 Using this idea as a basis, LaMarcus Adna Thompson began work on a gravity Switchback Railway that opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, in 1884.Passengers climbed to the top of a platform and rode a bench-like car down the track up to the top of another tower where the vehicle was switched to a return track and the passengers took the return trip.This track design was soon replaced with an oval complete circuit.