DrachenfireOP Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 The lift supports for Alpengeist were originally going to be traditional, but the "water main" for the water rides (that Chuck mentioned several pages ago) was in line with where they wanted the station to go. The ride was shifted over several feed to avoid it, but in doing so, the traditional lift supports would now intersect many other obstacles, so the current ones were designed. Alpengeist originally had no zero car, but somewhere in development, it became feared the train would valley in the second half of the ride in the event of a MCBR full stop, so the zero car was added. It weighs 1500 lbs. The Loch Ness Monster originally was supposed to have 4 trains of 6 cars, but when that concept proved mathematically to be a bad idea, they switched to 3 trains of 7. The block brakes (MCBR) on Loch Ness are perfectly level. If a train stops there, a maintenance person must go out and manually pull the train forward on a small conveyor chain that has been added just beside the brakes themselves. Part of why the coaster can't do a "double looper" anymore, is because back when it could, one train would leave lift 1 before the other train would leave lift 2. By slowing the first lift speed, they ensured that a train would leave lift 2 at the same time as or before the one behind could leave lift one, minimizing the likelihood of a setup on the block breaks. (Another reason is that since Loch Ness can't stack trains without the third stopping on lift 2, they decided to decrease lift 1's speed so that they get a little more time to dispatch, greatly helping disabled guests board the ride). Drachen Fire had feeder wheels to push the train in and out of the station. However, they were spaced in such a way that if a dispatch was canceled while a train entered the station, it was actually possible for the running boards under the train to be perfectly spaced in-between the wheels, at which point team members and maintenance had to manually push the trains into the station. The Big Bad Wolf had a home-made maintenance buggy to inspect and repair the track, which the guys who made it choose to name after a cheesy 1980s helicopter action show, "Air Wolf." As was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, Wolf was designed by Schwartzkopf, but then handed over to Arrow when they went bankrupt. This is why the ride had switch tracks instead of a transfer track. Also, the Arrow trains did not fit inside the maintenance bay, as they were slightly too long. Drachen Fire had red trim lights on the exterior of the train. Each one was powered by a moped battery. When Alpengeist was built, the park mentioned fears of people being able to walk out the front or back of the station into the ride area. This problem was later fixed by putting down pressure-sensitive pads which e-stop the ride if stepped on. Before they could be installed, the sign shop made a tongue-n-cheek sign that is still there today out by the final turn into the brake run which reads "Warning: You are standing in the path of a roller coaster." One last fun BGW trivia: Before the park was there, the land was an old military base. Part of sale involved them promising not to disturb a small plot of unmarked graves of unknown soldiers. The cemetery is still in the park, hidden in plain sight by in the England parking lot. As a guest, you would never think twice of it as anything but a planter, unless you see how oddly shaped it is from an aerial shot (which also shows that there are no plants on top of the graves themselves). https://www.google.com/maps/place/Busch+Gardens+Williamsburg/@37.2370459,-76.643823,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b07d5fca884c61:0xbcc368944bb80c82!6m1!1e1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 ^VERY interesting facts! Excluding the Rougarou conversion, Dominator is the only B&M Floorless Coaster that does not have a zero-g-roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Excluding the Rougarou conversion, Dominator is the only B&M Floorless Coaster that does not have a zero-g-roll. Actually Insane Speed doesn't have one as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Excluding the Rougarou conversion, Dominator is the only B&M Floorless Coaster that does not have a zero-g-roll. Actually Insane Speed doesn't have one as well. You're right. For some reason I was thinking it was a clone of Batman at SFNE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 The lift supports for Alpengeist were originally going to be traditional, but the "water main" for the water rides (that Chuck mentioned several pages ago) was in line with where they wanted the station to go. The ride was shifted over several feed to avoid it, but in doing so, the traditional lift supports would now intersect many other obstacles, so the current ones were designed. Alpengeist originally had no zero car, but somewhere in development, it became feared the train would valley in the second half of the ride in the event of a MCBR full stop, so the zero car was added. It weighs 1500 lbs. The Loch Ness Monster originally was supposed to have 4 trains of 6 cars, but when that concept proved mathematically to be a bad idea, they switched to 3 trains of 7. The block brakes (MCBR) on Loch Ness are perfectly level. If a train stops there, a maintenance person must go out and manually pull the train forward on a small conveyor chain that has been added just beside the brakes themselves. Part of why the coaster can't do a "double looper" anymore, is because back when it could, one train would leave lift 1 before the other train would leave lift 2. By slowing the first lift speed, they ensured that a train would leave lift 2 at the same time as or before the one behind could leave lift one, minimizing the likelihood of a setup on the block breaks. (Another reason is that since Loch Ness can't stack trains without the third stopping on lift 2, they decided to decrease lift 1's speed so that they get a little more time to dispatch, greatly helping disabled guests board the ride). Drachen Fire had feeder wheels to push the train in and out of the station. However, they were spaced in such a way that if a dispatch was canceled while a train entered the station, it was actually possible for the running boards under the train to be perfectly spaced in-between the wheels, at which point team members and maintenance had to manually push the trains into the station. The Big Bad Wolf had a home-made maintenance buggy to inspect and repair the track, which the guys who made it choose to name after a cheesy 1980s helicopter action show, "Air Wolf." As was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, Wolf was designed by Schwartzkopf, but then handed over to Arrow when they went bankrupt. This is why the ride had switch tracks instead of a transfer track. Also, the Arrow trains did not fit inside the maintenance bay, as they were slightly too long. Drachen Fire had red trim lights on the exterior of the train. Each one was powered by a moped battery. When Alpengeist was built, the park mentioned fears of people being able to walk out the front or back of the station into the ride area. This problem was later fixed by putting down pressure-sensitive pads which e-stop the ride if stepped on. Before they could be installed, the sign shop made a tongue-n-cheek sign that is still there today out by the final turn into the brake run which reads "Warning: You are standing in the path of a roller coaster." One last fun BGW trivia: Before the park was there, the land was an old military base. Part of sale involved them promising not to disturb a small plot of unmarked graves of unknown soldiers. The cemetery is still in the park, hidden in plain sight by in the England parking lot. As a guest, you would never think twice of it as anything but a planter, unless you see how oddly shaped it is from an aerial shot (which also shows that there are no plants on top of the graves themselves). https://www.google.com/maps/place/Busch+Gardens+Williamsburg/@37.2370459,-76.643823,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b07d5fca884c61:0xbcc368944bb80c82!6m1!1e1 These were awesome, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Hero Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 According to Kim Jent, a B&M structural engineer, B&M will actually sign non-competition contracts in which no one can install a coaster within a certain radius of the client park. For example the rumored contract between BGW and B&M to not build any other B&M's within a certain radius, or the CP inverted coaster contract that was rumored to prevent CW from getting one. Interestingly, B&M does not do multi-year coaster deals. If a park or chain gets a lot of B&M's within a short period, a multi-year contract is not the explanation. "Every contract is separate" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewesker Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 When Paramount purchased Kings Island, the park had already fully ordered Top Gun/Flight Deck/The Bat. Depending on who you talk to, the ride was either going to be called "Thunder Road" or named after a bird. Kings Island was working with the Dinn Corporation on a new wooden coaster for the 1992 season to be placed in the area where Diamondback is now. The plans were scrapped when Dinn went out of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftThrill Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Goliath at SFMM cannot run unless there ar 15 riders due to weight distribution when the train hits mid-course and main brakes. Vekoma boomerangs and giant inverted boomerangs require a minimum of 6 riders to operate. That is a rule from the manufacturer Xcelerator at KBF cannot run in rain because the water on the launch causes the wheels to loose friction with the track and cause a "short shot" or a rollback, which causes the ride to go down. Most B&M's cannot cycle in windspeeds higher than 25 mph because they have a chance to valley. found this in the horrible park operations thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeagain? Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 There's no such requirement from Vekoma on a minimum number of riders on GIBs. It operates just fine (well, by GIB standards) regardless of the number of riders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disownedpear Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Goliath at SFMM cannot run unless there ar 15 riders due to weight distribution when the train hits mid-course and main brakes. Vekoma boomerangs and giant inverted boomerangs require a minimum of 6 riders to operate. That is a rule from the manufacturer Xcelerator at KBF cannot run in rain because the water on the launch causes the wheels to loose friction with the track and cause a "short shot" or a rollback, which causes the ride to go down. Most B&M's cannot cycle in windspeeds higher than 25 mph because they have a chance to valley. found this in the horrible park operations thread While this might be true I definitely have ridden boomerangs with less than 6 people on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TunaSled Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Vekoma boomerangs and giant inverted boomerangs require a minimum of 6 riders to operate. That is a rule from the manufacturer Strange then how they can test them while empty every single day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomefaceninja7 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (in 2012) the Turbo coaster at Brighton Pier didn't depart from the station until at least 4 people got on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriolat Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Dragon Khan is the only 3-train coaster by B&M to feature 7-car trains... The ride is already intense as it is... just imagine with the added weight of an 8th car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 ^If they replaced the trains with floorless ones (which already seem heavier) they could get rid of the zero car and add another row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Dragon Khan is the only 3-train coaster by B&M to feature 7-car trains... The ride is already intense as it is... just imagine with the added weight of an 8th car. Mako will feature three trains of seven cars each when it opens. But yes, through 2015, that is correct. In 2011 (possibly 2012 as well), Green Lantern at Great Adventure ran three trains of seven cars each. The third train was shipped to Magic Mountain for use on Riddlers Revenge. I don't know how many trains it ran at Kentucky Kingdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftThrill Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Vekoma boomerangs and giant inverted boomerangs require a minimum of 6 riders to operate. That is a rule from the manufacturer Strange then how they can test them while empty every single day. I didn't write that, someone else did in the Horrible Park Operations thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Dragon Khan is the only 3-train coaster by B&M to feature 7-car trains... The ride is already intense as it is... just imagine with the added weight of an 8th car. Mako will feature three trains of seven cars each when it opens. But yes, through 2015, that is correct. In 2011 (possibly 2012 as well), Green Lantern at Great Adventure ran three trains of seven cars each. The third train was shipped to Magic Mountain for use on Riddlers Revenge. I don't know how many trains it ran at Kentucky Kingdom. I believe it was the other way around, MM shipped off Riddler's 3rd to train to Gradv to use on GL...as Chang only had two 7 car trains. Gradv has since sent Riddler's train back to MM and it still has the Green Lantern paint job with the lime green stripe across the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 ^I didn't mention that Riddlers third train was first shipped to Great Adventure in 2011. Otherwise what we've both said is correct. Anyone know why Chang only had two trains? It had to have three at some point, even if it only ran two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Probably because stand up's never fully utilized three trains due to slow operations, and it just works out better with two. So KK probably never ordered three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Probably because stand up's never fully utilized three trains due to slow operations, and it just works out better with two. So KK probably never ordered three. Took them years to figure this out with Riddler, I never remember NOT stacking when they used 3 trains back in the day. You literally would be on the brake run for like 3 minutes or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9Armgeddon4 Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 I don't think this has been mentioned yet but Shockwave at Drayton Manor is the only stand up coaster that has a zero-g roll and a double corkscrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) GCI Millennium Flyers are designed to still be safely functional if a wheel is to spontaneously fly off the train. Edited September 6, 2015 by JonnyRCT3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Great Adventure is the only Six Flags park that has more defunct coasters (14) than operating ones (12) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomefaceninja7 Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Rage at Adventure Island has an Immelmann loop after the, well, loop. It does not fully invert the riders but the park does say it is an inversion. The first inversion The second inversion (?) As you can see, I took the screenshot when the ride went upside down. But when does the Immelmann go upside down? It doesn't, even though the park says it is an inversion. Does the ride have two or three inversions? The third (or second?) inversion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlaKoaster Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 The whole 'is it an inversion' thing is a difficult one! The cobra roll on Colossus at Thorpe and the immelman on Black Mamba are similar in that they don't really get close to 180 degrees which is what most people would say is upside down. I try not to over analyse things like this though because it almost sucks the fun out the hobby... I sort of follow the 'if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck' mentality and go with gut instinct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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