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Gravity Group Announces "Timberliner" Trains


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Robb is right. New trains does not always mean a good and smooth ride. Sometimes you have to match the right design and track with a certain train in order to make it work. I say these trains start out on Gravity Group's coasters like Voyage and Hades first, as I'm sure the company would probably already be in talks with both Holiday World and Mt. Olympus, and then see where they go from there.

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If you view these rides as a system it makes sense for GG to have their own trains instead of being limited by an old outside design. GCI and Intamin really changed woodies by combining quality track fabrication with good train design. Wjat we really need to see is a new GG coaster designed around the new trains.

 

I think PTC will survive for a while on refurb and parts sales, but I think it's pretty clear that the major woodie manufacturers don't think they have anything to offer for the future.

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I'd be worried right now if I was PTC.

 

I don't think these new trains will replace anything on a GCI or Intamin built coaster...but what company will use PTC Trains now?

 

PTC will have work forever as they'll still do winter rehab on most of their trains (and I believe they do work on carousels, too). Its a 2 or 3 year cycle where the trains have to go back to PTC to be inspected, and considering how many of their trains are running, that won't let up for some time. They also make brakes and air gate systems.

 

Yeah but thinking long term here if more and more parks replace their PTC's with either the MF trains (similar to what Hershey did and Busch is rumored to do) or these new GG trains (if GG can talk parks with their coasters into it), that's gotta hurt PTC if all they are now doing is maintaining a dwindling number of trains?

 

 

Yeah, I do agree that in the long term it could hurt them, but I think that it's very long term. I just think that considering the numbers of wood coasters operating that use their trains, many of them with sets of 2 or 3, that they'll always have a lot of work lined up for winter rehab.

 

On top of it, I could still see a lot of parks that currently use PTC staying with PTC just because of the mechanical systems that would need upgrading to switch to a new brand of train.

 

I guess it could go both ways, too. A lot of people are using the Millennium Flyers as a comparison of success, but there are a lot of trains that didn't really work out. Gtrains once were the 'future' of wood coaster trains, and look how those turned out. Same thing happened to the overly heavy B&M trains on Psyclone.

 

But, even if these are successful, I don't see PTC having any issues within the next 10 years or so. There are just too many of their products out there that will need maintaining for them to lose work.

 

I say these trains start out on Gravity Group's coasters like Voyage and Hades first, as I'm sure the company would probably already be in talks with both Holiday World and Mt. Olympus, and then see where they go from there.

 

Everyone thought the new PTC trains would go on Voyage right away and they haven't, and I can't see Mt. Olympus buying new trains for their rides.

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This is great - The Gravity Group are really stepping it up for the woodies.

 

Speaking of which, I think PTC needs to 'step it up' a little if they want to stay in the game long-term. Woodies are becoming a more competitive market than they used to be (always good for us enthusiasts!).

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This is great - The Gravity Group are really stepping it up for the woodies.

 

Speaking of which, I think PTC needs to 'step it up' a little if they want to stay in the game long-term. Woodies are becoming a more competitive market than they used to be (always good for us enthusiasts!).

 

I know what you mean. The wooden coaster war seems to be on now just like it was for steel coasters in the early 2000's. Next we'll see on-ride audio and a fake waterfall you go under. Aw...the future still looks bright. I like the design of the site as well. Very easy to navigate.

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Wow those look interesting. But now I'm trying to imagine a launched wooden coaster. I imagine it would be kinda painful seeing as wooden coasters are rough by nature. Hmm, guess we won't know until someone has the grapefruits to build one.

 

I wonder if we will see parks upgrading their old trains for these new ones? And if so, will they make the ride any smoother?

 

Edit: Ok, scolding myself now for not reading all of the posts and seeing the answer so my wondering if the trains would make things better on existing coasters. Going to my corner now.

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Man, Ghostrider could use three of these.

Ghostrider could use an entire re-track and a maintenance crew that really cares for the ride.

 

Don't be always fooled into thinking that new trains will suddenly make a ride better. There is a lot that would need to be done to ANY coaster to make it go from "crap" to "awesome" again.

 

Just remember how amazing everyone thought Manhattan Express would be when it got it's new set of trains...yeah....

 

I think the trains will be a welcome addition to a ride they are designed for, and maybe could offer some improvements on a currently operating coaster, but don't just assume that throwing a new style train onto the track is going to radically change a ride's performance if that is the *only* thing done to it.

 

--Robb

 

Great point Robb. I agree that new trains on the same mangled track will not hide the despondency of Ghostrider nor will it create a more cordial experience (Manhattan Express = Perfect Example).

 

I guess I was contemplating the consideration of a full-blown refurbishment; with the recognition that the new train has the ability to smoothly navigate the track for decreased train & track maintenance. This (to me) would be a motive that might fiscally make sense if they want to operate the coaster for years to come... but that's most likely me daydreaming about the resurrection of Ghostrider's Glory Days.

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I don't know what a woddie is but my best guess is that the sound system will work the same way as it does for a loud stellie. There are woddies out there that aren't as loud when you are riding it compared to when you are watching it from ground level. Same thing goes for stellies...look at Superman at SFMM. That ride isn't as loud as when you are riding compared to the ear bleeding sound when you are standing underneath it.

 

Anyway, glad to see GG making in effort to make new trains and offer some new things to old rides. If they have a good used-car salesmen I'm pretty sure they could sell a lot of these. I still am interested in seeing a full scale version of it though.

 

Jimmy "Buy the TPR DVD'S" Bo

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Wow, I can't wait to see these on some coasters. I agree that you can't just throw them on and the coaster will improve, these trains might help the coasters from deteriorating as quickly, but they're not going to make already rough track suddenly smooth.

 

Another thing about the Prior and Church coaster trains, I think they called them Century Flyers - which I guess GCII paid homage to that by calling theirs Millennium Flyers.

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I'd be worried right now if I was PTC.

 

I don't think these new trains will replace anything on a GCI or Intamin built coaster...but what company will use PTC Trains now?

 

I could see SF or CF buying a set of these in the future for some of their "rougher" woodies (cough Hurler & Roar east cough cough).

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I suppose that a launched woodie wouldn't necessarily mean a fast launch. It could just mean a lift-launch, a la Maverick. Nothing too fast, but a different way to get from bottom to top without making the rest of the ride overly rough. Also, doesn't Intamin consider their cable-lift woodies "launched?" If so, these new trains might simply be cable-lift compatible.

 

I wonder who will be the first park to buy these new trains? With all the work done to some of the CF woodies lately (Thunder Road/Rebel Yell [i can never remember which one ], Mean Streak, SoB) I wonder if they would bite and purchase at least one set to see if the rides track better. Also, by the look of the tiny image, it almost seems like the seats are designed with one per row. That can't be right, can it? That just wouldn't seem very practical at all...

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Right now it almost looks like those trainds have similar restraints to the X-Cars which we all know weren't a big success

 

Weren't a big succes? What do you know that the rest doesn't know?

For all I know, the new X-cars are doing quite well.

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