Out-and-back roller coaster
Type of roller coaster layout
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Out-and-back is a type of roller coaster layout. An out-and back-coaster is one that climbs a lift hill soon after leaving the station, races out to the far end of the track after the initial drop, performs a 180 degree turn, and returns to the station. Some out-and-back coasters perform more complicated turns at the far end of the track.[1][better source needed]
This particular design was popular in the first half of the 1900s and is easy to design and construct. With an out-and-back design, the hills on the way out are large, and gradually decrease in size. The hills on the way back are usually "bunny hops", or small hills created to maximize airtime. This layout is more commonly found among older wooden coasters, though modern out-and-back steel coasters exist as well.
Design variants
Out-and-back
The simplest out-and-back layout resembles a flattened oval when viewed from above, though they can be more complex. In profile, the train leaves the station and ascends the lift hill. After gaining kinetic energy from the initial drop, the train ascends several subsequent hills before it enters the turnaround at the far end of the track. Exiting the turnaround, the train descends a hill to gain speed again before entering several smaller hills that lead into the brake run, where it will again turn around to reenter the station.
Examples of this layout include Blue Streak at Cedar Point, The Racer at Kings Island, and Big Dipper at Pleasure Beach Resort.
Double out-and-back
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A variation of the layout known as a double out-and-back has a layout where the train travels from the station out to the far end, then returning past the station in another turnaround before traveling out to the far end again, and finally returning to the station in the brake run.
Examples of this layout include The Comet at Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor in New York, Phoenix at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania, and GhostRider at Knott’s Berry Farm in California.
Triple out-and-back
These coasters travel back and forth between the out and back points three times. The resulting appearance is often hard to discern from true twister coasters, which are more free-form in their designs. An example of this type of ride is the Coney Island Cyclone.
Examples
This is not an exhaustive list.