Disneyland’s Matterhorn Designers Have Been Inducted Into National Inventors Hall of Fame
Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan, engineers who were instrumental in designing Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds, have officially been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Bacon and Morgan initially met in 1943 while working at Hendy Iron Works. Three years later, they partnered with Bill Hardiman and Andy Anderson to found Arrow Development.


The four founders of Arrow Development.
After initially building truck parts, vending machines, and playground equipment, Arrow transitioned to creating carousels and other amusement park rides.
Working on Disneyland and the Matterhorn
In 1953, Walt Disney hired Arrow Development to work with WED Enterprises on Disneyland’s original Fantasyland attractions. The result of the partnership would be a collection of iconic rides, including Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Snow White’s Adventures.


CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – JULY 1955: Children running through gate of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Walt Disney’s theme park, Disneyland. (Photo by Allan Grant/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
Following the success of Disneyland, Walt Disney World turned to Arrow to help make his next dream a reality. After visiting the Swiss Alps, Walt wanted to create an attraction that would replicate a bobsled race down the iconic mountain range.


Disney
Eventually, Imagineers designed a replica of the Matterhorn and tasked Arrow with creating two steel roller coaster tracks that would wind through the mountain.
The First Tubular Steel Track
When conventional angle iron tracks proved too large to fit within the space allocated for the attraction, Bacon and Morgan developed tubular steel tracks.


Image credit: Mark Eades, Orange County Register
The new track system used rails that surrounded the wheels, instead of sitting the wheels on top of the rails. For the Matterhorn, Bacon and Morgan would also create a “booster” device that kept each car moving at the same pace.


Photo: Disney
The device was essentially a rubber tire attached to a motor on the tracks. The tire would then contact a plate on the bottom of each car, allowing it to speed up or slow down as needed.
Revolutionizing Roller Coaster Design
The Matterhorn Bobsleds would eventually open at Disneyland on June 14, 1959. The attraction would revolutionize the roller coaster industry.
“Virtually every roller coaster since Matterhorn can trace its lineage to Arrow’s breakthrough innovation on the now-classic Disneyland ride,” The Los Angeles Times declared.
Looking back on their work, Morgan would later note that it was the challenge that motivated both Bacon and himself.


Karl Bacon (left) and Ed Morgan (right). Photo: National Inventors Hall of Fame
“I remember seeing children on the rides and seeing their smiles. But our main drive was to take challenges and find answers to them. That’s what made our eyes light up,” he said.
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