Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

[chadster]

wow, i can't believe their measurements were so far off on the transfer track, that looks like a good four inches. So that could mean 1. they will have that re-cut, 2. they weld on a bit more track, 3 they have some sort of locking mechanism they will attach that locks the two pieces of track, or 4. they leave it as is for emergency roll back braking. Maybe they thought they could just put some windex on it, it does fix everything after all

[MagicMountainMan]

^Heck I think they even had that problem when they were building Goliath at SFMM... Although maybe that was actually a part of the design (the really short segment of track that connects the last turn to the brake run) I'm not sure.

 

^^Nice update! Thanks for taking your time to post these and especially do the graphic. It helps out a lot when trying to visualize the construction and I really appreciate it!

 

This coaster is looking really sweet. I hope that if it turns out to be a good ride, this process of renovating old woodies catches on.

[John Peck]

Gaps are nothing new. Magnum had a 1-foot gap when it was built. Designs on paper never really match the construction.

[jarmor]

hummm...it looks like a gap between the "I" beam instead of the track itself...

[mightbeawannabe]

Look at this mistake in design. It's nothing new to add a few inches to get rid of the gaps.

 

^But what is sitting over the gap? It kinda looks like a clamp.

[Fooz]

I believe that Loch ness Monster had a 6 foot gap when the last of the track was installed!

[CorkscrewFoley]

This is the first I have heard of anything in regards to gaps like this...I'm familiar with gaps in wheel wells like with Vekomas and Arrows, but this is entirely different.

 

I love learning something new each time I come on here!

[chadster]

^^ they also had several feet of play on where the footers went. Loch was welded together on site and had enough play that they could move things around, alot, if needed, so they more or less expected it.

 

My thing is, on this project, with all the GPS surveying these days, advanced autocad, a working model, etc, something right out of the station really should line up, and I'm really surprised. Something midway through the track in a helix or whatnot I could see. I'm no rocket scientist, but I think I would have had the transfer track in place when setting the track just past the transfer, and being as the track wasn't in place at the time, oppsie. In the end, that'll just give them another new challenge to work on.

[mightbeawannabe]

^But on the other hand, for a section of track that needs replacing that's at a constant pitch and roll, isn't that an easier fix than say a helix?

[CorkscrewFoley]

Does a gap happen alot?

[mightbeawannabe]

^Occasionally. It's certainly not unheard of, but it's not your everyday thing. Has a B&M ever had a gap?

[Fooz]

^Occasionally. It's certainly not unheard of, but it's not your everyday thing. Has a B&M ever had a gap?

 

I'm getting all of this info from someone's BGW backstage tour TR, but I think they also said that alpengeist had a 2 inch gap when all of the track was installed.

[robbalvey]

Guys, the gap on the transfer track can totally be by design. I've actually seen this on several other transfer track sections before where there is a gap, and then a small piece of steel is actually fitted over the gap, in the gap, etc, when the trains are ready to roll into position.

 

I don't think this is a big deal at all.

 

--Robb

[Coasterlvr_nc]

^ Thats kinda what I was thinking was the plan.

[BrandonR]

Yeah, I'd say gaps are pretty typical. If it's not gaps then it's supports not lining up with the track (I remember Titan had a support on the airtime hill that totally missed the track and that had to be re-done). When you think about it, a coaster track is a pretty complex system since its a continuous circuit and each track piece is going to have tolerances of probably a few millimeters. By the time they install the last piece, that tolerance stackup can be quite significant, especially when considering each track piece depends on a support which depends on a footer.

 

To me, the fact that they can all these footers in land at various spots (with their own dimensional variations on top of the land's variation) and place supports on them (more variation, especially when supports consist of several pieces) and then track (even more variation) and have them the track fit snugly together is pretty amazing in the first place.

 

Here's an image of a misalignment on the Giant's leadup to the midcourse that's probably a bit more unintentional:

[Ed]

Did nobody else read in the press release that this ride will be the first in the world to jump tracks?

[CorkscrewFoley]

Did nobody else read in the press release that this ride will be the first in the world to jump tracks?

 

I remember when I was in the forth grade, and Iron Dragon was coming out. Some kid in my class actually said it jumps the track onto another one...Sorry, it's a bit off topic, but it was the first thing it reminded me of.

[DenDen]

Guys, the gap on the transfer track can totally be by design. I've actually seen this on several other transfer track sections before where there is a gap, and then a small piece of steel is actually fitted over the gap, in the gap, etc, when the trains are ready to roll into position.

--Robb

Some perfect examples of this are at Kennywood. Both Thunderbolt and Racer use removable track pieces on their transfer tracks.

[ericm95]

Did nobody else read in the press release that this ride will be the first in the world to jump tracks?

Is that even possible??

[SharkTums]

^Of course! Didn't you see House on Haunted Hill!?!?!

[Zingoman]

^ ok, the disposable trains I can buy into , but get real. A jump? Come on now.

[Skycoastin Steve]

So in the last few days, we've had users on here ask if a heartline roll was possible on a wooden coaster, ask if it was possible to build an inverted wooden coaster, and had someone seriously inquire whether or not a roller coaster could successfully complete a jump in the track. This following the week that people said they thought Cheetah Hunt was about hunting cheetahs and actually justifying that rationale.

 

This is the internet generation.

[BrandonR]

Did nobody else read in the press release that this ride will be the first in the world to jump tracks?

Is that even possible??

[Hayzle]

For the record, I brought up the heartline roll

[daveydo5172]

In the very early days of roller coasters, alot of "new, innovative ideas" were often tested at Coney Island.....this included a coaster that was literally a ferris wheel riding coaster rails, as well as a wooden coaster that made a jump, both forward and down, onto the rest of its track....these were actually built, and tested(without people) but for one reason or another(obviously safety), they never opened.