Retrochrome

I’ve been trying to decipher this photo for a while and figure out where it was taken. Reverse image look up on Google has made that job somewhat simpler, albeit a little less fun of a journey.

I knew it was a hanging monorail, that point is a bit obvious. But the angle of the photo had me confused on how the track worked. Photo’s 2 dimensions played tricks with my brain and my logic circuits just couldn’t get past what I thought I saw as a track that didn’t connect to the other part of the track.

This is the Ferrocarril aéreo at the Tibidabo Amusement park in Barcelona, Spain. Tibidobo was opened in 1901 and the Ferrocarril Aereo came a long in 1915. I love how industrial age this ride looks and still has that feel today, although a bit more modern flair has been added to the experience.

Looking over some film footage of Coney Island and some other amusement parks from the 1890s and early 1900s, it’s amazing how the evolutionary structure of rides haven’t changed or maybe I mean basic concepts of what we enjoy at places like Disney World or my favorite Carowinds on the state line of NC and SC.

A few other clips of harrowing amusement park rides of the past.

Switchback Railroad

Steeple Chase — Coney Island

This ride is out of your mind scary, but must have been amazing.