Even in the care-free days of the early 20th century I don't think a device that would casually throw you around like that would be open to the public!
I remember reading that as a practical joke, people would ride over the top, then stand on their heads before the cabin came back down to the top floor, so bystanders would think it had turned over.
When working in Deutsche Bank in the '90s I frequently used one of these in the building and had the same question (but no Wikipedia). We put a piece of tape on the floor of a car that was going up and saw it on the floor when that car was going down. (Note this was necessary because the cabins were completely carpeted and there was no discernable wear).
There were also no signs stating that you shouldn't ride over the top ... so we did and probably would have even if they flipped.
