RCoasterny

I would like to point out the difference between the Chance Rok N' Rol and the Herschell Looper. On the Chance Model, there is a mechanism that the operator controls to get the tub to flip over. You could get it to rock but the operator controlled mechanism can interfere with your rythmn. If you look at this picture, ( http://www.flatrides.com/Ride%20Index/ChanceRockNRoll2.jpg ) you can see that each tub is supported by the sweep. Below each sweep is a black bar. This bar is attached to the hub of each cage and the other end is a tire that engages with some kind of rail causing the tire to spin and in turn, rotating the cage. On the Herschell model, each cage is supported by a large wheel that is the size of the the cage itself and is mounted behind the cage. The wheel rolls on a track and there is a sweep that simply guides the cage/wheel assembly and keeps it upright. The wheel and the cage rotate independently from each other. In the cage is a foot pedal that engages a clutch which locks the wheel and the cage together allowing the cage to rotate with the wheel. The rider has a choice to when to engage and disengage the clutch for a very interesting ride.

Here's the report taken from rec.roller-coaster as told by Sandy N.:

Someone has actually posted a link that takes you to a geocities site that shows the completed ride. It has alternating blue and orange cages, and the only lighting I could see were those funky retro sonce style lights around the perimeter of the ride. I saw the link over at *gag* RRC, and I can't access google groups at work to put the link up for your veiwing pleasure. Edit:I forgot I had a Web enabled pager so I was able to access Google Groups there and get the linkage. Here it is! http://www.geocities.com/l_a_d_0201/Knoebels.html There's two threads running on the ride itself, one with the linkage to the pictures, and another one from Sandy N. giving a report on the ride itself, giving a few pointers how to get the most out of it, and even giving a hint of a challenge to enthusiasts that you can get the cage to do sucessive flips backwards.

It's offical. The Herschell Looper is now open at Knoebels on the former Whirlwind site. It's the original design that the Chance Rok N' Rol was derived from. The Herschell version is the one that has a foot pedal that engages a clutch to allow you to rock or flip the cage over. RC!

I've known about TPR for a long time, first from RRC, and the cool clips that Robb's been putting online. Didn't join the forums until the bile got really nasty and smelly on RRC so I moved over here. Much nicer people here. WestCoaster is just too strange for me. At least TPR is more normal with a good sense of humor.

Knoebels! Definitely Knoebels... and Seabreeze. It's only 15 minutes away..

I can see it now.. Robb's Crappy Video Takes 2005!

It looks like the construction going on downtown is actually for a parking garage.

In New York State, smoking is banned in all public indoor places, including bars. I'm not a smoker, so I was thrilled to hear the news about the law being in effect. Now I can finally enjoy going out to bars and not coming home reeking of cigarette smoke.. The only exception to the smoking ban law is if the place was only open to members only, and of course, your own home.

The first generation are the L shaped drop rides, such as the Demon Drop at Cedar Point and Stuntman's Freefall at SFGAdv. You can do the penny trick on the 1st generation. Second generation and onward are all similar. They use a single tower, same as their observation deck towers, and use magnetic braking for slowing down the cars with either hydraulic or pneumatic rams to stop the cars or carriage at the bottom. I haven't heard anyone call the newer Intamin tower style drop rides 3rd or 4th generation. They always refer it to 2nd generation because all the newer drop rides use the same tower design. It comes in several different flavors, using 4 or 5 individual 4 passenger floorless sitdown cars, tilting or non-tilting, stand-up, both tilting and non-tilting, as well as a ring shaped carriage that rotates, both tilting and non-tilting. Intamin also combines a Superman-ese launched coaster with the vertical part sharing a drop ride tower. There are also some indoor drop towers that use a double-decker carriage.

yeah, I must have went in circles about 4 times till I realized...

I beleive Knoebel's is the only one that tilts from a vertical plane to a horizontal plane, and Kennywood's doesn't.

RCT3 is coming to the Macintosh! No more Virtual PC! http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/08/05/rct3/index.php?lsrc=mwrss I don't know what the requirements are, but now with the "Mactel" boxes coming out next year, it shouldn't be a problem. I think the minimum should be the Mac mini.

Over The Top (Cages), now a handstamp building in it's location. AXiS, replaced with a Power Surge. Eli Bridge Co. Ferris Wheel (15 car model), where Italian Trapeze is now. Allen Herschel Twister, called Fireball - replaced with a Zamperla Balloon Race. Various Moon Bounce (inflatable ride), I remember one looking like a clown's head! Pony rides, (where Frog Hopper, Sky Slide and Ball Crawl is now). German Carousel (replaced with Spanish Bambini, the bus from the ride is in the Knoebels Museum.)

51. It isn't blocked by those anal web-filters found at large companies. 52. Doesn't have the regular RRC Trolls. 53. Everyone seems to get along, like one big happy family...

I don't know if Mean Streak uses a trailered design, or cars with articulated axles, but a PTC train and an Arrow/Vekoma train are two different designs. If Mean Streak uses trailered trains, they would have to start with the last car and work their way to the front when removing them from the track, then reverse for assembly. With the Arrow/Vekoma train, they start with the lead car and work their way to the last car in disassembly and then in reverse to reinstall it on the track. I think the PTC trains are more easier to remove and install onto the track. I remember watching Knoebels install the train for their former Whirlwind coaster and they installed the train in the section between the station and the lift hill. It took longer than a few hours because they had to install it on a sloped section of the track. RC!

Can you change mine to "Former Knoebels Flyer Operator"? Pretty please?

Knoebels has a Tilt-A-Whirl, and a Super Round-Up. Hershey's Tilt-A-Whirl sits where the Rotor used to be, right in front of the Comet. Someone mentioned that Holiday World has a Super Round up, It has been replaced with a Dartron Zero Gravity which is basically a updated version of the Round Up.

It's hard to tell from the pictures you have. The inverted and sit-down track are very similar. I beleive the floorless uses booster tires that contact the underside of the train's main beam, while the inverted uses booster tires that contact the braking surface of the train. Another way to find out is to look at the supports. The saddle plate, or the square plate that attaches the track to the supports is square. Sitdowns usually have a saddle plate at the end of a support, while on inverted the saddle plate would usually be perpendicular to the support itself. Or, a quick check to this site would pretty much answer your question.