The thrill of the wind whipping through your hair as your tummy does a somersault and you feel almost faint with delight. Sounds familiar? It should, as every kid’s dream involved taking a trip to the amusement park and getting on a roller coaster. Back in the 1920s, the roller coasters weren’t built using all the fancy materials we see today. The engineers used wood and though the hills weren’t as stunningly high as the roller coasters of modern times, they were an engineering marvel considering they were made out of wood and were surprisingly sturdy. As a tribute to the roller coasters of old, a scale model has been constructed by an actual roller coaster engineer. The detailed piece even has a small train that can ride over the tracks.
The 1:48 working roller coaster is completely handmade and features white, green and red color schemes. Crafted out of 464 pieces of birch wood that has been laser cut and painted, the model will make for the perfect collector’s item.
The carefully built piece comes fully assembled and sells for a price of $700. Aping the lights that surround a roller coaster that light up at night, the scale model also features LEDs wrapped around the handrails. They’re powered by AA batteries that also drive the small train. The first hill provides enough incline to see the train travel all along the tracks before it comes back round again. The roller coaster features four hills and three turns that deliver sufficient momentum to get the little train racing all around.
Detailed scale models aren’t just collectors’ items. They give you a glimpse into bygone days when modern engineering was paving the way for technologies of today. The scale model of the wooden roller coaster is testament to this, giving us the opportunity to construct modern roller coaster marvels that now dot amusements parks all over the world.
Via: Uncrate
