Drop the Dip
Entrance to Drop the Dip on Coney Island Bowery
Coney Island
LocationConey Island
Coordinates40°34′28″N 73°58′43″W / 40.5744°N 73.9786°W / 40.5744; -73.9786
StatusRemoved
Opening dateJune 6, 1907 (1907-06-06)
Closing dateIn the 1930s
General statistics
ManufacturerArthur Jarvis
DesignerChristopher Feucht, Welcome Mosley
Height60 ft (18 m)
Duration1 minute 30 seconds
Trainsa single car. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 4 riders per train.
Drop the Dip at RCDB

Drop the Dip, later known as Trip to the Moon,[1][2] was a wooden roller coaster that operated at several locations in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century. The coaster is considered by some to have been the first truly high-speed roller coaster.[3]

Design

While innovative in its design, Drop the Dip was also noteworthy for how this design came about. A carpenter by the name of Christopher Feucht supposedly saw a toy model of a roller coaster in the office of his dentist, Welcome Mosley. Feucht was intrigued by the exaggerated hills and turns of Mosley's model coaster and asked Mosley to partner with him in designing and building a similar roller coaster in full scale.[3][4]

Several authors have argued that the "extreme" elements in Drop the Dip represented an important shift away from a more sedate approach to earlier roller coaster design.[5][6] The coaster was also the first to feature lap bars.[3][6] Mental Floss listed the coaster as one of the "10 Roller Coasters that Changed America".[6]

History

The coaster opened on June 6, 1907, in the Bowery area of Coney Island to significant success.[4][3] It operated for only a little more than a month, however, before it was destroyed by the 1907 Steeplechase Park fire.[5] Soon after it was destroyed, Feucht rebuilt the coaster in even more extreme form.[2] The coaster was also moved several times after the fire. It was moved across the street during the 1910s (in 24 hours) to acquire better rent values[3][7] and then was moved once more to Luna Park in 1924[2] (then changing its name to Trip to the Moon)[7] Throughout the years and moves, Feucht continued to make adjustments and improvements to the coaster. He also worked sometimes as a ride operator.[3] The ride was popular at Coney Island[3] and earned around $20,000 a year on a ticket price of 25 cents.[1][7]

Layout

In addition to its extreme drops and high speeds, Drop the Dip had a relatively compact footprint and short ride. Standing in a space of 450 by 65 feet (137 by 20 m), the ride was 90 seconds in length.[1][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Drop the Dip". Coney Island History Project. July 6, 2016. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Trip to the Moon  (Luna Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cartmell, Robert (1987). The Incredible Scream Machine: A History of the Roller Coaster. Fairview Park, OH and Bowling Green, OH: Amusement Park Books, Inc. and Bowling Green State University Popular Press. ISBN 0879723416.
  4. ^ a b Trager, James (2003). The New York Chronology: The Ultimate Compendium of Events, People, and Anecdotes from the Dutch to the Present. New York, NY: HarperResource. ISBN 0060523417.
  5. ^ a b Immerso, Michael (2002). Coney Island: The People's Playground. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813531381.
  6. ^ a b c Finn, Alan (July 30, 2014). "10 Roller Coasters That Changed America". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Phalen, William J. (2016). Coney Island: 150 Years of Rides, Fires, Floods, the Rich, the Poor and Finally Robert Moses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-1476623733.
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