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Senior Project: Model Roller Coaster


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My ideas for the train...

 

I have a rectangular piece of steel that's about an inch wide and it's hollow. I'll cut it into 6 pieces that are an inch long. Into each of the inch long sections, I'll cut grooves into each side that are 1/4 of an inch wide. From there, I will slide my wheels into the groove and weld the axle to the rectangular piece.

 

For my wheels, my papaw was a tool and die maker, and he has some tools I can use. All I have to do is cut a half inch rod of steel into 1/4 inch sections and then drill a 1/16 hole in the middle.

 

For the car...I'll have two cars. They'll be sort of boxy, but I'll make a pointy nose for the front car and have them all decorated. Then, I'll make little seats that are basically L shaped and then I'll add lap bars using the wire I used for the cross ties. That's about it!

train.bmp

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Be sure to polish the axles and use either graphite or silicone spray on the wheels. You may want to wipe the rails with silicone spray to cut down on friction too. Use only a "dry" lube. WD-40 will work OK, but a pure silicone may be better. Make sure the gauge on the guide wheels has plenty of slack to take into account variations in track width.

 

I truly am impressed with what you have accomplished in such a short time. You are one of the few who have actually tackled such an ambitious project and seen it through.

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Looks really cool! But what are those hand weights doing there in the first photo on the page?

 

They were used to hold down the supports I had to reglue to the base.

 

Be sure to polish the axles and use either graphite or silicone spray on the wheels. You may want to wipe the rails with silicone spray to cut down on friction too. Use only a "dry" lube. WD-40 will work OK, but a pure silicone may be better. Make sure the gauge on the guide wheels has plenty of slack to take into account variations in track width.

 

I truly am impressed with what you have accomplished in such a short time. You are one of the few who have actually tackled such an ambitious project and seen it through.

 

Yeah, I got some graphite powder stuff...and I'll be sure to have plenty of slack with the wheels and stuff.

 

Still looks amazing.

 

Are you planning on doing any signage/scenery for the ride? I think that would be really cool.

 

OMG, YES! Tell me if you guys like this...the station will basically be a simple open air station with a curved roof and then the que line will be between the last turn/station/straight bit of track after the loop. Then, the entrance to the ride will be in the arch support for the loop. Here's a pic...

 

 

However...the actual thing will be MUCH more detailed. That's just to show the layout of where stuff will go.

 

 

Anyway, I just want to thank you guys for all of your support! I probably wouldn't be nearly as motivated if it wasn't for doing all of these updates.

 

Oh, and does anybody want to make up a name for the ride?

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

It's not a class. Basically at my school for our senior year, we have to do a HUGE project in English. Everybody can choose a different topic that involves different careers or community service. Throughout this semester we've written a 10+ page research paper, narrative essay, etc. etc.... But, with the topic you choose, you have to have a product. That's where my roller coaster comes in. Tomorrow we present our product and everything to a panel of judges and it will count as six major grades. So...here's the finished product!

n1291230554_30285813_6911.jpg.dd498233d9de0a2e927f07040cecdc95.jpg

By the way, I had to go with plan B. A working model would have cost me a lot more over my budget.

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Coincidentally, a group of seniors at my HS who were taking a high-level CAD course drafted the coaster in CAD and then bought a model kit to build it. It took a whole marking period to draft it.

Its on display and it works, too.

 

But this is even better, I think. Comepletely DIY and it looks like some great effort was put into it. Great job and good luck with the judging.

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