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Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a
roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
design consultancy based in
Monthey Monthey (; ) is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 ...
, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, both of whom had worked for
Giovanola Giovanola Frères SA was a prominent steel manufacturing company based in Monthey, Switzerland. It was known for building electrical power stations, water storage tanks, pipelines, boilers, highway bridges, submarines, ski lifts and many other st ...
. B&M has pioneered several new ride technologies, most notably the
inverted roller coaster An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster wa ...
and the box-section track. In 2016, the company completed its 100th roller coaster. B&M currently produces ten types of coaster models: Stand-Up Coaster, Inverted Coaster,
Floorless Coaster A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them, allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model beg ...
, Flying Coaster,
Hyper Coaster A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least . The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, which features a height of . The ...
,
Dive Coaster The Dive Coaster is a steel roller coaster model developed and engineered by Bolliger & Mabillard. The design features one or more near-vertical drops that are approximately 90 degrees, which provide a moment of free-falling for passengers. T ...
, Sitting Coaster,
Wing Coaster Wing Coaster is engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard’s designation for its winged roller coaster designs. Winged roller coasters are a type of steel roller coaster where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which n ...
, Family Coaster, and most recently, the Surf Coaster. Though B&M has not used the term, the company has also manufactured three giga coasters.


History


Roots

Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard started working for Giovanola, a manufacturing company which supplied rides to
Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...
, in the 1970s. During their time at Giovanola, they helped design the company's first
stand-up roller coaster A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster where passengers aboard a train stand throughout the course of the ride. The first manufacturer to employ the format was TOGO, a Japanese company that converted two traditional roller coasters in 1982 ...
, ''
Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
'' (at
Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...
). They also worked on other projects, such as '' Z-Force'' (at
Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...
). Bolliger & Mabillard left Giovanola, but the company continued to use that track design; the company's roller coasters ''
Goliath Goliath ( ) was a Philistines, Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's giant, immense stature vary among biblical sources, with texts describing him as either or tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challen ...
'' (at
Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...
) and ''
Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
'' (at
Six Flags Over Texas "Six flags over Texas" is the slogan used to describe the six sovereign countries that have had control over some or all of the current territory of the U.S. state of Texas: Spain (1519–1685; 1690–1821), France (1685–1690), Mexico (1821� ...
), use a track style very similar to B&M's.


Launch

In 1987, Giovanola underwent a change of management, and the pair decided to leave and create their own company. At the time, B&M employed four people, including two draftsmen: Bolliger and Mabillard. When B&M was created, the pair had agreed not to make any more amusement attractions. However, Robert Mampe,
Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...
's staff engineer, had worked with both men during the construction of '' Z-Force''; he contacted the newly-formed company and asked them to reconfigure the cars for its Giovanola-built, Intamin bobsled coaster, to be relocated from
Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located approximately southeast of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelph ...
. Following that project, Mampe asked the new company to design and build a stand-up roller coaster for
Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...
, similar to ''
Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
'' at
Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...
. B&M accepted the offer and hired two more draftsmen. But B&M had a problem regarding how and where to manufacture the track pieces for the roller coaster. With the favorable history of the work done by
Clermont Steel Fabricators Clermont Steel Fabricators (abbreviated as CSF) is a private steel products manufacturing company known for making Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters. The plant is located in Batavia, Ohio. CSF was founded in 2004 after the closing of Southern O ...
(on ''
Vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex (: vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
'',
Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...
, and ''
Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
'',
Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...
), Walter Bolliger went to the steel plant and asked if they would be interested in manufacturing the track. Clermont Steel Fabricators accepted, and to this day, manufactures all of B&M's roller coaster track pieces for all of North America. Now with a company to manufacture the track, B&M built its first roller coaster, a stand-up roller coaster, '' Iron Wolf'', which opened in 1990 at
Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...
. Two years later, Bolliger & Mabillard built another project for Six Flags Great America, '' Batman: The Ride'', the world's first
inverted roller coaster An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster wa ...
, which brought them to prominence in the industry.


Development

Bolliger & Mabillard also invented the
Floorless Coaster A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them, allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model beg ...
and the
Dive Coaster The Dive Coaster is a steel roller coaster model developed and engineered by Bolliger & Mabillard. The design features one or more near-vertical drops that are approximately 90 degrees, which provide a moment of free-falling for passengers. T ...
. The company also built its first
launched roller coaster The launched roller coaster is a type of roller coaster that initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanism ...
, the ''
Incredible Hulk The Incredible Hulk is a fictional character of Marvel Comics. The Incredible Hulk may also refer to: Comics * ''The Incredible Hulk'' (comic book), the main Hulk comic series (1963–) * ''The Incredible Hulk'' (comic strip), a comic strip ba ...
'', which is at
Islands of Adventure Universal Islands of Adventure, often shortened to Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, United States. It originally opened as Universal Studios Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part ...
. In 2010, B&M unveiled its new
Wing Coaster Wing Coaster is engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard’s designation for its winged roller coaster designs. Winged roller coasters are a type of steel roller coaster where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which n ...
and premiered the prototype model, named ''
Raptor Raptor(s) or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of avian and non-avian dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunt ...
'', at
Gardaland Gardaland Resort is an amusement park resort located in northern Italy. Opened on 19 July 1975, the resort includes Gardaland Park, Gardaland Sea-Life, Legoland Waterpark, Gardaland Hotel, Adventure Hotel and Magic Hotel. It is adjacent to Lake G ...
in 2011. It has two seats on each side on the car that hang riders over the sides of the track. there are fifteen in operation. In 2015, B&M constructed '' Thunderbird'' at
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, formerly named Santa Claus Land, is a theme park and water park located in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. The theme park opened in 1946 and features rides, live entertainment, and games that are divided i ...
, its first in-house launched coaster. By 2010, B&M employed twelve engineers, twelve draftsmen and two draftswomen. The company has made other contributions to the roller coaster industry. The company built the trains for the '' Psyclone'', a now-demolished
wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be ...
at
Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...
. The trains were later used on the park's ''
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue; colossal statues, are generally taken to mean a statue at least twice life-size ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ...
'' wooden roller coaster (until it was refurbished by Rocky Mountain Construction), but were only used during October each year. The trains faced backward and usually raced against trains on the second track, which ran forward. In 2013, the company launched the construction of
Banshee A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or kee ...
, the world's longest inverted roller coaster. B&M supplied new trains for
Steel Dragon 2000 is a steel roller coaster located at Nagashima Spa Land amusement park in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Built by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, Steel Dragon 2000 opened to the public on 1 August 2000. Its name derives from Chinese astrology and zodiac ...
, built by
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, later simply known as Morgan, was a manufacturer of roller coaster trains, custom amusement rides, roller coasters, children's rides and other amusement devices. Founded in 1983, the company was originally headquartere ...
in 2000. As of 2012, Bolliger & Mabillard had 85 operating roller coasters worldwide. Of these, twenty-two were listed among that year's ''
Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
''
Golden Ticket Awards ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, List of amusement rides, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspape ...
Top 50 Steel Coasters List for 2012 and five were in the top 10. By 2016, Bolliger & Mabillard had completed its 100th coaster, and had built more roller coasters than any other manufacturer on the Golden Ticket Awards Steel Coasters list.


Features

Bolliger & Mabillard currently manufactures ten different roller coaster styles: Stand-Up Coaster,
Inverted Coaster An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the roller coaster train, train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. T ...
,
Floorless Coaster A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them, allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model beg ...
, Flying Coaster,
Hyper Coaster A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least . The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, which features a height of . The ...
,
Dive Coaster The Dive Coaster is a steel roller coaster model developed and engineered by Bolliger & Mabillard. The design features one or more near-vertical drops that are approximately 90 degrees, which provide a moment of free-falling for passengers. T ...
, Sitting Coaster,
Wing Coaster Wing Coaster is engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard’s designation for its winged roller coaster designs. Winged roller coasters are a type of steel roller coaster where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which n ...
, Family Coaster and most recently, the Surf Coaster. Bolliger & Mabillard has been involved in developing new technologies and concepts in roller coasters almost since its inception. It has often worked with engineer
Werner Stengel Werner Stengel (born 22 August 1936, in Bochum) is a German roller coaster designer and engineer. Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH (or Ingenieurbuero Stengel GmbH). Stengel first worked on a ...
and with designers and management of client theme parks.


Lift hills

Early Bolliger & Mabillard coasters feature an element known as a "pre-drop", a short drop after the top of the lift hill and before the start of the first drop, designed to reduce stress on the lift chain. The flat section between the pre-drop and the first drop serves as a shelf to support the weight of the train, reducing related stresses on the chain. On most coasters without a pre-drop, the weight of the train tends to pull on the lift chain as it begins its descent because the latter half of the train is still being lifted by the chain. Pre-drops have not been used on the company's Dive or Flying coasters, or on hyper coasters built after 1999. '' OzIris'' at
Parc Astérix Parc Astérix () is a theme park in France based on the comic book series ''Asterix'' by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny. In 2023, the park welcomed over 2.8 million visitors, making it the second most visited park in France behind Disneyland P ...
was the first B&M inverted roller coaster that does not feature a pre-drop. Ever since, no coaster built by B&M has featured a pre-drop because the chain accelerates to acquire the same speed as the train when it is being taken over by gravity after it passes the crest.


Trains

Most of Bolliger & Mabillard's roller coaster
trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
use four-abreast seating. Each car has one row of four seats, while the train length can vary between coasters. All of the company's coaster models, except the Dive Coaster, Wing Coaster, Family Inverted Coaster and Surf Coaster use this configuration. The Dive Coaster uses six, seven, eight or ten-abreast seating, with two or three rows of seats. For example, '' Griffon'' at
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States, located approximately northwest of Virginia Beach. The park w ...
, uses ten seats in three rows, while '' Krake'' at
Heide Park Heide Park Resort, commonly known as Heide Park, is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. With an overall area of over 850,000 m2 (210 acres), it is the largest amusement park in Northern Germany and among the largest in the country. ...
uses six-across seating in three rows. On recent hyper coaster projects, B&M has used a new car design that has two rows of two seats; the two seats in the rear of the car pushed out from the centerline so that the four seats resemble a
V formation A V formation is a symmetric V- or Chevron (insignia), chevron-shaped Formation flying, flight formation. In nature, it occurs among goose, geese, swans, ducks, and other bird migration, migratory birds while in human aviation it is used mostly ...
. This formation has only been used on ''
Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...
'' at
Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
, '' Diamondback'' at
Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...
,
Thunder Striker Thunder Striker, formerly known as Intimidator, is a hypercoaster located at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard and located in the Thunder Road section of the park, the ride opened to public on ...
at Carowinds, and '' Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya'' at
PortAventura Park PortAventura Park is a Amusement park, theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the Municipalities of Spain, municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park ...
, in the resort
PortAventura World PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, Spain. It was built around the PortAventura Park theme park, which attracts around 5.3 million visitors per year, making it ...
. In 2013, B&M introduced a new car design that has two rows of two seats, however, they are not in a V formation. All B&M hyper coasters use a type of restraint called a "T-bar" or "Clamshell" restraint, which consists of bar with a cushioned lap bar with two handles for riders to hold on to. This type of restraint generally does not use a seat belt, however seat belts have been added to ''
Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...
'' and ''
Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
'' at
Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
, '' Diamondback'' and ''
Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...
'' at
Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...
, and '' Intimidator'' and ''
Fury 325 Fury 325 is a steel roller coaster located at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Manufactured by , Fury 325 opened as the world's tallest giga coaster on March 28, 2015. It features of track and a maximum hei ...
'' at
Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park is owned and operated by Six Flags. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park ...
. Bolliger & Mabillard also uses over-the-shoulder restraints, in that the restraint is placed over the riders' shoulders and sits and extends to the riders' laps. This type of restraint is used on Dive, Inverted, Sitting, Flying, Floorless, Stand-up and Wing Coasters. Bolliger & Mabillard has recently begun using a vest like over the shoulder restraint, which reduces headbanging found on the older, more common padded over the shoulder restraints. These have been met with some criticism from the coaster community, due to the nature in which they tighten during the ride; stapling riders to their seats, resulting in less airtime (negative g-forces) being felt.


Track

A notable feature of Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters is the box-section track. The running rails are connected to a box-section spine, instead of the circular spine used by other manufacturers. When a train travels around a box-section track, it creates a one-of-a-kind whooshing sound, which is sometimes nicknamed the “B&M roar” by roller coaster enthusiasts. However, on some Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters, such as '' Talon'' at
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an Amusement park, amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown, in the United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, Six Flags Entertainment Corpor ...
and ''
GateKeeper A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...
'' at
Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...
, the track is filled with a proprietary sound dampening material to reduce this noise. Also, depending on the model of the roller coaster, the track size can vary. Models such as the Flying, Wing and Dive Coaster have heavier trains which require a larger track size while models with lighter trains, such as the Stand-Up and Hyper Coaster, do not and use a smaller sized track.


Brakes

As of 2016, Bolliger & Mabillard uses three types of braking systems: friction, magnetic, and water.


Friction brakes

When B&M was first founded, the linear magnetic eddy brake had yet to be developed, so it used friction brakes as its main braking system. On the train, pads are fitted on the vehicle chassis between the wheel assemblies. On the brakes, similar pads are connected to steel supports. When the pads on the train come into contact with the brakes, friction is created which slows the train. Beginning with Kumba in 1993, friction brakes have also been used as trim brakes that regulate the speed of the train while it is still navigating the course.


Magnetic brakes

Magnetic brakes provide smoother deceleration than friction brakes; most B&M roller coasters built after 2001 (starting with Nitro) have at least one set of magnetic brakes. Magnetic brakes do not make contact with the train. Metal fins that run parallel to the train are fitted on the vehicle chassis between the wheel assemblies. As the fins pass through the brakes, the magnetic field created by the brakes slows the train. Magnetic brakes have also been used as an alternate type of trim brake on B&M roller coasters such as ''
Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
'' at
Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
.


Water brakes

Water brakes were first introduced on ''
SheiKra SheiKra (, ) is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was proposed by Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering for the park, and design ...
'' at
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa. Owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts, the park opened on June 1, 1959. The pa ...
in 2005. Water brakes can only be used when a splashdown element, in which a body of water surrounds a section of track, is present within the layout of the roller coaster. When scoops on the last car of each train come in contact with the surrounding water, the train slows down and the water is sprayed several feet into the air behind it.


Notable roller coasters

According to the
Roller Coaster DataBase Roller Coaster DataBase (RCDB) is a roller coaster and amusement park database begun in 1996 by Duane Marden. It has grown to feature statistics and pictures of over 12,000 roller coasters from around the world. Publications that have mentioned ...
, Bolliger & Mabillard has built 127
roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
s since its founding in 1988,Bolliger & Mabillard - rcdb.com
/ref> beginning with Iron Wolf, which opened at
Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...
in 1990. Some have either been relocated, renamed or closed. In North America, B&M coaster designs are manufactured by
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
company Clermont Steel Fabricators.


References


External links

*
Listing of B&M rides at the Roller Coaster DataBase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolliger and Mabillard 1988 establishments in Switzerland Design companies established in 1988 Design companies of Switzerland Manufacturing companies established in 1988 Roller coaster manufacturers