A look at maverick's new trains.

Well, lets take a look at the recent history of new rides at Cedar Point.

2000 - Millennium Force - Slack Rule added after incedent at another park.

2002 - Wicked Twister - I'm Not Aware of anything. Anyone else?

2003 - Top Thrill Dragster - Slack Rule

2005 - Maxair - harnesses have to close to certain point or ride can't start

2006 - Skyhawk - harnesses have to close to certain point or ride can't start

2007 - Maverick - IMO, based on recent history in industry standards, it's very likely to have a Slack Rule
*** Edited 2/27/2007 2:58:05 AM UTC by Jason Hammond***

You forgot corkscrew, and the silly seat belt.

Geeze that thing is a pain. I forgot about that.

I remember it every time I get whacked in the head by the belt.

The trains are short because they wanted them to be more maneuverable. That's what the cat from P&D said. Also, given the blocking and what can essentially act as a mid-course block, they can keep those trains moving pretty quickly, one after another. As you would expect, they'll be dispatched Dragster style, two at a time.

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Jason Hammond said:
Well, lets take a look at the recent history of new rides at Cedar Point.

2002 - Wicked Twister - I'm Not Aware of anything. Anyone else?

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In 2003 they added the cushion thing to the platform so if someone fell while getting in or out they wouldn't break their face.

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1163 :)

Lol. I didn't notice that. I'll have to check that out this year.

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JR Villain said:
Just hope the belts are long enough and they don't have a "slack" rule. ;)

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They will have a slack rule on Maverick: http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com/Cedar_Point/2007-02-23_Maverick_Tour/Data/page.htm?254,0

Also, the way Maverick will run reminds me of how Avalanche Run used to operate. Two cars loaded at the same time. Dispatch both and the front one to the lift and the other one stops at the waiting brake and waits for the first car to get ahead.

Lets just hope that (and CP's next real attempt at theming) doesn't foretell anything. :)

Damn! so much I just hope that slack rule is for the crotch strap ONLY!

Nice pictures.

Did you notice while on the tour, if any work has been done to the old wwl station?

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Hopman said:
I think that we should stop worrying about the trains until one of us ride the damn thing and trust that the guys at Intamin and CP did their homework.

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Trust that the guys at Intamin did their homework?

You're funny!

Doesn't appear as if that work started yet, but we could only see it from the construction site. We didn't get to walk by the antique cars.

If anyones eyes can't read that low-res pic, here is the wordage I pulled from the full-res pic:

In order to ride Maverick
The shoulder harness must come down securly and the seatbelt must fasten properly with at least a 1/2" of black belt showing past the buckle in order to Ride.
You must be able to fasten your own seatbelt.

I still dont understand what the point of the 1/2 inch slack rule is. If the belt is going to come undone(very unlikley), a 1/2 inch slack is not going to make any differance.

Is this rule set forth by cedarpoint, or Intiman?

It's not that the slack of the seatbelt is going to do anything. It's a subtle way of indicating that the restraint is properly and safely secured on the guest.

As far as who sets the rule, I'm inclined to believe that Cedar Point sets it, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if Intamin was consulted. *** Edited 2/27/2007 11:33:42 PM UTC by sirloindude***

How so?

Think this was brought up during the whole MF "seatbeltgate," but under Ohio law, the park must follow the recommendations of the manufacturer. So, probably was done by Intamin.

Having worked on TTD I can say that once somebody gets the belt buckled they can easily wiggle the slack. It's getting the thing buckled that troubles people.

Also, although how fast the crew moves makes a big difference, the competency of the guests is the final straw in terms of capacity. I have worked at the park for two years and can say that a crew moving at light speed can't stop someone who decides to remove their shoes or spend all sorts of time at the bins/cubbies doing whatever it is they do with their loose articles. Granted, an attentive crew can catch sandals, sunglasses,etc. before a guest sits down and buckles in, but people sometimes surprise us with all sorts of ways to make dispatches longer.

Looking forward to Maverick (and Holiwood Nights),

-Craig

I agree with what craig says about the guests slowing down the crew, I worked on mean streak a few years ago.

Like I said before, you would be amazed and baffled at how many people cant buckle a simple seat belt.

But, I still don't see a valid reason for having a 1/2 inch slack. It's pointless to me, but I am no expert eather.

Anybody have any ideas as to why there is such a rule? Cedarpoint must have some sort of reason for this.

CP does what Intamin tells them to. Their number one priority is safety and while they don't like to turn away guest, they do what they have to do.

Trains moving in pairs is a great idea, but you have a lot of wait with "precious" cargo moving very close to each other. Bumping is a big no no and two trains being in the same block at the same time is breaking the #1 rule of the blocking system concept.

Intamin designed a ridiculously complex blocking system for TTD to run in pairs and it never did what was planned. The original plan was for both trains to start moving together and stop together. (check out the animation below for an example of this "near the end")

http://badnitrus.coasterbuzz.com/Videos/ttd160.mov

I just hope Intamin did a better job with Maverick.

Why can't Intamin go back to what they did back in 1993 and 2000 on DLP Indiana Jones coaster? It does exactly what they were trying to achieve on TTD and it does so with little to no breakdowns! Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is a compact looper based on an Pinfari design. It runs 6 12 passengers trains and it loads 2 at the same time.