The History of Switchback Railway

Cedar Point's very first roller coaster was the Switchback Railway, which opened in 1892. It was a gentle gravity ride by modern standards, but it began a coaster legacy that has now lasted more than a century and a quarter.

The first coaster

The Switchback Railway opened in 1892 beside the Grand Pavilion, built to the design that LaMarcus Thompson had made famous with his original at Coney Island a few years earlier. It was simple: two parallel tracks and a modest rise of about twenty-five feet. A train coasted down one side by gravity alone, reaching perhaps ten miles per hour, and there was no powered lift, so at the far end an attendant pushed the cars back up to the station by hand for the next group.

A milestone more than a thrill

The ride is remembered less for excitement than for what it started. It was the first coaster at what would grow into one of the greatest roller coaster parks in the world. A trip cost a nickel, and at the height of its popularity guests reportedly waited as long as three hours for their turn. The Switchback Railway ran into the early 1900s before it was retired.

One thing to know

There was no motor or chain lift of any kind. Between rides, an attendant physically pushed the loaded cars back up to the station, and guests reportedly waited up to three hours for a ten-mile-per-hour trip that cost five cents.

Switchback Railway is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

Switchback Railway at a glance