This is the pleasure railroad. It will make you happy (or kill you)

The name of this 1910 invention? The pleasure railroad.

Invented by Alexander Aitken, the diagram tells the story: pleasure riders slid down a roller coaster track, launched into the air, and were cushioned by a safe landing in water.

Aitken invented the pleasure railroad while living in South Africa, so use that landscape when imagining your own pleasure rides. Sadly, the pleasure railroad wasn’t built, but at least we have the pictures.

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Would you ride the pleasure railroad?