Parkdale, Oct 30 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The original Switchback Railway at Coney Island was the first roller coaster designed as a ride for an amusement park in America. It was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and its construction took three years and was ultimately completed in 1884. It appears that Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train that had started carrying passengers as an amusement ride in 1827.

The Mount Hood Railroad was built in 1906, and it climbs from an altitude of 99 feet at Hood River to the small orchard town of 1,788-foot-high Parkdale, nestled in the foothills of Mount Hood’s north face. Originally, the railway line only went as far as Dee, a very small town, that it was once recognized in the Guinness World Records as the only town with a Main Street with a “Dead End” sign at both ends.

“The original plan was to follow the river all the way, but the fruit growers wanted railroad service, too,” engineer Tom Smith said. “In order to do that, they had to switchback up the hills.”

“You get some of the little kids out here, they know more about trains than I do, and I’ve been doing this 20 years,” said engineer Jimmy Guthrie. Families are a main component of the excursion train’s steady and loyal clientele.

“I brought my mother-in-law, and she’s had a smile on her face since she got on,” said Orissa McGlothlin of Battle Ground.