An interesting thought/question about Pre-Fab Woodies:

[imbordisux]

With news of the new pre-fab going into Europe, I started thinking about how modernized the trains are that Intamin uses on them, and then it hit me: What if they started putting different "modern" trains on the pre-fab woodies?

 

Knowing that the Intamin pre-fabs don't (or at least, don't seem to) tear themselves apart, would it really be all that difficult to play around with the cars they are currently using, and create a different car?

 

Since it seems that this technology is open to anybody, could you imagine if, say, B&M put together a pre-fab woodie with Floorless cars? Or use completely open trains with clamshells?

 

I mean, they're not quite the old PTC-style anymore, why not get creative?

[Scaparri]

The bigger question is WHY get creative? It seems most people don't really want change for trains on woodies, myself included. There just isn't really any gain. Floorless is pointless and pretty much every other design that has been conceived wouldn't really work on a woodie, or again would be pointless. There's really no need to 'modernize' the wooden train.

[robbalvey]

I dunno, I would LOVE to see woodies get a bit more creative. Personally, I have become more of a steelie fan over the past 5 years because a lot of the woodies I've been on lately feel very much the same.

 

The idea of someone else doing the pre-fab woodie excites me. That just adds another company in the mix who will just help force the other companies to push their designs a bit more.

 

A floorless woodie train? Why not! Sure the floorless train is kind of a gimmick, at least to us, but it has been a reason for parks to add another steel multi-looper when they already have one.

 

So if a floorless woodie train made it so some parks could have an excuse to build another woodie when they already have one, I'm cool with that!

 

Any creative way to get a park to buy off on getting another wood coaster I think is great! It gives those companies more business and more possibilities in the future.

 

Wood coaster designs haven't changed much in 50 years where steel coasters have advanced quite a bit in that time. Maybe this is exactly what wood coasters need?

 

Thoughts?

 

I know our friends at GCI and TGG read the forums. I'd love to hear their thoughts on this too!

 

--Robb

[Loefet]

I just wonder what will happen if you go from a normal wooden wheel layout with the side friction wheels on the inside (Arrow style track), to a track/wheel layout with the side friction wheels on the outside (Intamin style track). With the tight specifications that the p'n'p track can be manufactured in, could this be a way to further smooth out the ride on the new breed of woodies?

[Scaparri]

Any creative way to get a park to buy off on getting another wood coaster I think is great! It gives those companies more business and more possibilities in the future.

 

Touche.

 

When it's put like that, it sounds better. As far as the actual experience goes though, I can't see too much improvement. The one thing I think would be cool with be a combo of the Intamin side-less seats with nothing in front, similar to the ride the GCI interns took on Wildcat when they first put the new trains on. Other than that, I'd be satisfied if Millennium Flyer style trains were put on every wooden coaster made.

 

I'd rather see companies get more creative with the designs of the coasters themselves. I thought the Son of Beast loop was a start to a good idea, and the pre-fab technology is a huge step. GCI has their fluidity. Gravity Group has their out-of-control characteristics, which has also introduced 90 degree turns to woodies. Intamin has 'their' pre-fab track and crazy steep drops. I'd like to see companies start to combine all of these, and then see where it takes them. Instead of crazy train advancements, I'd rather see crazy track design advancements. I feel like the technology is at hand, but nobody is pushing the envelope as much as it could be.

 

Anyway, I've kind of gone off on a tangent, so I revert back to my original remark of "touche."

[Evan1127]

I agree that it would be cool to push the limits of wooden coasters, but I also think that the inherent disadvantages in wooden coasters would be accentuated with more elaborate trains.

 

Wooden coaster structures move more than steel coasters and are, therefore, "rougher" rides. I think we can all agree on that. When trains become heavier or more elaborate (i.e. have a center of gravity farther from the structure), the roughness would increase dramatically.

 

Just my two cents.

[haiderodes]

I still long for the day we see something akin to the Crystal Beach Cyclone. There are a few rides that incorporate some aspects of it, but I'm sure the technology is out there to make a safer, modern version of this ride. Not necessarily a copy, but something along the same lines.

[sam06pr]

LOL. omg I thought of the same thing about what if someone, not particularly B&M, makes a floorless woody? I also thought of an inverted woody but thats just my fantasy. lol

I personally would love to see something different for a wooden coaster, like floorless trains or something just not expected

[kraxleRIDAH]

A wooden coaster with a Floorless coach will have over-the-shoulder harness restraints. To me, that would be more confining than the lack of a floor.

 

There's no way for the vehicles to have a lap-bar only configuration given the fact that the coach's chassis is very minimal and no place for a lap-bar to pivot and safely secure riders of most sizes -- even if it "comes in from the side of the train." I'm pretty sure B&M at one time had mulled over the ways to make their hyper-coaster trains floorless, but due to the nature of the Floorless coach, the lap-bar approach is practically impossible.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

^Not necessarily, It may be possible to use U bars, almost like a combo between B&M Clamshells & the new restrains on Toro.

[PURE]

I think it would be very interesting to see a wooden coaster where the lateral wheels are on the outside of the rails instead of on the inside.

 

The structure would look way different and I'm sure the train would ride a little different as well. Instead of being confined by the rails, the trains could hang over the edges.

 

For some reason I don't see much like this happening with woodies. But then again I'm wrong a lot...

[knowit]

Inverted Looping and Hydraulic launched woodies....Here we come.

[BarryH]

^Yep, I've been waiting for a launched woodie for years!

 

I think a simple out and back wooden coaster is good enough for me!

[AllenA07]

I think Son of Beast turned the industry off in large part to becoming really innovative with wood.

[Cyber.Fiber]

I think a floorless woodie would definatly be able to be done. The restraint system that would be used would have to be similer to the S&S restraint system used on the screaming swing design. It would be very interseting to see this be done in the future!

[RIP Psyclone]

I think Son of Beast turned the industry off in large part to becoming really innovative with wood.

 

That brings up a good point...I wonder what Intamin would have done had they been presented with the idea of a looping "hyper" woodie. Would they have turned down the project?

[downunder]

If more pre fab woodies equals coasters like El Toro, I say bring it on.

 

I would love to see innovation in woodies but not at the expense of the ride experience, Son Of Beast was an admirable attempt to push things but it didn't work.

 

I agree that clamshell restraints would be great on woodies, they are comfortable, and conducive to fast load times, and more open trains would make things more exciting.

 

Personally I would love to see an El Toro like coaster in a terrain setting like the Beast, with more airtime, with an even steeper bigger drop, and a much longer ride.

[Cyber.Fiber]

^^Son of beast was built one year before the first Intamin pre-fab woodie. I think if the project would have been proposed a year later and the tecnolagy was already in use and showed to be sucsesful, the idea most likey would have been accepted by Intamin and would have been atempted. But I mean if RCCA did it... Intamin would defiantly succeed with a project like this.

[downunder]

That's a really good point, could a Son of Beast size coaster work as a pre fab woodie. I'd love to find out.

[Scaparri]

I don't see any reason why not. With the exception of the loop, there isn't really anything that radical about it. It's only 22 ft taller than the tallest pre-fab Intamin.

[FeelTheFORCE]

I never thought of a floorless woodie. That would be a great idea if done right. The only thing I would be worried about is the way woodies age.

[knowit]

how about a wooden colosus? all 5 heartlines and all

]

[Coasterlvr_nc]

I still love the concept of a launching prefab woodie! that could really work if they use the cable lift, but change it into a launch like on accelerators. Sign Carowinds up! We need a first of a kind since were loosing saturator.

[kitsch transporter]

Actually, Stengel tried to "sell" his new track style for SOB. But it would have been far too expensive and experimental-

Maybe in the end the money would have been money well spend.

 

And, as I said before in the "Mammut" thread: It seems that "Mammut" will not feature the laminated (pnp) track!

[asr]

Some of the problems of large woodies like Son of Beast might be fixed with steel support structures. The cars required for the loop on SOB were too heavy for the rest of the track, and caused a collapse of the supports, but with a stronger steel structure could help fix that problem. The roughness could be sorted out with laser cut prefab track and possibly like someone suggested, wheels riding on the outside of the track.

 

Even though Son of Beast was pretty much a failure, I think companies are still willing to expierement with woodies. Look at Gravity Group, with adding 90 degree turns to woodies, or building a woodie over a highway, and Intamin pushing the height and speed barrier and improving smoothness with their precision cut plug and play track.

 

Eventually someone is going to want to push the boundrys.

 

Also, has anyone ever considered different inversions on woodies? With a steel spine and steel tube supports like SOB's loop, in theory anything a steel coaster could do could be done as long as the trains could perform the element. And with prefab track, it could even be done smoothly!

 

Imagine a wooden multilooper!