Gebirgsbahn, Steel roller coaster in Phantasialand, Brühl, Germany.
Gebirgsbahn was a steel roller coaster built by Anton Schwarzkopf to plans by engineer Werner Stengel, about 28 metres high with a 980-metre figure-eight circuit. After the chain lift, the strongest vertical incline was the lift itself, and the descents were gentle. From 1976 the ride was fully clad in plastic panels imitating a mountain massif, with parts of the track, the first drop and the brake and storage tracks roofed over.
Opened in 1975 as Bobbahn 1 in the Silver City area, the ride was built by Anton Schwarzkopf to plans by engineer Werner Stengel and was then considered Germany's largest steel coaster. In 1976 an artificial mountain massif was added after residents complained about noise. In the early 1980s the station was rebuilt, swapping boarding and alighting and moving the entrance from Silver City to Chinatown.
The ride was designed as a traditional mountain railway experience and attracted families seeking moderate thrills without extreme elements. Its name and rock theming anchored the attraction in the idea of an Alpine journey.
Trains had five cars seating four riders in two rows, and two extra trains were bought to raise capacity to a theoretical 1,800 people per hour. The station was rebuilt in the early 1980s: boarding and exit were swapped and the entrance moved from Silver City to Chinatown.
The 1975 ride was the only example ever built of Schwarzkopf's Bobbahn model, making it the sole one worldwide. Its 980-metre figure-eight layout had no inversions, and the lift itself was the steepest section. The 1976 artificial mountain was added after residents complained about noise.
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