lorddoonga

No visual signs of seat belts. Lap bars only. Great.

I like burnt orange and Lone Star Texas logos.

Nice train pics. I wasn't impressed with the old school 70's linoleum look for detailing. What I liked about the Texas Cyclone was that you could strikingly notice the red or blue trains against the white painted structure. The trains color is practically the same color and design of the wood used for the structure. Vote now for your preferred choice(s) of color for if you could do so. ___ YELLOW ___ WHITE _X_ BURNT ORANGE ___ RED ___ BLACK ___ GOLD ___ BROWN ___ GREY ___ SILVER ___ GREEN ___ LEAVE AS IS

It did cross my mind better have tested it during hottest part of the day and not at dusk. Plus the humidity factor was very high. But Vlemick was and I'm sure Gravity Group were one a "one-track mind" to get it tested before sundown. It was after all the last day of construction.

Not sure yet...possibly. I might be in the area running an errand.

Jason are you gonna head over there on your lunch break?

REAL, DR. GUMBO: That is the correct valley location. What was very interesting to watch was Bullet returning ALL THE WAY BACK to the FIRST DROP and ALMOST REACH TOP. Edit: (P.S.) The incline to the third hill is hyper-steep than it appears and has an additional "incline" or turnaround if you will. Bullet wasn't close enough to reach the highest end of the turnaround. One crew worker shouts, "it's too heavy (the train)." Too much weight my azz.

My first reaction was that it was too tall, not to banked. From the street angle it looks very tall + banked. However, if you have a look from the next door neighbors backyard... it is not severly banked, but more level. That's what Restoca noticed also, like an optical illusion. I think it just needs some track tweaking perhaps opening the distance up some more for the train wheels. Watching them spend the better portion of the entire day on the 2nd drop I wouldn't have imagined it being the problem.

Corey of GRAVITY GROUP lets me photo-op demonstrating his "Corey 3000" template. Earlier, he and Mike were on the bottom sections of the track placing the template bottom end tips within the track itself to inspect the clearance of the Bullet train within the structure (like an imaginary worm hole), getting ready for the first test run. "Corey 3000" template

I arrived at the Boardwalk today around 11:30am. It had just poured rain earlier. The crew began to climb Bullet. Around 12 noon it began to drizzle long enough for the crew to stop and huddle underneath Bullet’s exit area. It lasted around 1.5 hours. When it stopped they climbed again. Crew members I spoke with reassured me that testing would take place TODAY... from within "an hour" to dark. But there were many odds and ends to do including placing pieces of steel track for the upstop wheels on "air-time" sections. Finally at 2 p.m. you hear the station crew flip on the LIFT CHAIN. The top pulley wheel is fluorescent orange. IT WAS MUSIC TO MY EARS! Then between 3-4 p.m. it was TURNED OFF. You could see Mr. Vlemick pacing anxiously yelling "okay people we got a job to do, let's go". Around 7:30 p.m., Mr. Vlemick yells "30 MORE MINUTES PEOPLE!" At this point some spots of the 1st and 3rd drops were still getting centered and nailed again. One pair of crew members was applying grease onto the track, while a second pair was following behind smoothing it out with long handled paint brush rollers. Finally another "project manager" ordered another pair to assist the second pair. THAT SEEMED LIKE FOREVER. Finally workers began tracing the track picking up strung out tools. One worker used a leaf blower to blow away saw dust and what-not from off the track itself. Additional support planks of wood for supports were all brought down by construction a "cherry picker”. Workers are finally finishing up the major check list. And the chain lift is TURNED ON ONCE AGAIN around 7:45 I think. No turning back now. Around 8:00 p.m., all the crew gathered around on the street sitting from a long days work to watch test run no. 1. Everyone is positioned and perched gazing at the first drop. Finally looking through the structure, we notice the train has CLEARED THE STATION. You could hear it the moment it reached it and began ascending the lift. At this point, everyone is APPLAUDING AND HOLLERING! Cameras and videos are in place. Bullet CRESTS OVER THE TOP HILL leaving behind the lift and makes it's turnaround reaching the FIRST DROP. That was a "birth moment" for everyone and the crowd ROARS. The station crew mounted the crash test DECAPITATED dummies. The SOUND OF BULLET'S descent was like a SUDDEN RUSH OF WHOOSHING AIR. I was expecting it to be a lot louder. By now my mind's reaction is like in a vacuum. As it bottoms out into the first right curve the cars seem to wobble/shift a little, nothing major. Then Bullet disappears from sight. As it approached the INCLINE OF THE 3RD HILL, it began to SLOW DOWN DRASTICALLY AND QUICKLY. Everyone's WORST NIGHTMARE was realized... it DID NOT HAVE THE EXTRA SPEED to pull itself over. Then it DESCENDED BACKWARDS ... VALLEYING BACK-N-FORTH somewhere between the far end of the track near the bay and the return towards the third hill. You should've seen the look on the crew's faces and spectators because IT SAID IT ALL. There was an IMMEDIATE HUSH and DEAD SILENCE ... except for Bullet still valleying. I looked towards Jason and we both said, "VERY DISAPPOINTING to happen on the very first test run." Now is when the crew leaves the Boardwalk with SHOCKED LOOKS on their faces. Jason and I left also. On a good note, I met both COREY and MIKE of GRAVITY GROUP as they were patiently waiting for Bullet's test to get started. They were not in our vicinity to watch when it began. I can only imagine WHAT THEY WERE THINKING OR FEELING. I have a couple of shots I'll post.... Edit for sizing/pic. First test run

Very overcast today but maybe won't rain. Let the testing begin already! I'm going to have a look today.

Seems that's all that's remaining so can proceed with testing. "ALL CLEAR."

Restaurants on the Boardwalk dispose of garbage at the dumpster. Interesting is that Bullet was built right over it. It wreaks stench. Won't know if riders will be exposed to heated garbage fumes or not. At Bullet's fast speed maybe won't have too. Bullet dumpster diving

Gwazi has gone WAY down hill when I went on sunday, its extremely rough and they just need to get rid of it, because it has terrible dispatches, especially in the morning when they try to make em' race, and you have to wait on one side for the other, and then theres that bar in the middle of the trains that seperate the people and people that are about 36 inches in waist cant ride because of it, so I think they need to seriously gut that ride. I'm sure Bullet will have all the thrills minus the roughness. They should spend some of those $$$$$$ bucks and get new trains or wheels at least. I heard it had some recent re-tracking.

Bullet' first drop after turnaround. 1st drop

The neighbor's backyard view of the 2nd drop. The top part of the track in the pic is washed out. But you could see more of it directly behind the branch of leaves. Restoca's photo shot might've shown the rest of the detail. Backyard view

Blown-up pic of a Bullet key-chain from the souvenir shop. The train car on top slides back and forth but doesnt come off the track... thanks to the upstop wheels! The train hood ornament is a white skull w/black horns of a "death valley days" cow.. lol Key chain

The Neon Bullet tower is awesome! Riding at night will be something else. I believe its gonna have the same thrills... if not... better than Gwazi Tiger. So many track direction changeups keeps the riders in suspense. Nice pic Jason!

There's only a couple of places to view the station (outside on boardwalk pier, and inside Salt Grass Steak House (a/c aaaaaaaaaaaaah). Outside you can get a cramped look through the structure of the station, operator desk and controls, and the front car of Bullet train 1 ( in this pic the train is hidden just behind the wood fencing). From this point, it seems that the que line brings riders to load onto the "right" side and exit to the "left" side of the station down a "spiraling" staircase to ground level. It looks like the station is situated half way up from the bottom. Station house

The smell of lumber heightens the senses. The entrance/que are nicely themed. I can just hear those roaring trains speeding by. Sorry Jason... I forgot to crop the pic, didn't intend to delete : ( Hope its sunny again so you can get some pics of the testing. Bullet tower

Check this out! Imagine coming to the Boardwalk and PARKING RIGHT IN FRONT OF BULLET !!!!! Today, workers pouring concrete for additional parking spaces for coaster enthusiasts. Edit: At the right of the pic is a standing worker wearing an orange t-shirt.. that's the end of the ride where Bullet heads back into the station. Bullet parking

The ride cost board sign was inside the Boardwalk's administration office. The friendly admin secretary stated, " ... were hoping to be up and running in about 2 weeks." Notice the cost to ride Bullet one time. Not bad. Boardwalk ride cost sign

According to this Canadian machinist, " ... waterjug dummy testing will begin tomorrow... ". Dang, I went out a day too early Hey Restoca, how did did your backyard shot of the 2nd drop adjacent the house come out? I rate mine a 70 out of a 100. Let me know how yours looks. Whoever has the best pic will post. Eh? Track steel machinist

I was out at the site today and met Restoca. My pics are taken with a cheap digital cam. Restoca's are probably waaaaay better than mines. This is the street shot in front of Bullet showing the looooooooong que line. Whoever rides after midday will fry, bake, roast, and toast if the line is long. I purchased a Bullet key chain with movable train !!! Que-line a la sol

I wanna drive out tomorrow to have a look and use Jasons quick directions to time my trip for myself and local friends and/or out of town guests. Hope its sunny. Wish I could see the human water test jugs in action. Anyone know if the human test jugs starts this week??? Thanks Jason for the first drop mug shot. Looks like a weeeeeeee drop. I hope its at least as fun as was Gwazi Tiger.