annatheshortest

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What? No. Can you possibly be that stupid? TC doesn't stand for Tony Clark. See, there's a lowercase R after T, and there's and M at the beginning of Mean Streak. This makes RM, and with the C capitalized in "Capture", you get RMC. There's 17 letters in "Mean Streak Updates", and the 17th state to be added to the Union was Ohio. OHIO! And since this is Cedar Point pictured here, this is clearly referencing KINGS ISLAND. KINGS ISLAND IS GETTING AN RMC IN 2018 CONFIRMED! SPREAD THE WORD FOLKS, YOU HEARD IT HERE!!

Boring and Mild: Trash Intamin: Trash RMC: the one true coaster

I haven't been on Wicked Twister as of late, or to the park as often as others on this thread, so I cannot speak of its ridership or maintenance cost--but would those two issues perhaps prompt the park to relocate it to CGA? With so many other larger, faster, more thrilling rides available, I could imagine Wicked Cyclone not attracting the crowds it once did. Also, given the location of Wicked Cyclone, perhaps CP might use the space for a junior wooden coaster? It is quite close to that section of junior rides afterall.

Sorry if these appear to be off-topic, but a friend of mine informed me today that Wicked Twister is being relocated to California. Has anyone else heard of this rumor? Or is it even valid?

I cannot say much on the culture of operation at Alton Towers, or the lax checking of faults prior to overriding them, but I do know from personal experience operating coasters that we are taught not to ignore any faults that are presented. Our maintenance staff also checks the fault before overriding it to avoid incidences such as the Smiler's. If you ever go back into a fault history, you'll notice that more often than not these "false" faults are typically triggered at the start up of the ride before everything is operational. This could also be a problem rooted in the fact that it is new technology (we had similar instances with new sensors and prototype rides) and that often times the computer may sense something that isn't there and shut the ride down. The weather could be a factor, too. But again, that is speculation as well.

The block system on the Smiler was operational, and the fault that was reported was valid, so the sensors and PLC were correct in stopping the ride. Alas, it was a team member and an engineer that went into the PLC system and overrode the fault system, thus causing the crash. There were not false reading to ignore, no malfunctioning sensors. Just pure human error. And all roller coasters are equipped with the ability to override the automatic operation system--it's known as maintenance mode. It allows maintenance and engineers (or in some cases upper management) to operate the ride outside of the PLC and perform tasks that would otherwise be prohibited in automatic mode--such as lowering a brake even though the train is not on all the sensors. But like you said, it is not available to the average operator. At our park, only maintenance and ride managers have keys to switch the ride into maintenance mode. Although there are some rides, such as Sky Rocket, that allow you to clear faults from the system in automatic mode, so the typical operator can clear them. That being said, it is hard to assume what led to Lightning Rod's failure to launch. It could be as simple as a sensor not picking up on the train's position and energizing the LSM system, or a power dip, or something much more complicated in the PLC or the launch system itself. Whatever it is, the ride did as it was programmed to do and shut down in the case of a fault.

Top Three Arrow coasters: Cedar Creek Mine Train, Vortex, and Iron Dragon.

Sorry for the double post.

There is track on the supports now from the station to the first air time hill before the lift.

I know this might be too soon, but is anyone planning on going to Winter Chill Out? I'd love to go but would prefer to not go alone...

Am I the only one who hopes this strike doesn't impact Mean Streak's work?

I'm curious to know more about this "pothole" and "jolt" that people are mentioning, and whether or not it's a new development. I went in July and rode Lightning Rod five times (twice in the front, twice in the back, once in the middle) and not once do I recall ever feeling a jolt in the track. Perhaps there has been some deformation of the track in that particular section? Also, whoever thinks Lightning Rod is rough needs to ride a Vekoma SLC...

Here's a few more images if Mean Streak from Friday. Looks like most of the lift hill and the overbanked turn over the lift is gone. It's Frankenstreak...

I think I might know why they're working so fast... No wait, they're totally not opening next year, definitely just completing major demo and erecting track 17 months before opening - Super normal time-frame... I'm fully expecting an announcement before the end of the year, hopefully right around close-of-season (aka next week) Me too! I hope they make an announcement by the end of this year. They can't hide what's going on much longer... And I'd like to prove a few people wrong who keep saying this will open in 2018...