texcoaster

^ It was almost that bad on the Saturday after turkey day. The only things I rode were the train and the carousel, as those were the only things with queues shorter than an hour.

...or they could magnetize the steel track and wheels to the same polarity. The magnetic repulsion would keep the road and upstop wheels just slightly away from the rail, thereby reducing the friction and making the trains faster. Maybe that's why they're worried about the trains valleying because they're too heavy: they don't have strong enough magnets to hold those heavy trains aloft!

So, if lighter trains are the solution to valleying, then all of those other coasters that do their morning test runs with weights in the cars because an empty train isn't heavy enough to make it around the entire course should instead be removing the seats and lapbars instead to lighten the train further? ...and since I'm apparently "extremely rude" and "condescending" and all of that anyway, I might as well just pull out the stops and say Speculation from an anonymous, yet apparently very reliable worker at SFOT > laws of physics. Someone should probably let God know. [/rude and condescending]

We are actually saying the same thing here, I just didn't state it very clearly. I had intended it to read like below, with the parenthetical text assumed. Sorry bout dat.

^ Really? How exactly can one provide contradictory information, then, without appearing "rude" to you? I never said that the OP was wrong in what he heard the guy say, I didn't call him stupid, I never said anything rude about him at all. I simply stated that his source might've gotten some misinformation and I used information to back up my point. If you want rude, browse through here and see the stereotyping and derogatory comments thrown at ACE and their members. Don't remember you calling anyone out on those.

Both of these statements involve resistance, and neither of these statements apply to the Giant. A LAUNCHED pair of trains will see the empty one go higher because the launch is controlled to achieve the same speed and the empty train will have less weight in it to slow it down as it goes up the hill. Giant isn't launched, it's using gravity for speed. That brings us to the next bit: Objects fall at the same speed regardless of weight. True dat, until you factor in resistance. Drop a stone and a feather and see how the air resistance makes one hit the ground a lot sooner than the other. The stone's weight is enough to lessen the effects of resistance and allow it to fall faster. The same is true for a heavier train. Neither of these trains will have a long enough drop to achieve their maximum possible speed on the way down, but the heavier train will work towards that speed more quickly, resulting in more speed at the bottom of the drop. On the way up the next hill, it is true that the heavier train will have more mass to lift up and over the hill, but it's also true that [1] it's starting the climb with a faster speed than the light train will and [2] the greater weight will be less effected by resistance from other forces, such as air. If the Giant trains valley, I'd bet it's from cold grease packing on the bearings, track that isn't just right, or some other problem rather than the weight of the trains. Besides, they aren't going to be putting people in these - surely those trains aren't heavier EMPTY than what they were planning on dealing with when they're FULL. Even reputable sources can misunderstand some things, perhaps overhear information and come to an erroneous conclusion, or maybe he's just jacking with you.

There was a LOT of activity involving cranes yesterday, (12/8) according to SFOT's cam. Perhaps this is them replacing worn timbers in the structure. On a related note, the big crane is inside the helix. How do they get that thing in/out of there, drive it through the creek?

In my experience, a train full of riders runs a circuit significantly faster than an empty train, due to the added weight of the people. If the trains are heavier than expected, I'd expect them to worry about having to trim it, not winch it out of a valley.

I know we're all geeked up on seeing the first test run videos... but I'm wondering if SFOT will hold off on that until after Jan 2. With all this attention focused on the project (even from the GP), a non-successful test run - along with the dozens of videos of it that would surely end up on YouTube - could be pretty bad press. Wait till the GP is out of the park, send out some trains, if everything goes well then SFOT posts the video to facebook. If it doesn't go well, then just sit silent until things get fixed and THEN post vids of a test run.

I was wondering about that. There is a lot of that structure that looks to be in poor shape, and as long as the ride is down anyway, it makes sense to go ahead and replace it now. Since the track has been installed, however, it would seem that this is going to be a board here, a board there, rather than scrapping large chunks at a time. That means that there's a good chance that they can still do test runs while they are updating the structure. Not running trains while pieces are missing, but in between. Replace a board, then run a few test trains while the crew locates and moves to a new area.

OK, so now that we have all the track in place, we know what it looks like from a dozen different angles, and we have some idea of the height and projected speed... somebody needs to do this up in No Limits. Jakizle, you up to it?

I've said it before, but why not say it again? Boardwalk Bullet needs topper track. Seriously. That ride has been a "problem child" from day one in terms of getting the track to behave and the seaside location and brutally hot Texas summers are not going to help it at all. Hopefully, Landry's will realize that a sizable one-time cost up front can save a lot of money in maintenance (and loss of ticket sales during downtime while it's being worked on) in the long run. PLUS, if that thing were to ever run at the speeds it was designed to run (about 10 seconds faster circuit time than it currently runs on a really good day) it would easily be a destination coaster. The layout is amazing, intense, and unique - it just needs to provide the kind of ride that it's designed for, and do it consistently.

^Looking again, it appears that the new pic is taken just on the other side of the place where the screencap was taken. So the shallow dip that was at the beginning of the turn into the carpet now appears to go all the way to the ground.

This is a screencap from an old POV on YouTube. Looks a little different in the current version, but not enough to drastically change it, IMHO. ALSO, those old POVs prove that you really can't get a feel for a ride from a video. Lordy, the carpet looks tame in this vid. We all know it was anything but! Ground-level drop right at the beginning of the carpet

Wasn't suggesting you had lifted it... hell, you credited Coaster Galleries when you posted, so I knew you weren't taking credit. I wonder if whoever runs the Coaster Galleries facebook page also posts pics of someone else's physique and claims them as his?

^How do you (or in this case, Coaster Galleries) get that shot? You steal it from http://www.coastercon.com/html/giant_c_2.html Whoever is providing pics for coastercon.com obviously has access to the construction site.

Who is "new element" and why are they stealing pics? Two of those pics are mine (see page 139 of this thread) and one is chadster's (see page 141) (I just looked them up) - I really don't care if my pics of the Giant get spread around so more folks get excited, but it would at least be nice if they would credit where they got them.

FINALLY, that second big turn is getting tracked. Left rail installed yesterday (12/1) according to the SFOT site's construction cam. The "pushing trains through in a month" statement from the guy at IAAPA might not be far off!

I think it's important when posting to this thread whether you're saying that the coaster would be fitted with topper track or iron horse track and keep its current layout, or whether you're saying it should get a whole new layout like Giant is getting. Beast could stay the same as it is now, but the new low-maintenance track could allow the trims to be removed. Trust me, there is no need to reprofile that helix into an "overbanked helix of death" if it's allowed to go full speed. Son of Beast needs a whole new profile. KI has plenty of loops already and since the coaster would be classified as a steelie, there's no reason to put the loop back on it IMHO. The novelty was having a loop on a woodie, not just having a loop. There's enough height and speed potential with that structure to do some amazing things. Ghost Rider, GaCyclone, Hades, Hurlers, Thunder Run could all use some topper track love. The layouts are fine as they are. Mean Streak needs a whole new makeover. Why spend money to return it to its former dullness? Rattler could stay the same as it was on opening day... up through the helix. The first and second drops on it were amazing that first season, but the helix was always crap. I'd like to see the top layer of the helix removed so the train crests the hill and then dives down into it a little. Two layers of speedy goodness are better than three layers of meh. Taking the trims out (ok, using them as a block brake only) makes that drop into the tunnel INSANE and the final helix becomes good again, too.

Oh, I dunno... looks kinda frail to me.

Why??? Don't you get it? Texas Giant used to be an AWESOME coaster "back in the day" and the goal of this project is to revive that. I don't think Mean Streak or Son of Beast were ever "awesome" coasters. Why give a mediocre coaster in the first place this treatment? Give this treatment to a coaster that ONCE was great...awesome...amazing...but has since turned to crap. Just think about what Timber Wolf, Ghostrider, or even Colossus would be like if they actually went back to those original designs, and did nothing but gave it this treatment. All of a sudden you'd have coasters like Ghostrider, which can't even crack the top 50 anymore, becoming a top 10 ride again. What about SFOG's Cyclone? Holy crap, can you imagine what that ride would be like if it had this makeover??? This all of course, is making the assumption that this treatment is going to rock and change the wood coaster world forever.... I'll agree with you on giving the once-awesome coasters this new track system to bring them back to their former glory. That's not really what's being done with Giant, though. Very little of what Giant was "in the day" is left in the layout. The new ride will be exactly that: a NEW ride. It won't even be close to what the Giant used to be. I do think that if they had just re-tracked it in the original opening day profile and layout, it could easily be a top 10 ride again. I don't think SFOT wanted to settle for top ten, though, I think they're after #1. They might just get it. As for Mean Streak and Son of Beast, I think those mediocre coasters are the perfect candidates for this treatment... IF it includes this kind of massive reprofiling. Since the original layout would be basically absent, the fact that they were ho-hum before has no bearing. Oh, and to the person who said that TxGiant and Mean Streak are similar... don't let looks deceive you. Once you got on board (and I rode both in their opening seasons), the only similarities in the two rides were that they were wood and had a big lift hill.

Too bad I had to work Monday and I live 4.5 hours from the park. I went on Saturday and there was a 2hr wait (or longer) for everything except the train and the carousel, which was all I rode. Oh, did you happen to see the "Deck the Hall" show across from Yosemite Sam ride? *IF* it was a parody of those awful 'home for the holidays' TV specials that used to be so popular, then it was brilliant. Otherwise, it was just about the worst live show I've ever seen. The four folks sang flat, the outfits were hideous, the dancing and choreography were amateurish, and the entire plot was "let's decorate the tree".... which was fully decorated before they got on stage. This is supposedly how we all dress to decorate a tree. It was these outfits that made me legitimately wonder if the show was a parody. This passes for choreography. They did this clock pose about 45 times during the 20-minute show.

All Psyclone really needed was different trains, less banking, and a truer Cyclone layout. If you want to know what P-clone could've been, get yourself to Coney Island. Of course, if you're one of those wusses who can't take a bit of roughness, then you might want to avoid Coney. It's one hell of a ride for those who can take it. Edited to add: the "you're" in the above sentence is an all-inclusive "you're", meaning whomever is reading the post. There is no intention of singling out ScottBrown as a potential wuss. Carry on.

This. Floaters, laterals, and ejectors. Also, the cars fill up with water pretty nicely when you ride in the pouring rain.

Girlfriend... did I just hear you suggest that YOU, almightyfire, might put a STEELIE at the top of her "best eva list"????? woo, I need to sit down and contemplate this.