track supports

There are many different coasters with many different types of track supports. Why are there so many? For example: B&M uses long steel columns, Arrow, Morgan, And Vekoma use "scaffolding" like supports. Does it depend on the landscape or location? Which one is cheaper?

No, it's the designer's choice. The designer builds their own supports. Vekoma, Arrow, and Morgan probably use them because they are cheaper (knowing Vekoma) and B&M and Intamin make very nice supports.

It's my understanding that designers pretty much build whatever kind of support they want. Some rollercoasters have definite restrictions that designers have to take into account when considering the supports. I.e. Steel Dragon 2000 had to be able to withstand a decent earthquake, hence the incredibly dense support structure.

Intamin? MF? Very nice, Volcano? Urrrgh. Giovanola's is alright, they probably had to use this design as not to upset B&M. Same probably went for their cars. B&M supports look pretty expensive & are worth every cent!

-------------
Home Park - Wonderland Sydney, Australia. *** This post was edited by CoasterGod on 3/2/2001. ***

Aren't the support designs, as well as track designs, patented?

Giovanola supports consist of scaffolding sections on the lift and first drop, not a full scaffolding. On the rest of the coaster, the supports are very very nice looking, IMO they look alot like B&M supports, but a little more structured. Titan has mondo headchopper elements in many places of the ride due to the chosen support structure, which makes it all the better, as if it wasnt already good enough. *** This post was edited by SFoTxTREME on 3/28/2001. ***

Support design depends on several factors. These include appearance, economics, loads, height, track design, and soil conditions. Each design has to trade off these factors.

Appearance - the impression that you want to make. Tubes look modern and streamline. Lots of sticks make it look like a woodie.

Economics - This includes the cost to fabricate, the cost to ship, the cost to erect, and the cost to maintain. All sorts of trade offs can be made here that change the preferred design. For example, big tubes take less labor to paint but little sticks can be galvanized so they don't need paint.

Loads - Hurricane winds or earthquake loads can affect the selection.

Height - Tubes tend to be good for shorter heights, but really big hills favor frames.

Track design - How far the track can span between supports affects design. Long spans favor tubes. The very short spans of wood track favor sticks.

Soil conditions affect spans that are used and as a result the structure.