John C. Allen

This article is about the roller coaster designer. For other persons named John C. Allen, see John Allen.
John C. Allen
Born(1907-05-21)May 21, 1907
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedAugust 17, 1979(1979-08-17) (aged 72)
OccupationRoller coaster designer
Years active1934–1979
Known forPhiladelphia Toboggan Company manufacturers

John C. Allen (May 21, 1907 – August 17, 1979) was a roller coaster designer who was responsible for the revival of wooden roller coasters which began in the 1960s. He attended Drexel University. He started working for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1934 as a coaster operator and rose to become president of the company by 1954.[1] He designed more than 25 coasters and made significant contributions to roller coaster technology.[2] He once said, "You don't need a degree in engineering to design roller coasters, you need a degree in psychology."[3]

  1. ^ Wooley, Eric (May 26, 2020). "How Every Modern Wooden Roller Coaster Traces Back to One Company". Coaster101. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  2. ^ Marden, Duane. "Person = John C. Allen". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  3. ^ Ridgway, Andy (August 27, 2009). "The thrill engineers". BBC Science Focus. Retrieved August 31, 2020.