• 17 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Roller Coaster

One roller coaster from the side, then one car from the front with its wheels enlarged.

Parts of a Roller Coaster

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Train
  2. Station
  3. Lift hill
  4. First drop
  5. Vertical loop
  6. Supports
  7. Brake run
  8. Chain lift
  9. Banked turn
  10. Camelback hill
  11. Car
  12. Lap bar
  13. Track
  14. Road wheel
  15. Guide wheel
  16. Upstop wheel
  17. Chain dog

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next ride: the parts of a Ferris wheel

All 17 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 8 main parts 8

  1. Train Two or more cars coupled together.
  2. Station The place where riders board and leave the train.
  3. Lift hill The slope where the train is hauled up to the highest point.
  4. First drop The steep fall after the lift hill, where the train gains speed.
  5. Vertical loop Track that goes up and over, turning riders upside down.
  6. Supports The posts and beams that carry the track above the ground.
  7. Brake run A flat section of track with brakes, just before the station.
  8. Car One vehicle of the train, with seats for its riders.

The ride from the side 3

  1. Chain lift A motor-driven chain that pulls the train up the lift hill.
  2. Banked turn A curve where the track tilts, tipping the train toward the inside.
  3. Camelback hill A hump-shaped hill that makes riders feel weightless at the top.

One car and its wheels 6

  1. Lap bar A padded bar lowered and locked over the riders' laps.
  2. Track The rails the train runs on, tied to the beam beneath.
  3. Road wheel Runs on top of the rail and carries the car.
  4. Guide wheel Runs on the side of the rail and stops sideways slides.
  5. Upstop wheel Runs under the rail and keeps the car from lifting off.
  6. Chain dog A metal piece under the car that grabs the lift chain.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-30; a name is kept only where two of these three use it. (1) Wikipedia, List of roller coaster elements (station: the area where riders board or alight; lift hill, or chain lift: the initial upward section of track that carries the train to an elevated point; brake run: any section of track that uses brakes to slow or stop a train; banked turn: the track twists, tipping the train sideways toward the turn; camelback or camelback hill, also airtime hill or bunny hop: a hump-shaped hill built to lift riders off their seats; vertical loop: track turning a full 360 degrees, riders inverted halfway; train: two or more cars connected), Lift hill (a chain dog under a car lines up with the chain; the chain travels in a steel trough and is driven by motors under the lift hill; at the crest the chain wraps round a gear wheel), Roller coaster train (wheels on top of the track are road or running wheels; on the sides: side-friction or guide wheels; underneath: upstop or underfriction wheels; lap bars: a padded bar that swings into the rider's lap) and Roller coaster (support structure). (2) Nick Cook, Roller Coasters, or, I Had So Much Fun, I Almost Puked (1998), https://archive.org/details/rollercoastersor0000cook, read as passages through the Internet Archive's full-text search: a complete ride is a circuit; the train leaves the station and is hauled up the first hill, or lift hill; under each car a chain dog grabs a rolling chain called the chain lift; the first drop is the highest and most exciting drop; the first hill must be the highest one; banked turns are tilted at the outer edge for a more comfortable ride; the brake run is a flat section of track just outside the station; the road wheel runs on top of the rail and carries the car, the upstop (under-friction) wheel runs under it, and the guide or side friction wheel stops the car sliding off sideways; the lap bar; the supports and beams of a wooden coaster; modern loops are a teardrop shape, not a true circle. (3) Mike Schafer and Scott Rutherford, Roller Coasters (1998), https://archive.org/details/rollercoasters0000scha_g5o7, read the same way: its glossary entries lift hill (also chain lift), banked turn (a curve in which the track is significantly banked) and lap bar (the bar lowered and locked over the laps of seated riders); near the end of a circuit trains enter the brake run and stop; loading station, train, first drop, vertical loop, camelback hills and track in its ride descriptions. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Not to scale. Licence: own work

How it works

A roller coaster has no engine on board. A chain pulls the train up one tall hill, and the rest of the ride is a roll back down. These are the names for each part of that trip.

Read the full guide

Once round the circuit

A full lap is a circuit. Riders board the train in the station. The chain lift hauls it up the lift hill, and at the top the train rolls free down the first drop. It then has the speed to climb a camelback hill, go up and over the vertical loop and lean through a banked turn. The brake run stops it before the station.

Under one car

Three kinds of wheel hold each car to the track. The road wheel rolls on top of the rail and carries the weight. The guide wheel presses on the side. The upstop wheel runs underneath, so the car cannot lift off. The chain dog is the catch that hooks the chain on the lift hill.

  • The lift hill is the tallest hill on the ride. Every hill after it has to be lower.
  • A loop is shaped like a teardrop, not a true circle.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a roller coaster called?

Along the ride: the station, the lift hill with its chain lift, the first drop, hills, loops and banked turns, and the brake run, all held up by supports. On the train: cars, lap bars and three kinds of wheel.

What is the first hill on a roller coaster called?

The lift hill. It is the slope where a chain, or on some rides a cable or a row of spinning tires, pulls the train to its highest point. From the top the train coasts through the rest of the circuit.

What keeps a roller coaster on the track?

Its wheels. Road wheels roll on top of the rail, guide wheels run along the side and upstop wheels run underneath. With a wheel on three sides of the rail, the car stays on through drops, turns and loops.

What pulls a roller coaster up the hill?

On most rides, a chain lift. A long loop of chain runs up the middle of the lift hill, driven by a motor. A chain dog under the train hooks the chain and lets go at the top.

What is a camelback hill?

A hump-shaped hill on a straight stretch of track. As the train crests it, riders rise a little from their seats and feel weightless for a moment. Fans call that feeling airtime, so the hill is also called an airtime hill.

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