Jumping over/crossing station track

[Ultimate]

What are the rules about an employee who is operating a roller coaster jumping over the track in a station while the ride is running? Is it bad? They do it at my local park when operating their ZL42, because they should have two or three people running it, but they only use one. This means that the guy running it has to climb over the train or track every time to let people in, then do it again to reach the control panel.

 

Also, when looking at pictures of Ultimate (my user name! ) at Lightwater Valley, there are foot prints all over the front of the train. Is this dangerous? Are there any laws on this?

[cfc]

I know that most parks require an operator in the station to declare that he or she is about to "cross" before doing so--but I imagine this is a matter of park policy, not law.

[ViperLover]

I seen operators on coasters that only operate one train jump over the track while the train is in its main course. At Martin's Fantasy Island, the operators do this a lot on the Silver Comet. I seen operators on two train coasters put there hand up while a train is in the station to signal that they are crossing. The "head operator" then tells them that it is clear to cross.

[Moose]

It could be local law, but I would think it would be covered by a park's safety policy. It seems far too specific to be law.

[Ultimate]

Thanks! I guess my local park just isn't very safe then lol

[robbalvey]

^ I wouldn't make that assumption. Just because they do it, doesn't mean it wasn't deemed "safe" by the parks management. Unless you know everything about a specific ride and the policies set by the park, I think that's an unfair judgement to make.

 

--Robb

[oriolat]

Thanks! I guess my local park just isn't very safe then lol

 

I've seen the ride ops on Colossus at Heide Park do this. If it was that unsafe I doubt a corporate (Merlin) German park like Heide would let their employees do this. As long as the signals are clear and everyone plays by the same rules, everything should be ok.

 

Then again, there are stupid people everywhere, so it also comes down to the operator's common sense (or lack of).

[Xmeister]

When I worked the Dragon at Legoland California many years ago, we NEVER did this. However one time a couple of guests hopped over the gate and then the track to get to the exit. I wasn't near an E-stop so I couldn't press it, however I was kinda surprised my coworkers didn't. Probably because we were operating one train and it hadn't even made it a quarter of the way through the dark ride section. Maybe because I'm a little overcautious, I would've done it.

 

That being said, I am so proud of how safe Legoland California is. Makes me feel lucky to be a Model Citizen.

[RCT3Bross]

At my home park I only see them crossing the track of the dueling wooden coaster. I guess it's save because you haven't got any hole's in the track but what bothers me is the reason why they cross the track, Always when the departure the two trains and they left the station on both sides the employs cross the track and start chatting with one an other and when they see the trains are in the final breaks just in front of the station they sometimes cross before the train rides in the station. Lucky I'm seeing it only on the wooden coasters the others don't cross the track or if they have too they use the (then still empty) train as a save cross over.

[larrygator]

There are no rules in China!

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm no expert in this area so don't take my word for it. My guess is that maybe its company policy. At CGA, employees have to cross their arms in the air and get the 'clear to cross' acknowledgement before doing such, and only cross when the train is in the station/ride not cycling.

 

Also makes me think of what I observed the other day. Typically when a ride goes down, a mechanic is called to check it out. One of the temporary carnival rides (ferris wheel)made an odd noise so we got an e-stop and let off. Next thing I see, the ride op is climbing up the structure to get where the drive wheels are in hopes to find what the noise was he heard. The way it was climbed up however seemed a tad dangerous and I've never seen a ride op just take it in their own hands before. Perhaps company policy isn't so strict with these carnie operators, or the workers are more willing to risk putting their life and job in jeopardy.

[kidcoaster 2]

^ Alot of carnival ride ops also do maintenance.

 

At Silverwood each coaster had two ops one on each side with one running the controls during each cycle. After they were done checking the restraints on both sides they would both cross to switch places.

Edited January 1, 2013 by kidcoaster 2

[CoasterGuy06]

It's going to be against the park policy to cross at most places. Ours was you could only cross through an empty row of the train and you had to signal to the panel op your intention to cross.

 

However, at Holiday World in 2010 when I visited Raven was only running one train so the ops would cross over to get the next train loads loose articles and cross back to put them in the bins while the train was cycling the course.

[robbalvey]

Again, I wouldn't assume that just because it's allowed at some parks that doesn't mean it's not "safe."

 

Keep in mind that many of the "arms crossing" rules, etc, were put in place due to someone not using common sense and getting hurt. Example - the ride op that got killed at Six Flags Magic Mountain crossing the Revolution track as a train came in.

 

As long as you use "common sense" and are "careful" about what you're doing, the risks are minimal. But due to incidents like this, some procedures had to be put in place to force people to be aware of their surroundings. IMO, it's pretty sad, but if you can't trust people with the safety of their own lives, I guess you can't blame the parks.

 

During many of our filming sessions I've crossed tracks, been on top and under trains, on lift hills and out in the track area while a ride is running. And again, AS LONG AS YOU ARE USING COMMON SENSE AND ARE CAREFUL, the risk is minimal.

 

I wouldn't go accusing parks for being "unsafe" just because you see a ride op cross the tracks.

 

--Robb

 

EDIT:

This train comes very close to where I was sitting with my camera, but again, I'm VERY careful and use common sense!

Edited January 1, 2013 by robbalvey

[CoasterGuy06]

I wouldn't go accusing parks for being "unsafe" just because you see a ride op cross the tracks.

 

Exactly. Wooden coasters especially, it is perfectly safe if you are using your brain. Even though it was against the rules at the park we caught people doing it pretty often. I get why many parks just have a blanket "don't ever do it" rule instead of "use common sense when crossing," but IMO as long as you aren't carrying a baby stroller across the track as the train is entering the station it isn't always a big deal

[beatle11]

I noticed this at Seabreeze. The ops on Jack Rabbit would cross the track in the station while the train was running the course. Not a big deal, as long as your careful.

[AndrewRnR]

I used to work Big Thunder Mountain (FL) many years ago and the break room was/is between the two tracks so you have to cross to enter or exit. No hand signal needed to cross - there was (still is) a lantern hanging above the track indicating if it is safe to cross or not. The lantern turns to red as the train hits the final brakes (about 500 feet back from the crossing). If the attraction ever was in manual (maintenance) mode or reversing trains the light would be a flashing red indicating abnormal operations and not to cross.

 

Restarting the ride after an e-stop meant resetting the lifts manually from the top of each and there would be moving trains going up as you were going down.

 

In my year there we never had a close call at all - it all comes down to being safe and being aware of your surroundings.

[Hurricane]

I know at my work on two of our main rides (Superman and Scooby Doo) You can cross the track.

 

Scooby Doo has a "track crossing" button on the main control panel in the control room and on the Loader control panel. This effectively disables any further cars from being dispatched until the supervisor has an "all clear" from the loader that they have crossed. Staff can only cross when they have an illuminated green light which is cleverly hidden in the scenery.

 

As far as Superman goes (Intamin Accelerator) we can only cross when the harnesses are all up on the train, because it can't dispatch with the harnesses up (well, not from the load platform... unload is a different story) or unless you have the all clear from the supervisor. It's not like it will dispatch anyway as it requires 3 staff to hit a button in unison to dispatch anywho.

 

So it certainly wouldn't be a law, just comes down to park / ride procedures more than anything.

[vacoaster09]

They did it at Mt. Olympus and it make me very un-easy. I've heard of crossing tracks when the train is in the station like at six flags parks and by crossing i mean crossing through the car (not in front or behind the train or between to cars of a train, but through the actually row of the coaster car). At Six Flags Parks, I know you would be

[DougMJr]

When I was at MFI in June I remember seeing one of the Ride Ops on Silver Comet leap across the track from station platform to station platform while the train was on the course. I just remember thinking that running and jumping that distance is what is dangerous, not so much the act of crossing the track.

 

What really irked me is the fact that you are not allowed to lower your buzz bar on Silver Comet, instead you must keep your arms up and they lower it for you. And if somebody lowers their own by mistake they raise them and start all over... why?

[Invertalon]

At Geauga Lake (Cedar Fair management) I always thought working X-Flight was quite dangerous to check bars on... We always were climbing all over those trains to check the middle rows. I remember one employee did slip and fall into the track area, but she was OK. The ride was the best to work though because of those trains, they were much more exciting and physical.

 

Anytime we did cross the train though completely, we had to signal to the operator to cross. This goes for any of the coasters... But X-Flight if reclined could really mess somebody up if they are in the way of the train.

 

After hours one night closing Dominator I had to cross the track in the station without a train or floor in place... Did not help it was wet from cleaning either. Had to jump down a bit to the track and nearly slipped off of it lol... But all was well.

 

I miss working at the park!

[buckaroo234]

Based on how the rides are built there are a ton of times, even in normal operation with guests, when you have to cross the ride path. The easiest way to see it is at Matterhorn, where the break room is inside the mtn. They have a special break that is engaged when there is someone crossing the path. Thats normal. When we do our maintenance checks at Disneyland we are required to cross the ride path a lot. Even in attractions like Tower of Terror where we don't have very much horizontal movement we still are back and forth in the ride path. We manage our risk with communication and not being idiots. Like Robb says we have to be careful and use common sense. When we don't, we end up like the poor schmuck who got nailed by a train on Space because he wasn't paying attention and got into the ride path.

 

Obviously parks take aim at minimizing times when it happens, and normally the safest way is to do it when there is a train in the station or the ride is stopped, but the simple fact is, if you are careful its not a big deal.

[GayCoasterGuy]

Working on Cedar Point Blue Streak 1992-93 was a great experience, and probably right near the end of running a ride with common sense versus running a ride like they do today (multiple checks, signals, obnoxious safety features.)

 

One morning I walked onto the drag brake catwalk to sweep some "brake dust" away (it would rust and turn orange after rain, and we took pride in our ride being very clean). A guest walked up to the fence and asked "when will the ride open!?" as I turned around, one leg went through the gap between catwalk and track. There I was with one leg straight through the track, one on catwalk folded up and my face directly on the track running rail - "in a few minutes" I answered the guest as they happily skipped away. I was scratched up and sore; a couple screw ends ripped through my shorts and cut up my thigh. It was just a walk it off minor injury; an aggressive wake up call if you will.

 

There were other minor injuries here and there, most notably one guy getting the tip of his toe caught under a train pulling into the then "load" position. He was checking lap bars on a train leaving the station on the "operator side" which was at track level; it was a 4th position we were tried out in an attempt to help more people with their seat belts (the belts were optional, but we would get complaints about people not being able to fasten their own seat belts). He had to get a couple stitches and use crutches for a week. That was a bit more serious, but we were encouraged to use care and common sense when operating the ride. (It was my fault falling through the brake run; I was tired and not paying attention. Not to say it's OK it happened, hence so many safety features in operations today.)

 

As far as crossing tracks, we had to every 20 minutes (rotation). There were 3 positions on the ride up until 1993: load (spiels, stop and release train in load position and lap bars), unload (stop and release train at unload position, unlock buzz bars) and the most difficult position - crowd (bring people through turnstiles, check bars and help with random seat belts... we would also coordinate people who wanted front or back seats and disability folks). Rotation: crowd guy crosses track and goes to unload brake guy; unload brake guy goes to load brake guy; load brake guy crosses track to crowd position. The ride was manual, so no stopping an already tight operation, we had to be on the ball! It was really great times, I miss working on that ride (and riding it how it was.) All that and we still did 1,200-1,400 an hour (the ride was rated 1,250 an hour - that was our target).

 

I wonder if this would be allowed today (related note - I noticed the ride has metal stairs all over it now; those catwalks were thrilling and precarious!):

 

In this picture, you can see us experimenting with an extra crowd/load guy to help with seat belts and lap bars. Also note the load brake guy is still on spiel, has his knee on the lap bar toggle and is keeping the brake down to release the train (that train must clear the station before the 2nd one comes in the drag brake or the whole ride sets up)

 

As far as rides are operated now - some parks keep efficiencies up (Cedar Point, Knoebels, Holiday World, Dollywood come to mind) while other parks capacities are probably half of what they were 20 or 30 years ago (Six Flags). "It is what it is." Safety SHOULD always come first, but it's nice to see some parks still really concern themselves with efficiency and go the extra mile (good training) to get people on rides.

[Bane]

Thanks! I guess my local park just isn't very safe then lol

 

I've seen the ride ops on Colossus at Heide Park do this. If it was that unsafe I doubt a corporate (Merlin) German park like Heide would let their employees do this. As long as the signals are clear and everyone plays by the same rules, everything should be ok.

 

Then again, there are stupid people everywhere, so it also comes down to the operator's common sense (or lack of).

 

That's pretty much the same way as they do it at Alton Towers, another Merlin park. They allow staff to cross the track when the train is in the station, but a signal to the ride operator and other hosts is essential, and crossing the track whilst the ride is motion is an absolute no-go scenario.

[ajfelice]

I, and several of the operators, cross the tracks frequently during a typical day at work at Waldameer, but we have rules.

 

For Ravine Flyer II, if the train was in the station, operators will cross through the train (through seats, not car gaps), from behind, and in front before the restraints are locked and checked. During the course of the ride when running one train, they can cross when the train is on the lift because we have to cover several duties with a limited crew size as little as three operators. On two-train days they can only cross when a train is completely parked in the station. There aren't as many strict rules as many larger parks, but it is made clear and enforced when the safest times to cross are. Jumping, fooling around, or walking beyond the station when not authorized, will find an operator losing his/her privileges to operate the "big rides" for a period of time or worse consequences for repeat offenders.