MF train weighs 28 tons? No way!!

I read this in the CM transcript in the news section. 9 cars, that's about 3.11 tons each. How can they be that heavy? Compare this to the average road car which weighs about 1.5 tons.

A MF car would consist of fibreglass, wheels, bearings, seats, chassis, anything else? Sorry, I'm having difficulty accepting that the chassis weighs 2 tons or more compared to that of a road car.

What are the weights of other manufacturer's trains? BTW, STE's & ToT's car(s) weigh 9 tons each.

Remember that there's an advantage for cars to be light. The engine is what powers them, and so they want light bodies in order to get better acceleration and braking. On a coaster train, weight is better. The heavier the train, the harder it is to slow down throughout the ride. Since the inertia increases with weight, the wind and friction from the rails will not slow it down as much through the course. Of course, since it's powered by gravity, the acceleration will be the same, except for wind resistance...thus it's still better to have a heavier train to combat that.

With MF, speed is exceedingly important. I wouldn't be surprised if there were giant steel blocks on the bottom of every car, just to give it extra weight. These things are designed to be heavy, so 3.1 tons each, while heavy, isn't all that odd considering the design requirements.

Jman *** This post was edited by Jman on 6/7/2001. ***

I got to crawl around under the cars when they were still in the shrink wrap, and I believe they really are that heavy. You know how a bicycle looks and feels like it should be light (well, a good bike, that is)? Those cars feel exactly the opposite!

Look here to see under the train:
http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/gallery/img.asp?img=h-mfconst327.jpg

Notice all of the pieces of solid machined steel!

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Sure it's hard to believe, but I believe it. Heck, the first time I heard that a train like MF's has 120 wheels I said no way!

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- Peabody

After just looking at that picture, those cars definately weigh that much!

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The Pens will win the Stanley Cup in 2002!

Nine cars.

One axle per car plus one lead axle = ten axles.

Two wheel carriers per axle = twenty wheel carriers.

Six wheels per wheel carrier = 6 x 20 = 120 wheels.

Trivia: For a while, Cedar Point was claiming on their website that there would be 216 wheels. Until somebody figured out that the train is trailered and has only one axle per car. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Hmm, ok, you guys have convinced me a bit, a little that is. How much does each wheel weigh?

I can't remember, the train on the Demon (Vek. Boomer) is about 14 tons - 2t per car, that's more like it. I have a photo of the underneath somewhere, it's a fibreglass shell on a chassis. The chassis seems to be made of hollow beams as seen when SP became PR. *** This post was edited by Taipan on 6/7/2001. ***

When MF was first announced, they claimed the trains would weigh 19 tons, but I was as shocked as you to find out that they were 28 tons. Then trains do not have an outer shell of fiberglass, pure stainless steel there.

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(Who at 16 years of age would be more than willing to pay a $15-$25 dollar subscription in order to keep this site running)

What's really scary is to think about the bolts that hold the wheels to the car having to support that kind of weight under high-stress conditions !!

Isn't that why they used the elevator instead of a chain? Because the trains were too heavy for the chain.

I think the chain was too heavy for the structure. I dunno though, how did they get SD2K to have a chain, I think I saw the structure branch out like on a woodie, maybe that's how.

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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~SFWoA Rules In 2001~X Marks The Spot In 2001(SFWoA)~With SFWoA ANYTHING Is Possible!

SD2K has 2 chains on the lift hill. One half the way up, and the other the rest of the way. I think SD2K's track and support structure can support a hill-length chain fine. I'm guessing they used 2 chains so the motors didn't have to move a huge chain, plus a huge train. It really reduces strain on the motors on SD2K with 2 chains.

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Everybody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my monkey!

The train on X will weigh 50 tons. Everything about that ride is crazy.

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"Happy Everything"

They Probaly used two chains because it would of been hard to transport one chain over 600ft long.
I remember hearing hoe\w cedar pointhad a hard time transporting the chain for maggie to cedarpoint.

Thanks, Rideman. When I first heard 120 wheels over a year ago I didn't think that was right, but then I thought about it for a second and realized that it was accurate! It amazed me, I had never stopped to think about just how many wheels a coaster train has. I also never realized how much one of those suckers weigh.

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- Peabody

The Whizzer actually added lead weights to the cars to up the inertia. That, along with the internal lift engines made them VERY heavy. When the train stopped on the lift for whatever reason, we (when I was an op) had to push start the trains. It took 4 of us, and it was really really difficult. Lost my footing once doing that near the top and almost became yet another victim of that ride!

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Decisions determine destiny; Destiny determines decisions.

Didn't you read the CoasterMania transcript? According to Intamin's president, the elevator lift was used because they felt a chain lift would be slow and boring, and a chain has too many moving parts to maintain and inspect. Good call, I should think.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com