This ride is defunct.
Name Switchback Designer LaMarcus Thompson Opened 1891 Replaced by Big Dipper
The first Switchback Railway was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and the first opened three years later in Coney Island in 1884.
It was to be the ride that popularised the roller coaster, with cars rattling from end to end providing a sensation that had never been witnessed before.
❓Did You Know❓
LaMarcus Adna Thompson (no relation to the Thompson family) is known as the "Father of the Gravity Ride", the Switchback and the Scenic Railway can trace their roots directly back to his inventions and patents.
The Blackpool ride predates the Pleasure Beach itself, debuting in 1891. It proved to be extremely popular until it gave way to the Big Dipper in 1923.
Other examples of this early novelty could be found at Ramsgate, Shipley Glen, Southend and Alexandra Palace, although none remain.
Note – a 1999 essay by renowned Blackpool historian Ted Lightbown concludes that the Switchback that was replaced by the Big Dipper was not the same ride that pre-dated the Hotchkiss Bicycle Railway. This has not yet been confirmed.