5 trains on Revolution?

CCMR used to have a mechanical block system that also relied on human intervention by the way of manual dispatch of the train once the train on the lift reached a certain point.

There was also a load/unload station.

Also, isn't Revolution an Intamin made in the style of an Anton?

*** Edited 5/15/2006 3:37:33 PM UTC by Michael Darling***

Yeah, I seem to recall unloading at a different point than the same place you climb in now. I also remember the tire brakes after the final helix making that loud squeak when you hit them. I also remember one time they had an all female crew, and for some reason they had to push the train from the back of the station to the front one day, no idea why.

Before my coaster epiphany at GL in 1982 the Mine Ride was one of the few coasters I was brave enough to ride so I have a good chunk of memories of this one.

Tom

I think Rev is a Schwartzkopf brokered by Intamin, John.

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kitsch-transporter said:
The large carny coasters can run five trains.

According to the official Schwarzkopf catalogue, rides of the category "Loopingracer"/"Launchingracer" can run 4-6 trains, depending on the ride length. I think that Revolution could/was running five trains in its heyday.

The "Speedracers" were planned to have up to eight trains.

Of course this was during a time when loading procdures were not as slow as they are today.

For those who have forgotten the great Schwarzkopf tribute site:

http://schwarzkopf.coaster.net/[/quote]

You are correct. It DID run 5 trains. During 5 train operation, one train would be executing the loop while another train was threading the eye of the needle(going through the center of the loop). I remember this to be common for the first few years the ride was open.

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Five trains on the revolution wouldn't seem like too much of a stretch to me. The rule is to keep an entire clear block between trains (with the exception of the station blocks). The montage would be a good example of how that works. The train on the hill is in a block, the valley between the lift and first hill is empty and a train is in the second valley. The valley between the next two highpoints are empty, etc.

Yep, we discussed this one awhile ago. I'm pretty sure Revo is (was) capable of 5 train operation. They used to dual load this thing.

In the picture you can see how far the railing/transfer track goes back from the station. I remember hitting the brakes right after the helix a couple of times. I'm sure they could stack 3 trains outside the station.

I also seem to remember some kind of wait state in the station. You could dispatch and then queue at the bottom of the lift hill as another train was on the lift.

Unfortunately we know why they put on the OTSR. People were standing up on the coaster. As for the massive braking, I really don't get it.

How could you possibly stand up on that thing with the lap bars?

People weren't just standing up (which was easy enough, people still stand up on Gold Rusher, idiots), they were also leaning out of the train. If you've ever ridden Revolution, it throws you around quite a bit, so someone leaning out could easily get whiplash and other injuries.

Right, but wouldn't that apply to all sorts of coasters with just lap bars?

Acoustic Viscosity: Schwarzkopf ratcheting lapbars are notorious for unratcheting either with intervention or just spontaneously. Many places added a seatbelt to help solve the problem.

Scotsman: I seem to remember Revo had some kind of conveyor belt system that moved the trains from the brake run to the loading area and then on to the lift hill when it had two loading areas. I think sometimes the trains wouldn't make it from the brake run to the conveyor belt without a little help. I wonder if that's why MM reconfigured their loading system.

"Right, but wouldn't that apply to all sorts of coasters with just lap bars"?

Nope, just Revolution. You have to remember parks make decisions for their coasters on a case by case basis, not some sweeping overview. Otherwise, Goliath would have OTSRs as well.

With Revolution's terrain exploring layout (most of which takes place away from the station), it would be tough to monitor what people are doing on the ride. As I mentioned before, Gold Rusher has much of the same problem, but no injuries have been repoted from that ride, yet. *** Edited 5/15/2006 5:44:59 PM UTC by DWeaver***

Wow. I was unaware of this problem with Schwartz lapbars. I've never felt like I could hang out of the car. Put seatbelts on it then. Get rid of the frickin' harnesses.

Damn, stupid people ruin all of our fun! :(

^ Now on that I completely agree. You'd think after all this time that SFMM could come up with a safe alternative to the painful OTSRs. But when your main concern is $20 million dollar coasters that don't work half the time, Revvy gets lost in the shuffle. It's really a shame because Revolution is the most famous coaster in the park's history. It sure isn't treated that way. *** Edited 5/15/2006 5:58:15 PM UTC by DWeaver***

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DWeaver said:
If you've ever ridden Revolution, it throws you around quite a bit, so someone leaning out could easily get whiplash and other injuries.

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I still don't understand why this means Revolution gets OTSR's and other coasters, including Schwarz's don't. There are plenty of other coasters that have terrain features which aren't easily viewable from the station, and even on a ride like Goliath, its not really practical for the ride op to observe the train on the track to make sure everyone is sitting down 100% of the time, even when most of the ride is visible.

Again, I just don't understand how these things make Revolution unique enough to have OSTR's while other coasters don't. Maybe people standing up was some sort of contributing factor but I have a hard time believing that was the main reason for the ride to get the horse collars. *** Edited 5/15/2006 6:05:45 PM UTC by matt.***

It's a matter of perception. You own a park, people get injured on your ride. The state demands you make changes to that ride or it cannot reopen, period...end of story.

That the simpliest way I can put it. Whether it was one reason or sixty, it doesn't change the fact that people were coming back to the station with neck injuries. Not another single ride in the park was causing these type of injuries, so that why Revolution was castrated.

Ok, I guess I'm understanding now. In other words, there were problems with the ride and instead of really addressing the issues, the ride was just more or less castrated and had the OTSR's added. Gotcha.

I'm guessing Mr. Shapiro and company aren't completely unaware of this, either. Probably not a super high priority though, like you said.

I have never ever heard of this mentioned lapbar problem with Schwarzkopf coasters. I would say I have ridden about 50 of his creations worldwide and never had a lapbar "un-retching". I have a Schwarzkopf looper "in my backyard" which runs the original trains since its opening in 1979 and never had any problems with the restraints.

Maybe the poster can offer some source for this notorious events?!

However you can quite easily prevent to be stapled in the station and leave the bar one or two ticks above your lap and still be perfectly safe. But I still think that the Schwarzkopf lapbar is a very good restraint that has saved every riders life in the following extreme accidents:

- Train of Shuttle Loop gets stuck and jammed at the top of the loop in Belgium. Riders are hanging in their lapbars for about 90 minutes before the train can be released. Apart from cramps and bruises no rider has further injuries.

- The fake mountain scenery cought fire on huge Schwarzkopf family coaster in Germany while the ride is operating with multiple trains. The coaster is e-stopped and two trains are stopped in the blocks high up in the air. All riders can manage to get out of the trains and climb down the safety ladder before the operator could climb up to them to open the restraints! A few minutes later the whole ride was burned to a crisp and more than 60 people could have died if the trains would have had OTRS.

Well since I hinted at it above, and I no longer work for the park anymore (thank God), I guess I should elaborate.

Revolution's OTSRs were "in house" botch jobs that were done quickly to get the ride re-opened after the state demanded changes. It was suppose to be a temporary fix until the park could contract a professional company to fix the problem. After awhile this was just never a priority as the opening of newer, more expensive rides further pushed the once great Revolution into the background.

I found Shapiro's comments about Revolution ushering in the new technology of Tatsu especially ironic and a bit sad, considering the current condition of Revvy. I never personally worked on the ride, but I always asked about it, and was always told that the ride wasn't a priority with Superman:The Escape draining so much of the park's maintanance budget. I'm guessing that adding several other high maintanance coasters since then hasn't exactly improved the situation. *** Edited 5/15/2006 6:56:44 PM UTC by DWeaver***

I don't think nobody mentioned the fact that (I'm pretty sure) people also were injured entering the loop. You get a good +G shove down-forward. And the same thing, but a little milder, when exiting the loop. That loop is pretty circular compared to the next loops that were built.

Get rid of those stupid harnesses! Last time I rode Revy was in '99; it was so sad :( Tough to ride!

That is a beautiful ride! And with the ACE plaque, etc., it deserves much much more. And now that big orange (how many orange coasters is MM gonna build?) behing it. ug!

Yep, the 360 loop is whiplash inducing -- that's why most coasters have egg shaped inversions. If you don't have your head against the head rest entering the loop it can be a painful experience. I don't quite understand the phyics of it though.

I've had 3 different people tell me their lapbars popped open on MGA/PGA's Tidal Wave without cause. Let's just say I was a stupid kid and probably had about a 25% success rate of having the lapbar in the upright position before I returned to the station.

Didn't later versions (like Knott's) have a hydrolic locking system?