texcoaster

It could be possible.... but it won't happen on an all-wood coaster. The track could support it if and only if the train keeps its proper speed and centrifugal force keeps the train pushing on the track properly. If it stalls during a 112 deg bank, though, then all of that weight changes direction and you're relying on just the upstop rail to hold it all together. The regular track has multiple layers to support the weight and force of the train, but the upstop rail is just the top layer of wood plus a steel runner. While it's possible that it might hold, I wouldn't want to trust my life to it. Upstop rails work fine for relatively light, very short-time stress, but a whole train hanging from it? Not good.

Also, since the turn would be past vertical, there would be some upward forces in addition to the laterals. Putting the turn on a lower level allows for the structure above the turn to support against those forces, something which would be considerably more difficult to do if the turn is the top of the structure. Not impossible, but more difficult.

Double-up.

Sorry to hear it was running so rough... I rode it in late June, just three weeks ago, and was amazed at how NON-brutal it was compared to CoasterCon three years ago. Could've easily ERT'd it for a few hours with no problems. Rode the third-from-the-back seat (wheel seat) and had no problems there, either.

I watch it for the eye candy. The host is HOT.

^ I pretty much agreed with your post all the way up until the bit about the Giant makeover being a tragedy. Would I PREFER that the Giant get put back to its original state and have it run like it did in 1990, and be properly and lovingly maintained to keep it like that? Sure. However, I know that it's not going to happen. On a behind-the-scenes tour I took last year, one of the maintenance crew said that it cost them $225,000/year to maintain the Giant in its current state of unpleasantness (it was practically unridable that day). That kind of dollar figure for upkeep on a 20-yr old ride is craziness. YES, it would make some people happy and keep the ride from getting a bad reputation if they spent more and kept it running well... but by spending a bunch of money NOW for the makeover just makes much better business sense. [1] The steel track will DRASTICALLY reduce the money needed for upkeep [2] People are going to FLOCK to SFOT next year to try this out. I imagine that the GP, the enthusiasts, and nearly everyone in the industry are going to go to SFOT next year to see if this gamble paid off. It's on the news, it's in the blogs, it's all over the internet, and the whole amusement world is paying attention. That is going to get them buttloads more money and visitors than simply keeping a good coaster running well. ....and if it really does work well and other parks decide to fix up their once-great-but-now-crapheap coasters like this, then part of me will be sad because I will look at it and say "that used to be a good wooden coaster" - but at LEAST I'll be able to follow that statement with "and now it's a kickass steelie."

I think Ghostrider is another coaster (Like Boardwalk Bullet) that could probably do well with Timberliners rather than a steel makeover. The main advantage to the Iron Horse transformation is that it allows the very large wood coasters to run with a lot less upkeep costs and a lot more comfort. Smaller rides like Ghostrider, Predator, and Bullet certainly need to be made less brutal, but Iron Horse may not be the most practical solution. Ghostrider and Bullet both have a LOT of track buried inside the structure and would most likely require a great deal of tear down/rebuilding to get that to that track in the lower levels. Hell, Bullet would probably need to go all the way down to the footings! (Side note: recent trackwork has Bullet running really well lately) As for Mean Streak and SoB... like a friend of mine said the other day, "Sure, you could do that to Son of Beast, but it would still be boring." I think Mean Streak would be the same. I rode it during its opening season and thought it was meh.

re: Rattler I didn't include that one because of the statement I made in the OP about not reprofiling it. HOWEVER, if it were to go back to its original profile with that insane get-steeper-and-twist-in-the-middle first drop almost all the way to the ground then I'd say HELL YEAH, sign that thing up for a makeover! Without brakes all over the first third, the helix might even be fun. I'd want to be there to watch them try to get those steel track beams into that curved tunnel!

OK, so let's go with the assumption that the TxGiant "Iron Horse" makeover is able to take a once-great coaster that became a brutal pile of unridability on prime real estate and convert it into a huge success for the park, a hit with enthusiasts as well as GP, and turns SFOT into a destination park for the next few years. In other words, success on all fronts and they get their investment back quickly. Now.... who's next? What wood coasters out there would you like to see reworked into Iron Horse steelies? (For the purposes of this thread, assume that ONLY the track and trains are replaced, but the layout remains exactly as it was in the wooden version with no changes to steepness, banking, etc) The obvious candidates, of course, are Son of Beast, Mean Streak, Predator. Too rough now and honestly not good enough as a woodie that I'd care if they became steelies. Other possibilities: Boardwalk Bullet (although I'd rather see them give a shot at Timberliners first), Ghost Rider. One that seems really obvious, but I'd hate to see it: The Beast. Yes, they could finally remove all those brakes and let it run full-tilt... but since the layout really doesn't do anything, the "thrill" comes from the way the train shakes and rattles and gives the feeling that it could just come apart at any moment. Roll it on ultra-smooth rails and you've lost all of that. I think it would feel more like a convertible on the freeway... fun, but no thrill.

Firstly: if you can make such a claim (won't be better than El Toro) about a coaster that isn't built yet, the full profile not yet known, made with a track system not ever used before, then you're just basically saying "hey, look at me! I make speculations out of thin air based on fanboy bias!" Secondly: Why compare them at all? El Toro is wood, TxGiant is steel. It seems more apropos to compare TxGiant to Magnum --- AFTER you've ridden both of them, of course.

OK, I gotta admit, that last pic gave me giddiness. I love the idea that TxGiant could be a coaster that could be in my top 10 wood and top 10 steel lists (although not at the same time - TG hasn't been in my top 10 wood for awhile now, even though it was #1 in 1990)

I'm heading to Holiday World this June and I'd like to make a side trip to ride Blue Flash, the homemade coaster. Does anyone know how to contact this guy? I'd appreciate an answer via PM, so his contact info doesn't get splashed about in a public forum. Thanks.

Well, as scary as those pictures are, and as dramatic as all the discussion has been, it can still be said that riding a coaster is still FAR safer than crossing a street, driving to work, or many other routine activities we do several time per day. It's just that when the rare occurrence of an accident does happen, it makes the news - why? Because it's rare. It's unusual. It's dramatic. We should take comfort in the fact that this sort of thing remains rare enough to be newsworthy. People die in car crashes every day, but it's common enough not to get reported. It should also be noted that this thing has been running nearly every day for, what, nine years? When you look at how many folks have been on it versus how many have been on it when there was an accident with their train.... your odds of being involved in a mishap are miniscule. I sincerely hope that the coaster and the park make it through this OK. EGF was the coaster that (along with SROS-SFNE) made me believe in steelies again. EGF is the first and only steelie ever to occupy my #1 overall spot. (It got knocked off by Voyage a bit later)

Spring break is THE busiest time of year for Kemah Boardwalk. When Bullet was being built, I questioned one of the managers about the looooooooooooooong queue being constructed for a coaster at such a small park. I asked if he thought such a queue would ever get used. His response, "it will during spring break!" That's when I made a mental note never to go during spring break. I'm way too spoiled being able to just walk up and ride with only a one-train wait. Two or maybe three train wait if I want the front seat.

Wow, that is one CHEESY logo.

TG was my all-time favorite coaster for many years. As of last year, it was near the bottom of a list that has grown past the 500 mark. Sad. I love the layout, the speed, the surprises... and if making it a steelie brings back that kind of fun AND makes the thing re-ridable again, then I'm all for it. If the results are good enough that they can put Rattler back to its original layout, then even better. OMFG that first drop was not to be believed on opening day. Besides, if all of this excitement means that Steve Martindale ends up on TV more often, then I'm down with it. Dude is HOT. Just sayin'

Unless something comes up, the coaster opens around noonish and stays open till 10pm. I think it runs till 11pm on Fri-Sat. Best bet is to avoid mealtimes. Go between lunch and dinner crowds and you should be able to get multiple rides with no waiting. After dinner, you can get a 2-3 train wait sometimes.

Interesting: a news report I pulled up online had the SF PR person saying it was a "partial demolation, not a full demolition, because this is a ride refurbishment" Um... The structure wood was really, really old and beaten. If you take it all the way down, but use the original footers, can that still be called "partial demolition"? Surely they aren't going to pile a larger coaster on top of that 20-yr-old existing structure???

Got 10 rides in tonight on the new improved Bullet. This brings the total for me to 723, so I think I probably know this coaster as well as anyone by now. First impression: very smooth and fast. This is noteworthy, considering that I was in the back seat. Overall impression after 10 rides: the ride is now MUCH more family-friendly than before. It's a good fit for the Boardwalk, which caters to families with children of all ages. The Bullet isn't likely to cause anyone to say "never again" after riding it now. The good: smoooooooth. Fast. Not painful. Lots more airtime, some in places where there didn't used to be any. The bad: much of the intensity is gone. Ejector air on first drop is still gone (taken out on the last round of renovations). Most shocking---no more "pop" on the hill after the queue line flyover. So there you have it. Overall, I'd say they've done a helluva job this time. The coaster is thrilling enough for the teens and adults, but gentle enough for the smaller kids and scaredy cats. I can honestly recommend this coaster to anyone now, whereas before I really couldn't recommend that it be someone's first coaster. Now, for the true coaster geeks and Bullet aficionados, the play-by-play (everyone else can stop reading). Station, turn, lift are mostly the same as before. Turn after lift seems to be a little speedier, probably because it was raining. First drop is smooth, but the ejector air of the first year is gone. Starbucks turn pulls strong Gs in the front seat. Very smooth. Zig-zag has lost its bite. No longer brutal and intense, the train glides through it with ease. Upper bay turn is amazing. NO slams, smooth as glass, little or no loss of speed. No shuffle at all. Wicked fast. Double-up and water tower turn are now smooth. Airtime in front car on double-up. Second hill rollback dogs are completely unnecessary. Seriously. The train FLIES over this hill now. Second big drop has a nice little punch to it with that good running start it gets from the extra speed. Back cars get airtime here. Bunny hop next to the old lady's house has a little shuffle, as does the middle bay turn. Nothing major, and probably wouldn't even be noticeable if the track up to that point hadn't been so smooth. Queue line flyover, holy crap. Airtime in the front half of the train. It's FAST. One of my new favorite sections of the ride. Speed hill next to the brake run, no pop. None. Front car gets a little floater air when the train is half full or better. Upward southern turn, the former source of much battering and slowing down of the train, has been smoothed out BIGTIME. Very little loss of speed here, which leads to the front half of the train actually getting floater air over the hill before the station drop. Station drop has great speed, what with the running start it gets. Camera turn is faster and there's good floats for the whole train on the bunny hop under the station. Lower bay turn has some nice laterals, something I don't think I ever noticed before. Brake run flyover also no longer needs rollback dogs. Any faster over this and it'll be another float hill. Whirlpool turn has lost the "kidney slam" and is much smoother in general. Double-up that follows has good air in the front and the final turn before the brakes is really fast. In fact, this turn and the second big hill are the spots where even the occasional rider will think, "wow, this is a lot faster than before." In fact, I heard that from a lot of the folks tonight. Oh, and if you're like me and you like your wood coaster with a little rough-n-tumble, then (and I never thought I'd say this about any coaster) the best seats are in the middle of the train. Rows 3,5,and 7 still have some of the "old Bullet" in them, but in a good way. None of them were painful in the least, just a bit shaky with a nice jolt here and there.

Most consecutive times: 34 in a row ERT on Voyage (I was sore for two days after) Other 30+ ERTs on TxGiant, Titan, Big Bad Wolf 89 times 7/10/89 on Viper at SFAW (the record at the time for that ride was 11. Most everyone in park management rode with me before the end of the day) 97 times on Boardwalk Bullet opening weekend. 713 times on it total so far. 50+ times on many, many days of riding the Texas Cyclone. I had an apartment across the street from the park and in those days, they couldn't dispatch the train with a single rider. It was a pain to find singles, so once the ride crew realized that I was going to ride repeatedly, they'd tell me to just wait at the exit and fill in the first empty seat I saw. Some days, I'd be on nearly every train out. In the 29 years it ran, I rode it more than 10,000 times.

Word at last weekend's Lone Star Coasterthon was that the track system is going to be completely new. Not just the track, but the TYPE of track. So even though I'm not at all happy with the G-train info, at least they will probably be some kind of new design to go with the new style of track. Maybe this time, they'll get it right.

Once again, to each his own. In my mind, Millennium Force is the overhyped coaster. Hell, most of the biggies at CP are way overrated, IMHO. Raptor is OK, Magnum is OK, Mean Streak blows chunks, and MF is only so-so. These are only my opinions, others have theirs. They don't have to agree.

Yes, personal preferences are why those "ranked #whatever in the world" claims are mostly bogus. Case in point, your listing of Montu, Goliath, and Talon in that order. Of those three, I much prefer Talon over the other two and Goliath doesn't rank anywhere near my top 50 because it's hard for me not to compare it to Titan (SFoT)... the upward helix on Titan, which is sorely missing on Goliath, is my favorite part of that ride. Rides on Goliath leave me feeling like something was left out of my experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know... each coaster on its own merit, I got it. Still, that's how I feel when I ride it. Besides, when the GP flocks to Adam Sandler movies and buys tons of Britney CDs, who's to say that they have any better taste in coasters?

I'm not one who usually puts the most popular coasters at the top of my favorites list. I generally prefer a ride that is quirky, unique, and interesting over one that is just fast or tall or whatever. Everyone told me that this coaster would be my #1 steel. It looked good, but seriously.... #1? Then I rode it (it was still S:RoS back then) and was blown away. It not only took my #1 steel spot, it was a serious contender for #1 overall. Hella fun, buttloads of airtime, fantastic pacing, everything you could want in a steelie. I was almost a little disappointed that my #1 steel would be the same ride as lots of other peoples' #1 steel. Then the next year I rode GeForce and S:RoS had to take a step down. Way down. GeForce was everything I liked about S:RoS, but with a better layout and a seriously wicked first drop that you were still trying to recover from when you hit the brakes at the end. Hell yeah.

That's not an official site. It says at the bottom, "Not affiliated with EarthQuest or Dino Don"