National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives
NRCMA works to discover, preserve, interpret and share the historical heritage of the roller coaster for present and future generations. Our goal is to protect these artifacts and make them accessible to those who love roller coasters and amusement parks!
Latest News
Coaster Enthusiasts Celebrate the Fourth Exploring History
The NRCMA unveils two new additions to the collection exclusively for ACE and Thrill Seekers United Dozens of ride and theme park enthusiasts descended on the National Roller Coaster Museum (NRCMA) for the Fourth of July holiday to explore the museum collection and,...
The Collection
National Roller Coaster Museum expansion sees great progress
Watch a timelapse of the construction here: https://youtu.be/_YglmqFK8jw Courtesy Amusement Today: Tim Baldwin tbaldwin@amusementtoday.com PLAINVIEW, Texas — Established in 2009, the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives facility in West Texas is seeing...
Virtual Museum
Mark Moore Wing Nears Completion at the National Roller Coaster Museum in Plainview, TX.
The 10,000 Square Foot expansion is being outfitted as exhibition space as the organization evolves into a physical museum. PLAINVIEW, Texas; (November 9, 2020) - The tragic death of National Roller Coaster Museum founding board member Mark Moore in 2016 is allowing...
Watch: Newly Unearthed, Historic Ride Footage Coming to the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives
A special premiere event features never-before-seen, newly restored historic ride footage from the Arrow Film collection. The National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives (NRCMA) is debuting newly unearthed, historic ride footage this summer! Be among the first to see...
Exhibit 2014
The history of the Roller Coaster timeline was on display at The Adventuredome at Circus Circus, Las Vegas during the spring and summer.
NATIONAL ROLLER COASTER MUSEUM TO EXPAND IN 2019
The 10,000-Square-Foot Exhibition Space to Honor Mark Moore, Industry Pioneer PLAINVIEW, TX (October 18, 2018) – Thanks to the incredible generosity of the entire amusement industry, the National Roller Coaster Museum (NRCMA) is expanding its Plainview, Texas archive...
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
October 24, 1924
When the State Fair of Texas, in Dallas, Texas, closed on Oct. 24, the new Lightning roller coaster at the Dallas Fairgrounds was credited for bringing in the crowds, as nearly a million visitors enjoyed the fair. Many had come out to ride the new 3,000-foot-long, out-and-back wooden coaster, which had first operated on Aug. 7. Officials credited the new ride for increasing attendance from the 1923 fair, in conjunction with a new midway and other mechanical rides. Paired up with the nearby John Miller Skyrocket, the state-of-the-art Miller coaster, built by F.W. Pearce, it thrilled fairgoers for nearly a decade. It wasthe first time the Fairgrounds operated four wooden coasters.
October 2, 1946
The October 2 fire at Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y., was the final nail in the coffin for Thompson and Dundy’s Luna Park, which had closed permanently after a devastating fire two years earlier. Sparks from a worker’s blow torch ignited refuse under the remaining section of the Mile Sky Chaser coaster. The four-alarm fire lasted into the night while subway and trolley service near the former park was halted. With the flames moving to other structures in rapid succession, the fire consumed everything that was left except the ballroom, pool and administration building. The park was in the process of being torn down to make room for a housing project, which did not materialize at that time. It was used primarily as a parking lot until the city began construction of the Luna Park Houses (a set of high-rise, low income housing projects which still stand today) in the late 1950s.