Herbert Paul Schmeck (born 1890 in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, died 1956) was an American

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

designer. From 1923 to 1955, Schmeck designed 84 coasters for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. As a designer and president, the company became the most prominent manufacturer of roller coasters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Schmeck originally worked as a carpenter for the Reading Furniture Works, before he was hired to work on a construction crew for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. He was offered more jobs when his work ethic impressed company owners. He served as a

foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...

Paragon Park Paragon Park was an amusement park located on Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. It closed in 1984. Rides Among the amusement rides in operation during Paragon Park's history was a traditional-style Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel (PT ...

on Nantasket Beach in 1916. There he worked with designer

John A. Miller John A. Miller (born August John Mueller; 1872 – June 24, 1941) was an American roller coaster designer and builder, inventor, and businessman. Miller patented over 100 key roller coaster components, and is widely considered the "father of th ...

on the construction of " The Giant Coaster." He continued to work with the Philadelphia Tobaggan Company assisting with the construction of coasters. Despite no formal training as an engineer, Schmeck learned to design rides by studying blueprints and with his construction knowledge. In 1923 Schmeck designed his first coaster, the

Wild Cat Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the do ...

at Hersheypark. He later mentored

John C. Allen 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 Tobogga ...

. Two of his designs, Phoenix at

Knoebels' Amusement Resort Knoebels Amusement Resort () is a family-owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove, and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, it is America's largest free-admission park. The park has more than 60 rides including three woo ...

, and

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

at The Great Escape have frequently been honored as two of the top ten roller coasters.

Notable designs

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

– Lake Compounce *

– The Great Escape * Phoenix – Knoebels * Thunderhawk – Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom * The Wild One – Six Flags America *

Rollo Coaster Rollo Coaster is a wooden roller coaster located at Idlewild and Soak Zone near Ligonier, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1938 by the leading roller coaster designer and builder of that era, Philadelphia Toboggan Company. It was Idlewild's first and ...

–

Idlewild and Soak Zone Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is a children's amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as ...

– Hersheypark * Little Dipper -

Kiddieland Kiddieland Amusement Park (stylized as "KiDDieLAND") was an amusement park located at the corner of North Avenue and First Avenue in Melrose Park, Illinois. It was home to several classic rides including the ''Little Dipper'' roller coaster, w ...

(1950-September 2009) Six Flags Great America (April 2010–Present) * Wild Cat -

Idora Park Idora Park was a Victorian era trolley park in north Oakland, California constructed in 1904 on the site of an informal park setting called Ayala Park on the north banks of Temescal Creek. It was leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement P ...

Construction Supervisor

* Mountain Dips Coaster (1920-1939) - Rocky Glen Park in Moosic, Pennsylvania

Notes

Amusement ride manufacturers Roller coaster designers 1890 births 1956 deaths {{1890s-US-business-bio-stub 20th-century American businesspeople