Powered Roller Coasters

Powered Roller Coasters

A powered roller coaster is a roller coaster which relies on a motor in the train to complete the course, often replacing a traditional chain lift hill. This allows for both compact layouts that start out with curving hills, or long, extended layouts that would need too many lifts to be feasible. The most common manufacturers of powered coasters are Mack, Wisdom Rides, and Zamperla. Due to the family-oriented nature of the rides, height restrictions can be as little as 36 inches or taller for someone to ride.

The most common model of powered coasters is the Zamperla Dragon coasters (also called "Dragon Wagons," although there are non-powered versions of these coasters). Other installations include Casey Junior, Le Petit Train du Cirque at Disneyland Park (Paris) (built by Vekoma), Thunder Run at Canada's Wonderland, Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers and High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride at Islands of Adventure.

The train on a powered coaster usually picks up electricity from contacts in the rails (similar to an electric locomotive or a monorail) and may contain multiple motors. Some powered coasters are powered by a flexible cable connected to the train. Another component of powered coasters is an extra "track" in the center of the rails. This allows the motor(s) to "grip" the track and propel the train forward.

A powered coaster generally runs a single train and may traverse the circuit multiple times before stopping at the station.

A very rare Powered Coaster can be found at Camelot Theme Park in England. The "Dragon Flyer" ride has diesel engine in the front of the themed dragon and is driven around the roller coaster track by the Ride Staff.

Due to the trains not being powered by gravity, many roller coaster enthusiasts do not count powered coasters as part of their "track record" also known as "credits".

Members of the showmen's guild may also hire smaller powered coasters to travel with them whenever they present a funfair. Powered coasters that travel with funfairs are usually slightly smaller, but to make up for this, they circuit the track more.