Rocket Rodder Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Yeah.. Is there a technical term for this feeling that you get? It's when a train approaches a lift hill, and it kind of gets yanked up a little bit by the chain. You feel this snapping espescially when rushing the lift fast... Like in Robb's Dragon Video from Japan. And does this feeling always hurt? Just curious.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haiderodes Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I'm not sure exactly what you are referring to... Perhaps you mean the feeling that the train is slipping back down the lift a little bit when its first engaged? I think that's due to the tensioning/counterweight on the chain reacting to the force of the train engaging the lift. From my experience, you only tend to notice it on rides where the train engages the lift at a higher speed than the chain itself. Canyon Blaster at The Adventuredome is nortorius for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Rodder Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 Yes.. Exactly that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Boomerangs do that as well on the second lift...horrible 'snap-back.' Shouldn't this have been in the Roller Coaster section? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 ^ Good idea, even though it is sorta random... But I moved it anyway. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 You can kinda hear it in the Expedition Everest POV. The cer-clank, OW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Rough chain engagement is possibly my least favorite things a ride can do. There's a lot of it over here in Asia. I think it is mostly associated with cheaper / less precision designs. B&M's and Intamins don't do it, that's for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulosthejackal Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Rocket Rodder, I think you may have coined a new phrase here. When you connect to the chain at the bottom of the lift there is often going to be a jerk if the train speed changes. As has been said before this is less noticable on B&M and Intamin rides but can really crunch your neck on other makers rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 B&M's don't have a big "clunk" because their trains hit the lift moving at the same speed as the chain, hence a smooth transition. I don't remember what ROS at Darien Lake was like, as it's the only big Intamin I have been on without either a launch or a chain out of the station, but I'd say they probably are good in this aspect. Deja Vu has to be the worst offender of this phenomenon, it has a clunk that almost rivals the crappy Chance tower at MFI. My home park used to have two rides with big "clunk"s, but Mind Bender's was considerably reduced last season. - Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 My experience is that this is far worse on single car coasters like Wild Mice, Galaxies and wildcats. JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Cool Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Id say the worst for me would be Morgon hypers and Arrow corkscrews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrillrider15 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 ^ Yup. The arrow corkscrews can do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCoaster Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I've noticed this quite a bit along with a lot of pulsing in the speed after engaging on the lift, but have never found it to be painful. A lot of woodies seem to have this effect as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustkill22 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Yes! Arrow's and Vekoma's seem to have this. Those are the only two companies I have really noticed it on and yes i relised some woodies have them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haiderodes Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Like I, along with others, mentioned before it has to deal with the train engaging the lift at a speed higher than the chain itself. For rides that have a chain right out of the station, this is rarely an issue as the speed of the train and lift is probably similar. On the other hand you have rides like Canyon Blaster that start with a drop out of the station and into the lift, you have the train engaging the chain at a good speed (at least 10 - 15mph). This puts a lot of stress on the chain when it falls back. In fact, when I used to work at the Adventuredome, you could hear the reaction of the chain and the support structure when the train hit the lift (especially when the park was closed and it was relatively silent). Additionally, this sometimes caused the train to "skip a dog"...meaning that one of the two chain dogs would fail to engage causing the train to slip and cause a loud "bang". I would often asked maintenance why they just dont add a trim brake at the bottom of the lift. Guess its not that big of a problem to them, but for ops it was stressful to have to watch and listen for it happen as we had to stop the lift and wait for them to come and inspect the still occupied train on the lift. B&M gets around this by placing a brake along with feeder motors/wheels at the bottom of the lift to match the speed of the lift even after a drop from the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sabo Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Posting a reply to this message board. I recal when working for BGW-that the Big Bad Wolf starting experiencing this annoying chain engagement. In fact, there were several times when the ride was e-stopped because the chain rebounded inside the channel and the noise sounded like a heard of shotguns going off. To remedy this (I believe it was after the 1990 season or around there) we installed a trim brake system before lift#1. I believe the chain dogs have been re-designed or modified to reduce this condition (similar to Drachen Fire when it was operating)-but DF had a DC-motor system in which a sensor after the station detected the train speed and the lift speed match the speed of the train(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haiderodes Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 ^^See I knew the train skipping a dog wasnt an isolated occurance! Its an Arrow phenomenon. They probably just stopped the lift instead of an e-stop...at least that's what our manual told us to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking86 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 ^^^Nemesis Inferno is going pretty fast as it engages the lifthill, but the transition is still very smooth. I think it has something to do with a weight system that is attached to the chain that B&M uses, but Im not quite sure how it works. Heres a good picture of it on Patriot http://www.rcdb.com/ig3244.htm?picture=31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sabo Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 The last pic posted was one excellent observation why B&M has their engineering so-well-oiled. 1. They use that weight-system integrated into the chain-lift system. 2. If we all notice (I believe most all B&M rides) that the drive-wheel system and guide-locaters (those funny-looking brake-like runs in middle of track before each lift) have the train speed match the lift speed as well as determining the weight of each train (similar to the DD@Universals IOA). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freefallbestrideever Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 yah i've noticed this as well on woodies and Arrow's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now