Whereas the Russian Mountains is usually credited as the first wheeled coaster, the Switchback in 1784 at St. Petersburg is perhaps more worthy of the crown. Carriages in grooved tracks traveled up and down small hills powered by the height and slope of the initial descent. Almost 50 years later, the first tracks were laid for the American predecessor of the roller coaster, the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Pennsylvania.

Mining company entrepreneur Josiah White built his Gravity Road in 1827 to expeditiously haul coal from the mines at Summit Hill to the Lehigh River landing at Mauch Chunk (now the town of Jim Thorpe)--a nine-mile, downhill journey. Trains of up to 14 cars, loaded with 50,000 pounds of anthracite coal, sped down the mountain under the command of a single courageous "runner" who operated a brake lever. Mules had the unpleasant task of dragging the cars back up the mountain. But they enjoyed the rapid ride back down. And they weren't the only ones.

Quickly the thrilling Gravity Road became a public attraction. Coal was hauled in the morning, but the afternoon runs were filled with passengers paying 50 cents per ride. By the mid-19th century, the demand for coal was increasing, so White added a backtrack with two 120-horsepower steam engines at the top of nearby Mount Pisgah, which pulled the trains up the incline of 664 vertical feet, assisted by "barney," or "safety," cars. The ingenious addition of a ratchet rail running between the dual two-rail tracks, when engaged by a ratchet on the barney, prevented the cars from rolling backward. This safety device, later perfected, gave rise to the clanking sound that would characterize the latter-day scream machines.

In 1872 a tunnel was completed that became a more efficient coal route than the Gravity Road, but it was not the end of the Mauch Chunk Switchback by any means. By 1873, 35,000 tourists were taking an 80-minute, 18-mile spectacularly scenic ride up and down Mount Pisgah and the other peak, Mount Jefferson. The price? A steep $1.

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