECG said, they did invent the I-Box track. Maybe it's more that they have invented their own new layout style, as opposed to the hybrid itself.
BBH
Giga Poster
Arrow was the first to put the all-steel tubular rails on a wooden support structure, however RMC's IBox track is really nothing like the Excalibur-esque coaster that Arrow created. It's an entirely new system with entirely different layout possibilities, but regardless of that Arrow was still the first to do it.
GeForce
Roller Poster
Even Intamin built their first hybrid before RMC with California Screamin in 2001. Like stated before by others the concept is not new just the I-Box retracking technology. I think the chronology of the hybrid technology is comparable to the looping, Schwarzkopf made the technology work and other companies pushed that technology to a better level ( Intamins Multi Inversion Coaster, B&M Multilooper, Vekoma Multilooper,etc...) just like RMC did with the principle of the hybrid coaster. Of course it´s not the best comparison in the world but you get where I´m coming from.