Re: Kings Island settles Wright Son of Beast injury case
LostKause, have you ever considered that the Scooby Doo-class coasters have on them the only PTC train design that can actually steer? Those trains track amazingly well, and do remarkably little damage to the ride when they're in decent shape. Of course, the one at Kings Island has that ridiculous trim brake on the front turnaround...
Agent Johnson, I presume you know this, but John Allen built three coasters in 1956: the Flyer at Hunt's Pier, the coaster at Angela Park (later Valley Volcano), and the Jet Flyer (now the Sea Dragon) at Gooding Zoo Park (now Jungle Jack's Landing at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium). Of these, only the Sea Dragon is still standing. The Taft/KECO "Scooby Doo" coasters are virtually identical mirror images of Allen's first three coasters; the most significant change is that the Taft/KECO rides extend the brake run and have a straight station at the end of the brakes, then a train storage shed on the opposite side on the run to the lift hill. The originals had a curved station across the front of the ride and train storage in the station. There is a good reason that the Scooby Doo would remind someone of the Flyer although to me (since I am from Columbus) the resemblance is more of the Sea Dragon.
Zach's Zoomer at Michigan's Adventure is basically a copy of a Scooby Doo coaster, except that CCI used a junior version of PTC's standard adult train (with the 12-wheel cars) instead of the classic PTC junior train (with 8-wheel cars and steerable, flanged road wheels). This means that Zach's Zoomer seems to run a little faster, but it can't track the curves.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Last edited by RideMan, October 22, 2009, 1:54A
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