Garet 57 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Tower Time has this, doesn't say where it get's it sources from. Major Incident: TowersTimes has learned that between the park closing on Thursday 23rd May and opening on Friday 24th, a major incident occurred during the ride's testing. This resulted in numerous issues with severe scraping to the track as well as an entire ride train being removed from the track after 'valleying' due to an undisclosed reason. Valleying is when a train stops on part of the track after being unable to complete the circuit under its own momentum. X Sector was closed to the public for the entire day so work on removing the train could take place out of sight of visitors although a replacement train was seen being lifted on to the ride later in the day. No details on this incident have been released by The Alton Towers Resort and it is unlikely they will do so. However most references to the ride's opening date have now been removed from the official website. Due to the ongoing issues with the ride we believe it will not open for the foreseeable future and if you are planning to visit solely to ride The Smiler, you should hold off on purchasing tickets or making any other plans until further information is released. TowersTimes will continue to bring you more details as and when we hear them. Our Facebook page and community forum are great places to check for updates during this time. Link to post Share on other sites
_koppen 0 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Take that with a grain of salt. The only way it could scrape and damages the track is if they wheel assembly broke loose, and that is very unlikely. Nothing, that does not come from Alton Towers, about this rides delays are true. Link to post Share on other sites
KarlaKoaster 15 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 First post here - hello! I think the whole Smiler project has been rushed and mis-managed from the word go. I don't think there's a single cause for the opening date being pushed back to May, and likewise, not a just single cause for the recent delays, either. Merlin seem to quite like building things to a tight timetable recently. I guess this keeps costs and disruption to a minimum, but it also gives them absolutely no wriggle-room. With regards to the Towers Times article, the bit about the health and safety citations does seem to hold true as there's links to the reports on this, but although it seems it probably did valley (as there's been pictures of a used train being craned back onto the transfer track), I'm pretty sure the 'scrapes' they're looking at on the track are just wheel marks from the normal running of the ride. Some parts of the track look worse than others, but this is presumably just to do with the different forces on different parts of the track. There's been a lot of work all over the ride over the past few days - trains being craned around, people working on the lift hill, they've been increasing the height of queue line fences, even the bins weren't put out until a day-or-two after the ride was due to open. So as exciting as a train grinding itself into the track sounds, I think the reality is a lot more boring than that. It will be interesting to see how this affects Alton Towers' attendance this year, and of course their takings. I feel a bit sorry for them, but it's the risk you take when you run to such tight deadlines with no redundancy. Building a coaster is a complex thing involving the park, architects, council, health and safety, the manufacturer, the construction crews (both groundwork and steelwork), electricians, landscapers, Studios North etc... all have to work in perfect synergy and every delay can be amplified further down the line, and I think this is what has happened from day one. Incidentally, Alton Towers have updated their site to basically say it is "currently closed" as opposed to "will not be opening on [the next day]" Link to post Share on other sites
ultradude306 0 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Well, not saying this is what happened, but somebody mentioned something about a wheel assembly breaking loose, causing it to valley. Although this is very unlikely, as they have stated, it HAS happened... Just look at the Mindbender in Edmonton... that exact scenario took place. Link to post Share on other sites
simon8899 0 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 As this is a prototype I expect some delays before opening. Hope they have it all fixed for my planned trip in September - but I will delay my booking until the ride is running smoothly for at least two weeks without problems. I lately watched the documentary about Anton Schwarzkopf again were he stated that in ride construction you can't calculate everything, that you need long experience in how strong parts of the track and train have to be - always mockingly hinting at MBB who built an inverted coaster for the 1976 Oktoberfest which was scrap metal after 16 days. But even Anton's Alpina-Bahn stalled mid-track as the wheels were too tight on the rails and the friction caused the train to stop - the ride had to partly taken apart and the train removed by a crane. Link to post Share on other sites
TyRush 0 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Hopefully the ride gets up and running soon! Link to post Share on other sites
Gigalyte 0 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 As this is a prototype I expect some delays before opening. How is this a prototype this is a Lifthill based coaster with 14 inversions manufacturers have been using chain lifts and making inversions for decades, their is nothing new about the Smiler beside it having 14 inversions which all of them have been done before. Yet Intamin get's creamed for creating 400+ foot coasters with never done before on a coaster hydraulic launches, 300+ foot lift hills with cable lifts if they don't work perfect every time, yet Gerstlauer has failed to get a coaster open using tried and proven tech and the excuse is it's a prototype Link to post Share on other sites
Swimace 0 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 ^The trains are prototypes. It's definitely not uncommon for manufacturers to have hiccups when they introduce prototype ride vehicles (i.e. Battlestar Galactica, Timberliners) Link to post Share on other sites
Mechanic 0 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 ^The trains are prototypes. It's definitely not uncommon for manufacturers to have hiccups when they introduce prototype ride vehicles (i.e. Battlestar Galactica, Timberliners) At least no seats have fallen off of The Smiler yet. (as far as we know) Link to post Share on other sites
Garet 57 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 They've removed all mention of it from their article now anyway and just say technical incident instead now. After-Hours Incident: TowersTimes understands that between the park closing on Thursday 23rd May and opening on Friday 24th, a further technical issue occurred during the ride's testing. This resulted in X Sector being closed to the public for the entire day so work could continue in preparing the ride for opening. No details have been released by The Alton Towers Resort and references to the ride's opening date have now been removed from the official website. Due to the ongoing issues with the ride we suggest that if you are planning to visit solely to ride The Smiler, you should consult the official Alton Towers Resort website for further information on the ride's opening. TowersTimes will continue to bring you more details as and when we hear them. Our Facebook page and community forum are great places to check for updates during this time. Update: Towerstimes aims to bring you the latest news, as it happens and in our effort to deliver events as they unfold, Towerstimes apologises for any inferences that may have been construed due to the original articles' wording. We aim to work with the resort to bring you the very latest on this ground-breaking and exciting ride Link to post Share on other sites
RCT3Bross 3 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Two big developments on site today. 1: Fences removed from entrance. Also according to Towers Times members the person in front of the entrance says that they are just finishing up for the opening Tomorrow. Towers Times member J_Baggie. 2: The Smiler is added to the big queue board, although it still says closed it supports the claims that it could open tomorrow. Towers Times member Lexie. No official source has confirmed that the ride indeed opens tomorrow, so don't get to exited yet. But recent developments give the hint it's going to open soon. Link to post Share on other sites
thedazza 0 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 John Wardley is in the smiler building right now with his family, could be there for the first public ride, or just for a behind the scenes tour, either way it looks promising. Edit: Staff on park are saying that the ride will be open tomorrow, still small chance of a soft opening this afternoon, but looks like tomorrow will be the first full day of operation. Glad they managed to stick to the "May 2013" opening, even if it is the last day in May. Just a shame they missed the original confirmed opening date of the 23rd. I'm sure it will have been worth the wait though. Link to post Share on other sites
coasterfreak101 0 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Good to hear they're getting it up and running. Can't wait to hear some reviews and see some more pictures and video coming in! Link to post Share on other sites
JayTricky 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 SMILER OPENING TODAY. Looking forward to hearing ride reviews later on!! Link to post Share on other sites
thedazza 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) Here is some testing from earlier. Some pics of the management riding. Ride will open to the public in the next couple of hours. Pics from towersnerd. Get more photo's throughout the day here live.towersnerd.com/ Edited May 31, 2013 by thedazza Link to post Share on other sites
Dobba 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) The Marmaliser screen video now has a washing machine part. Whoever added that should never need to buy their own drinks again. Edited May 31, 2013 by Dobba Link to post Share on other sites
JayTricky 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=571644216200094&set=vb.168150643216122&type=2&theater ^^ Duelling!?!? Looks AWESOME. Weather is perfect today too. Lucky people that are there. Some have been in line for 4 hours already and it's not officially open to the public yet! Link to post Share on other sites
JayTricky 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 [attachment=0]1369996682.jpg[/attachment] Actually laughed. Someone knew the fanboys were watching! Link to post Share on other sites
thedazza 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 From Alton Towers Twitter Link to post Share on other sites
Dobba 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) Here we go... Edited May 31, 2013 by Dobba Link to post Share on other sites
RCT3Bross 3 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I'm really happy to hear it's finaly open. Can't wait for the reviews. The "deuling" looks awesome. Link to post Share on other sites
JayTricky 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Thanks to TowersNerd: Augmented reality in the shop! Awesome! Shop! More augmented reality! Reviews coming soon! Link to post Share on other sites
Dobba 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I hope someone gets a video of that spoof shopping channel video. Link to post Share on other sites
JayTricky 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Duelling. Nice near miss! Link to post Share on other sites
simtanic8 0 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Not an exact duel but still greatly timed. Seems like it opened for a bit yesterday or some time. Wish I was back in England! Link to post Share on other sites
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