Welcome to the fifth installment of the series whatever happened to. In this episode I am going to be discussing the Bob Slater Roller Coaster model. My thoughts on why they were initially so popular, why I think they declined a popularity, and whether I believe we could be seeing more built in the future. Stay tuned. From the years 1929 to 1941, 12 wooden Bob sled coasters, which work referred to as flying turns coasters, opened up at amusement parks across the US. All of these flying turns models were closed by 1974. Cannobals in Elisberg, Pennsylvania actually constructed and opened a brand new flying turns for the 2013 season, and this is the only wooden Bob sled coaster in the world. However, we're going to be looking more specifically at the much more modern steel counterpart to the flying turns, simply called Bob sled coasters. Despite this, many of the same thoughts I have about this model can simply be applied to the flying turns model as well. The first modern steel Bob sled coaster opened in 1984. This was Sarajevo Bob sleds at six flags Magic Mountain in Volencia, California. Manufactured by Intamin, their version of the ride was referred to as the Swiss bobs, and five of these Swiss bobs would be manufactured in only two years. Four were relocated at some point. Three are still in operation today, but unfortunately there were soon only B2, as Bob at Efteling is going to be closing in August of 2019. The other two that are still currently in operation are La Vibora at six flags over Texas and Elpine Bob sled at Great Escape. Mackrides would introduce their own version of the Bob sled coaster model in 1985, just one year after Intamin. This version is just called Bob sled. Six of these Mack Bob sled coasters would open over the course of 16 years. The first one being at Mackrides, very own Europa Park in Rust Germany called Schweizer Bobbin. All but one of the six Mackrides Bob sled coasters to be built are still in operation. The only one which closed being the Mutek Autobahn at the now defunct Kobe Portopia land in Japan, which was closed as a result of the park closing. Both steel versions of the Bob sled coaster being introduced right about the same time were initially very popular and many of the Intamin models were ordered extremely quickly. These models were apparently pretty successful for these parks since so many were built so rapidly. I believe this popularity was gained for a couple of reasons. First of all, these are family coasters and they provide a great thrilling but not intense experience that the whole family can enjoy together. Also, these were very unique at the time. Being a modern version of a defunct classic coaster model and not utilizing any rails for the wheels of the train to run along, instead these Bob sled coasters would rely on a circular trough to guide the cars along. The cars could glide up along the edges of the trough which would also make these all more thrilling. So if these were so popular, why did they decline rapidly, leaving only seven to be in operation as of August 2019 and no new ground up steel Bob sled coasters being built since 2001? I believe that eventually, like many once popular rides, these were exceeded in popularity by more popular models that were able to do more with the layouts. Since these Bob sled coasters only feature to trough, they're reserved to more tame ride layouts and basically just descending shallowly into many mild twists and turns. I also think that these may have been a bit of a novelty at the time when they were introduced in 1984. There were no other Bob sled coasters in existence since they had all become defunct resulting in these modern versions being a sort of retro throwback. Any conclusion, I don't see any real chance of a park ordering a brand new Bob sled coaster at any point in the future. At this point, the model seems so dated and is so limited in what it is able to do. Even as a family coaster and the novelty seems to have worn off on these, though they're still fairly unique rides. So what do you all think about the Bob sled coasters? Have you ridden any and did you enjoy the unique ride experience? Do you think there's a possibility that more of these could be built in the coming years? Make sure to let me know your thoughts about this topic in the comment section below and let me know what model you'd like to hear me talk about next and whatever happened to. Like and subscribe for more roller coaster and amusement park content every week from coaster daddy. Thank you so much for watching. Bye.