linearinduction Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I guess this time they didn't use the Duct Tape like in '01. I still remember walking to Challenge Park at 9:15am on Sunday, September 02, 2001 and noticing Millennium Force stopped on the lift. I don't understand why the Catch Car is hanging over the Drop, as it runs in it's own Track within the Running Track. When the Cable Snapped in 2001, about 20ft above the Catch Car, it crashed down into the Station. So the Catch Car hanging off the Drop just has me scratching my head. - Sid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMountainMan Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 ^Perhaps the cable snapped below the catch car. I wonder how long it is going to be down though. I'm heading out there in July and certainly don't want to miss it even though it isn't my favorite ride. To whoever said that the drop feels like it's going on forever, personally I think the exact opposite. The cable lift is so fast that you're up and down in no time! I personally prefer Goliath at SFMM because of the way they almost stop you at the top, much more suspenseful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGplay Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I was at Cedar Point today and there were two cranes parked by Millennium Force. One was lifted to about the point the lift mechanism stops on the drop. As I was driving in, a giant (oversized load) crane was heading out of the park. The catch car is no longer hanging from the track. Hopefully the repairs don't take too long. Even with 16 other coasters, it felt like the park was missing its star attraction (and it was). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Seriously, I'd be curious to see the itemized figures on how much $$$ the upkeep on these coasters is. $0.00 If it ain't broke, don't fix it and wait till it breaks down. Open a new ride, forget everything else! (Except newly themed trash cans.) CF = Constantly Forgetting JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astat Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Interesting...they were having problems with the catch car not wanting to engage properly with one of the trains during opening weekend. It was down a lot then, and they only ran 2 trains most of the time it was open. I wonder if that has anything to do with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b&mforever Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 This cable lift has been a lot of trouble for this ride. The motor breaks, the cable snaps, or it won't catch onto the train. Maybe at that size cable lifts aren't as reliable I am guessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 ^But it's basically just an elevator lift system at a 45 degree angle. The only substantial difference is the catch-car system. So the height shouldn't matter at all since there are elevators several times longer than Millennium's lift hill. I have a feeling that the problems with the catch car are related to this incident. But that's completely based on my understanding of elevators, not cable lift hills, even though they are similar lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterLine Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I really don't see anyway how the cable snapping can be linked with the catch car not engaging, they are completely separate ideas and implementations... The lift is simple. There are two cables on the ride. One attaches at the head of the catch car assembly, and it's primary function is to pull the catch car up, and over the lift. There is another cable that connects to the foot of the catch car which is responsible for stopping the catch car as it goes over the lift, and to pull it back down to the station. If the reverse cable snapped mid-lift, the pull cable would still do it's job and pull the catch car (and train) up and over the lift. However, once the catch car crests the lift, without the reversing cable connected, the catch car becomes like a coaster train itself, and just keeps going down the lift until it just de-rails itself out of the catch car channel, as it is open-ended. What confuses me is that I would think there should be some computer sensor that would have detected a loss of tension in the reversing cable, actually in both cables, that would cause an immediate e-stop had there been a tension loss. This however wouldn't help if the cable snapped as the ride was cresting the hill, and there is nothing that could have possibly be done. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time that the reversing cable has snapped, as it really doesn't heed the forces and strain that the lifting cable does, only really pulls the catch back down the lift to the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 ^ I wonder if it's ever been replaced.... Wear and tear combined with the moist air off of Lake Erie could have something to do with it, too. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b&mforever Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 ^ This wouldn't be the first time that Cedar point has had things break because of lack of maintenance (Magnum's Brakes) or the first time a cable snapped on an Intamin because of lack of maintenance (Kentucky Kingdom). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyweird Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I really don't see anyway how the cable snapping can be linked with the catch car not engaging, they are completely separate ideas and implementations... The lift is simple. There are two cables on the ride. One attaches at the head of the catch car assembly, and it's primary function is to pull the catch car up, and over the lift. There is another cable that connects to the foot of the catch car which is responsible for stopping the catch car as it goes over the lift, and to pull it back down to the station. If the reverse cable snapped mid-lift, the pull cable would still do it's job and pull the catch car (and train) up and over the lift. However, once the catch car crests the lift, without the reversing cable connected, the catch car becomes like a coaster train itself, and just keeps going down the lift until it just de-rails itself out of the catch car channel, as it is open-ended. What confuses me is that I would think there should be some computer sensor that would have detected a loss of tension in the reversing cable, actually in both cables, that would cause an immediate e-stop had there been a tension loss. This however wouldn't help if the cable snapped as the ride was cresting the hill, and there is nothing that could have possibly be done. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time that the reversing cable has snapped, as it really doesn't heed the forces and strain that the lifting cable does, only really pulls the catch back down the lift to the station. I'm pretty sure there's just one long cable that forms a loop with catch car, not two separate ones at each end. These photographs kind of show what I'm talking about: The cable comes off the lift hill, goes down to a capstan under the first drop... then returns to the station where it passes through a tensioner and then returns up the lift hill. Assuming my understanding of the cable lift is correct, the section of cable that broke must have done so while it was aft of the capstan, otherwise the catch car wouldn't have slide out of trough. This is strange though, because I would of expected the section of cable forward of the capstan - the section under load - to break instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devious Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Remember however that both ends are under load, not just the forward end The back end is still very capable of breaking and causing the issue seen in the photo on P1, it's just less likely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terminatorschaffer Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 ^You're right. Does anyone know where did the train end up after the cable snapped? Was it on the lift, or did it complete the circuit? That might help explain better where the cable snapped, and why the catch car moved like it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToroGirl84 Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Wow this beyond blows, I'm heading there tomorrow and I was actually looking forward to this ride the most and it won't be running. Oh well I guess it beats work. It sucks because that's one less coaster for my coaster count and I doubt I will have the time or money to be heading back up there again after this trip to ride it. Seriously this sucks. What sucks even more is if there is crowds and one of the most popular rides there isn't working the rest of the rides are going to have even worse lines....yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyweird Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 ^^^If it were under any significant load, it wouldn't need a tensioner to keep it from going slack. The only thing it really does is hoist the catch car back over the lifthill's crest after the train disengages. Speaking of which, I heard the cable broke when it was attempting to pull the catch car back over the crest; the train was already into the overbank. Perhaps the catch car or cable got hung up on something. What do you people think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 What do you people think? I think lack of proper maintenance, and/or visual inspection didn't find a potentially weak cable. It snapped. Shit happens. Get over it!! It's a damn cable, and NO amount of speculation will change any of it. Get over it!! JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Disneylander Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Well, without speculation, where would we be? The whole point of a discussion thread is to discuss things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 ^Yeah but some of this discussion is getting ridiculous! I agree with Jeff, CF has had a recent history of not maintaining all of their rides properly; wear and tear, cable snapped. End of story. Remember it's a lot cheaper (most of the time) for parks to fix something once it breaks then to do preventative maintenance. The park has gotten what, like 3 major coasters and 3 big rides since MF? For a lot of the GP, they won't care that it's down! Sorry to all of you who will miss it, but it's not like it's going anywhere, you'll get on it some day. (Unless of course CP sinks!!!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STR8FXXXINEDGE Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 ^ It is sinking! That's what happened to the cable. Some of the ground under MF started to sink causing the structure to twist, in turn putting extra tension on the cable causing it to snap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I blame the mole people. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I think it was Mr. Six, taking out the competition. Because Cedar Point and... Six Flags Great America are.. big competitors.. yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 When in doubt, blame mischievous leprechauns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STR8FXXXINEDGE Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 That's what they get for putting Cedar Point on an island! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slither37 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 True, it was the mole people trying to fix the sinking Cedar Point, but the leprechauns kept interfering with the mole people's efforts to keep the place afloat. The mole people have said that Demon Drop is actually causing the sinking and have told Cedar Fair to sell it. Any word at all when the repairs would be completed?I would think that CP is working hard to get this going before the 2 hours of ERT for next Sat. morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UberBeavis Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 It was the one armed man!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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