Loopy Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Hi all. I was just going through some pics from last year. I happened to be at CP when magnum had the collision. I figured some of you might find these pics interesting. Its a good thing the collision happened at low speed. Unfortunatly, my digital camera had broken, so I resorted to some disposables. From the other side, after they pulled the trains apart. Right after the collision, you can see both trains next to each other in the brake run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber.Fiber Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Thank-you for the pictures. When this happened, were people loading into the train that was hit when it was in station? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 The collision actually happened on the brake run. There are two sets of brakes on magnum, and the train slipped through the first and bumped the train sitting in the second. The train in the station was not affected by the incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I wish this hadnt happened because they have the stupid rain policy now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Yeah, but it's not the end of the world. Granted it is a nuisance having to wait several hours for rides to open after the rain has cleared, but you have to understand that they are trying to protect themselves from ever having to deal with a similar incident again. I personally don't feel the rain policy is necessary, especially on rides like Millennium Force and Maverick which use magnetic brakes, but it's a small price to pay to be able to visit such a wonderful park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFGAm Shock Wave Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I still don't believe rain was the only factor in this collision. For the train to slip all the way through the brakes is extreme. That said, I know at SFGAm, the rule is no ride runs 3 trains in any rain. Other than that, everything stays open until its moderate rain (with the exception of Ragin' Cajun and Whizzer which are unusually sensitive to wet conditions). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voyage_luvr Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Was anyone severely injured in this accident? I don't remember much of it as it was a year ago and there was alot worse accidents that happened last summer (S:TOP), that distracted most people from this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I still don't believe rain was the only factor in this collision. For the train to slip all the way through the brakes is extreme. Well the brakes it slipped through are emergency brakes only used when the trains stack. When those brakes are used the train hits them pretty damn hard. Results in quite a bit of whiplash for the people on the train. So it's not totally surprising that a train slipped through when wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvoLee Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 removed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFGAm Shock Wave Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 ^^ Still, it seems the ride should be designed so that it can stack safely. I blame Arrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 ^^LOL!!! Seriously, it's ridiculous that this accident happened. Crap to blame it on the rain. And Double Crap to now have such a horrible rain policy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 but it's a small price to pay to be able to visit such a wonderful park. This attitude is probably the reason why CF assumes that they can get away with their absurd new rain policy. What happened with Magnum is a problem, but the answer isn't to shut the whole place down every time a solitary drop of rain hits the midway. The answer is simple: FIX THE BRAKES. But that would cost money. And why should they spend any money when they know their fanboys will put up with the standing around for half the day with nothing to do. If only someone could transport Maverick and Cedar Downs to another park, I'd never have to visit CP again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 ^ Amen... When I went to Cedar Point this summer they closed down Millennium Force before it even started raining! It was a good twenty minutes before the rain started, and when it did they closed EVERYTHING. Seriously, the only rides open were indoors, except for Disaster Transport as I believe it leaks.. heh. I don't see what the big deal is with this "incident" the trains could not have been going more then 5 miles an hour. Hardly fast enough to cause any long, or even short term damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 No offense, but I'm hardly saying that Cedar Point is a perfect park. I'm a huge fan of Cedar Point, but not a Cedar Point fanboy. The park has some severe problems (cost of parking, food, and merchandise, poor operations on several rides, occasional rude employees, terrible rain policy (like I said, I don't agree with it but I'll put up with it if it's there), complete disregard for nature, general attitude toward decreasing attendance, and many more that I don't feel like naming). But I still feel it is a great place to visit. I have fun on any ride. I feel that it is more about having fun with the people around you and enjoying a day at an amusement park. I don't need the world's most amazing rides to have fun. Some of my most memorable experiences at parks are riding kiddy coasters and just looking plain ridiculous. Is Cedar Point the best park on earth? Not by any means, but is it a great place to have fun and not have to worry about the real world for just a day? Hell yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 ^ Amen... When I went to Cedar Point this summer they closed down Millennium Force before it even started raining! It was a good twenty minutes before the rain started, and when it did they closed EVERYTHING. Seriously, the only rides open were indoors, except for Disaster Transport as I believe it leaks.. heh. I don't see what the big deal is with this "incident" the trains could not have been going more then 5 miles an hour. Hardly fast enough to cause any long, or even short term damage. If the guests actually put up with this BS, it's actually a great business decision for CP. It rains a lot up there. So, they'd save a lot of money in wear and tear and power by not running the rides in the rain. Also, people are more apt to spend money in the restaurants and gift shops if there is nothing else to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Yeah, but it's not the end of the world. Granted it is a nuisance having to wait several hours for rides to open after the rain has cleared, but you have to understand that they are trying to protect themselves from ever having to deal with a similar incident again. I personally don't feel the rain policy is necessary, especially on rides like Millennium Force and Maverick which use magnetic brakes, but it's a small price to pay to be able to visit such a wonderful park. Small price to pay??? They consider themselves a resort, right? Their lame ass policy "to protect themselves" can cost families hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars if their vacation turns into crap. It almost happened to me (traveled from CA to meet up with the midwest trip). The lame ass excuse I got when I complained was "state regulations and manufacturer guidelines"...that convienently couldn't be cited when I questioned why their rides used to run in the rain and mentioned that I personally operated a B&M stand up with 3 trains in the rain. I understand dropping to 1 train in the rain, and even shutting down if lightning is detected within 15 miles (that seems to be the industry standard for water parks and rides...give or take 5-10 miles), but they take it WAY too far. A drizzle shuts the park down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I've ridden Mantis in the hail and Millennium Force in a torrential downpour so obviously the rides CAN run in the rain. I really hope the park does something to improve this policy, because it really does flat out SUCK. Now granted, I do understand shutting down rides in severe weather, because my rides on the two coasters mentioned above did hurt, but we must have wandered around the park for about 2 to 3 hours in August in the lightest of drizzle ever and nothing ran. Not even Dan was bothered by the wetness and IMO, if Dan can survive, so can Cedar Point. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalize Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Their rain policy is a total and complete joke. I spent a day and a half at the park last summer and was lucky the first half day was dry because my 2nd day was total junk... It was a ball waiting about 3 hours for a ride on Mean Streak... It rained so everything closed down and did nothing for an hour. It stopped so they started testing... They have to do 15 test runs per train apparently so we waited around for all 3 trains to do their 15 test runs. Of course it starts raining again, so nothing happens for another hour. Finally they get a clue and take two of the trains off and run the thing with only the gold train. To say the least, Cedar Point lost a lot of cool points that day. And Raptor not running in the rain? WTF? I've ridden Alpie and Montu in pouring rain dozens of times each... CP can be lame like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XII Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Yeah, I have to agree with everyone. That rain policy Cedar Point has is major BS. I don't even think that the rain was resonsible for Magnum crashing. I don't think a little rain can destroy the Emergency Brakes. And even if the rain did cause the crash, this rain policy is still total bulls*it. Those brakes should have been designed so that they could work in the rain. Especially in a place like Cedar Point where it rains frequently. And it's not a policy you can just get used to. I was almost about to ride Raptor when it drizzled for just 5 minutes! But Cedar Fair then had to make over 20 test runs. And right before they were about to reopen it, it started drizzling for another 5 minutes. And then they had to start all over again. Even though they just tested it 20 times and it worked fine, they had to retest it!! Now if that isn't f**king ridicolous, I don't know what is!!! Cedar Fair is like the parent that sends their kid to school in a giant foam suit to prevent them from breaking an arm if they happen to fall in the wrong place. They may say it's for your saftey, but so far, all it does is make everyone misreble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 ^ Yeah, the "reset the clock" thing is what I think is most annoying. It seems to have a tendancy to rain at least once or twice most days at Cedar Point. And having to run 15 to 20 trains and wait after it freaking mists for 2 minutes is just annoying as all hell. Both of your experiences is what happened to us in August, and from what it sounds like is becoming "standard operating procedure" at CF parks. How strange of a world is it where it seems like all the Six Flags parks are striving to improve where the Cedar Fair parks seem to be on a steady rate of decline? --Robb "Times have changed!" Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I've yet to experience this new rain policy. I've always experienced the old, "rain or shine" operations at CP. But this past year I was at the park the week before the accident. And my 2nd visit to get Maverick was scorching hot. I'm hoping they improve their act this year. I really don't want to make the 5 hour drive down there and end up sitting in the hotel room playing cards or something for two days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 All they have to do is COVER the break runs, (a practice you don't see much on coasters anymore, guess to cut costs...) or just switch to magnetic breaks as KW did the PR and JR, though for different reasons, but problem solved. God forbid CP would spend money to improve the park experience, instead of their ride count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 All they have to do is COVER the break runs, (a practice you don't see much on coasters anymore, guess to cut costs...) or just switch to magnetic breaks as KW did the PR and JR, though for different reasons, but problem solved. God forbid CP would spend money to improve the park experience, instead of their ride count. If they spent money to improve rides how could they afford all those trash cans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechanic Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 There are brake friction materials that are specifically made to work in wet or dry conditions. It would seem to me that a simpler solution would be to install those types of brakes whenever the lining is due to be replaced anyway. It could play itself out over a period of time so that there isn't any great cost impact all at once and those rides with the newer brakes could continue operating in the rain. The number of rides that could operate in the rain would gradually grow. Park patrons would be happy again while CP kept their backside covered. Or does that just make too much sense to ever happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I've ridden Mantis in the hail and Millennium Force in a torrential downpour so obviously the rides CAN run in the rain. I really hope the park does something to improve this policy, because it really does flat out SUCK. Now granted, I do understand shutting down rides in severe weather, because my rides on the two coasters mentioned above did hurt, but we must have wandered around the park for about 2 to 3 hours in August in the lightest of drizzle ever and nothing ran. Not even Dan was bothered by the wetness and IMO, if Dan can survive, so can Cedar Point. --Robb Write them a stern letter, you can surely bring change By the way, I went like 3 days after the Magnum accident and this new rain policy hadn't been implemented. Granted 2 days there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but day 3 they even ran TTD in a very light sprinkle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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