Figure Eight Toboggan
| Other Name(s) | Figure Eight Toboggan Figure 8 |
|---|---|
| Type | Roller Coaster Track Rides |
| Park Section | North |
| Built | 1902 |
| Opened | 1902 |
| Closed | 1928 |
| Manufacturer | Morris Chute Company |
| Designer | E. Joy Morris |
| Materials | Wood |
| Vehicle Type | Car |
| Cost | $15,000$560,695 in 2025 dollars |
| Replaced By | Tumble Bug (part) |
The Figure Eight Toboggan was the first track-based roller coaster built at Olentangy Park and the first mechanical ride built after the Dusenbury Brothers bought the park in 1899.[1] It cost $15,000$560,695 in 2025 dollars to build.[2] Opening in July 1902,[3] "roller coaster" was a new term for rides where riders coasted on rollers inside their toboggan "cars."[4][5] The ride was in the shape of a figure-eight and was located on the north plateau south of the location of Fair Japan, the original Miniature Railway, and Swimming Pool.[6][7][8]
Designed by Edward Joy Morris of Philadelphia, the ride was built by the Morris Chute Company[9][10][11] The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company of Columbus made the Spur Haul Up Chain used to power the ride.[12]
The ride started to suffer from "nonsupport" by 1916[13] and was operational until it was partially removed in 1928 to make way for the Tumble Bug.[14][15][16]
Description
The ride had a wooden frame and was described as a "figure-eight" design[17] and was a side-friction coaster. Morris patented the "Figure Eight Toboggan Slide" concept in the 1890s. At times, a "three-way figure eight toboggan slide."[7] This describes how the riders go around the loops three times. The cars would travel freely on a multi-level track, with wooden side rails to keep them on track.[18]
The design of a similar ride built by Morris in 1902—the Leap-the-Dips at Lakemont Park, Altoona, Pennsylvania—was described as follows:[9]
The track's rails consist of a pair of flat longitudinal boards laid parallel to support the weight-bearing non-flanged wheels of the cars and a pair of flat friction boards positioned vertically on each side of the track, which are contacted by separate non-flanged guide wheels mounted vertically on the sides of the cars. Both pairs of boards have thin strips of steel mounted on their surface to provide a hard wearing low-friction surface for the cars' wheels. The rails are mounted on a trestle support structure. Each bent of the trestle structure consists of a pair of upright timbers connected by one or more cross ledger boards which support the rails. Between the bents additional intermediate ties maintain the gauge of the track and provide additional support for the friction boards. The bents are connected to each other by diagonal wood bracing.
Injuries
A person fainted on the ride in August 1902, landing the term "roller coaster" in quotation marks in its reporting in the Columbus Evening Dispatch.[4]
On Sept. 21, 1902, Albert Jenkins received several broken ribs and a broken leg on the ride. He was released from the hospital on Oct. 30, 1902.[19]
In May 1906, Thomas Callis, a pipe organist and insurance salesman, was spooked by the flashing lights and accidentally stepped off a nearby platform and injured his right ankle badly enough that amputation was considered. He was sent to Grant Hospital for treatment.[20]
Notes
The Roller Coaster Database says the ride was designed by Henry B. Auchy and manufactured by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC),[21] but under E. Joy Morris is reported to have built a "roller coaster" or "toboggan" at the park by 1903 when he sold the manufacturing side of his business to the men who founded PTC. It is unknown which roller coaster. Morris also built the first Merry-Go-Round.[10]
References
- ↑ "Olentangy Then and Now." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. May 3, 1914. Page 46.
- ↑ Advertisement, Sunday Columbus Dispatch. July 27, 1902. Page 17.
- ↑ "Olentangy Park—Tassin's New Comedy." Friday Columbus Dispatch. Aug. 1, 1902. Page 7.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Brevities." Columbus Evening Dispatch. Aug. 18, 1902. Page 8.
- ↑ Clay Record. 1903. Clay Record Publishing Company. Accessed through Google Books.
- ↑ "Geisha Girls are to be Attraction." Columbus Evening Dispatch, January 2, 1905. Page 5.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Columbus Railway & Light Co." Street Railway Review. Vol. 26. Issue 2. Page 70.
- ↑ Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Sanborn Map Company, - 1922 Vol. 3, 1922, 1922. Map.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Halterman, Tom E. "LEAP-THE-DIPS." National Historic Landmark Nomination. Form prepared in November 1995.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Stafford, Tom. "Coaster Designer Morris A Man of Joy." Springfield News-Sun (Springfield, Ohio). Aug. 16, 2004. Page 14. Accessed through Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Smith, Stephen M. "Highland Park Roller Coaster." Hellam Township -- YorksPast. Blog post. Published Feb. 14, 2024. Accessed on Nov. 6, 2025.
- ↑ Photograph. "Jeffrey Chain Used in Amusement Park Ride." Ohio History Connection Selections. Photograph from the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company Collection. Original date: Sept. 14, 1910. Last modified July 29, 2011. Accessed through OhioMemory.com.
- ↑ "Park in Full Operation." The Columbus Evening Dispatch. May 1, 1916. Page 16.
- ↑ "Figure Eight Gives Way to a 'Bug'." The Columbus Dispatch. April 5, 1929. Page 5.
- ↑ "Bathrooms and Rink." The Columbus Dispatch. April 14, 1929. Page 85.
- ↑ Barrett, Richard E. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian No. 1. April 1984. Page 11.
- ↑ Postcard. "Olentangy Parks' Figure Eight roller coaster, postcard." Columbus Metropolitan Library. Image from the Columbus Metropolitan Library Collection. Last modified on Jan. 6, 2021. Accessed through the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Digital Collections.
- ↑ "Olentangy Park." Sunday Columbus Dispatch. May 10, 1903. Page 6.
- ↑ "Jenkins Leaves Hospital." Thursday Columbus Dispatch. Oct. 30, 1902. Page 6.
- ↑ "Peculiar Accident." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. May 20, 1906. Page 6.
- ↑ "Forest Toboggan." Roller Coaster Database. Last modified in 2016. Accessed on July 22, 2021.