Airgates at CP. - CoasterBuzz

A question regarding the airgates at CP. I just got back from the park for the first time (quite impressed with the place) and this just had me curious.

I always thought airgates were for safety. Why does CP have them on some of the coasters but not of all of them? The ones without I could see something happening with a guest being pushed into the track and an ugly situation happening. This to me doesnt seem right but I am sure there is a reason. Anyone care to explain?

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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!

There was a time when none of them had the gates, so what you're seeing is a gradual retrofit. We all moaned when they appeared on Magnum this year, but so far the effects haven't been terribly adverse.

So the next time you visit, don't be surprised to see more of them. Here's hoping they never try to put them on Gemini... that would be the greatest of all disasters.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Which rides have the gates on them? I know Magnum, Iron Dragon, and Millenium force have them, and I think Wicked Twister. They would be pointless for Wildcat, with only four riders per car. They also seem impossible for Gemini because the platform is too small.

I'm actually surprised that they have not yet appeared on Mine Ride and Corkscrew. The platform preparations are done, they just haven't put them in yet.

Like it or not, in the near future the State of Ohio is going to require compliance with ASTM rather than manufacturer's specs, and this means all ride fencing will have to be updated (most, but not all, of CP's fences are OK, and that will mean gates on ride entrances and exits. They're not necessary for ride safety, at least not the way Cedar Point operates, and I have seen them hurt a lot more people than they would have saved on rides that don't have them. But the usual reading of the standard says they have to be there, so CP is slowly doing the retrofit.

On Gemini I think there are ways that gates could be installed without it being a disaster. But they will have to be half-width (as on Millennium Force), and the timing will be critical.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Rideman, do you know when the new requirement goes into affect? I know Iron Dragon got them last year and Magnum this year (Mantis, MF, and WT were built with them), but they still have Gemini, Raptor, Corkscrew, Mine Ride, Mean Streak, etc to go. Hopefully for CP's sake it doesn't become law in '03 or '04! :)

I agree with you about gates not being necessary, but I'd just be repeating old posts if I said so. :) I'm glad the gates at Magnum this year open fairly quickly once the train stops and also open fairly fast. They probably cause about a 2 second delay, if that. Magnum's gates operate how all gates should operate. Open them up as soon as the train is stopped. "Allowing the platform to clear wastes time." (that is actually a quote from CP's Park Op SOP manual! :)) Wish other parks would realize this! :)

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

You'd think that the single step up to the train in the Gemini station would help prevent any problems for which air gates would help prevent. (And if you understood that sentence you deserve some sort of prize.)

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Flume & Hydroblaster Crew for 2002!

*** This post was edited by Valleyfair Fan on 5/28/2002. ***

SFGAm has always had them on all of their coasters . Even when Marriott owned it, the airgates were always there. When I got on some of the coasters at CP and saw no airgates it was just odd to me because I am used to them. It looks very easy for some jerk to push someone else into an incoming train. Maybe CP has been lucky that this never happened but like you have said before Jeff, "Safety is no accident". This situation is brewing for one.

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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!

Don't laugh about queue gates on Wildcat because it only has two seats. The Wild Mouse at Dorney got them, and its a similar sized vehicle. Of course the ones on that Wild Mouse aren't airgates, they are maglocked. When the mouse stops in front of you, you can push them open, and get in the mouse and they spring closed behind you, they reactivate the maglock and let the next group come forward.

Remember this is all Ohio parks, Geauga did their airgate retrofit a couple seasons ago, PKI well, has had them as long as I can remember, and the other ohio coasters keep all oncoming riders behind one gate.

Exit gates though will be a change, PKI is just starting to add these, and doing a horrible job of it in my opinion. Since when do you erect an EXIT gate that only opens towards the ride. If the ride op doesn't think to open it, people rush up to it, then have to back up while someone figure out how to undo the springbolt and pull it forward. IIRC though CP does not have exit gates on more coasters than it has them.

Another interesting factor will be if the mere presence of a locked turnstile counts as an entry/exit gate. I have used mere turnstiles used as ride exits (PKI) and as entrance gates (Americana, Wyandot)

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David Bowers
Mayor, Coasterville

Chitown said:

It looks very easy for some jerk to push someone else into an incoming train.

Yeah, that's why (as an operator) I would desire to have air gates at a ride. Granted, some air gates are WAY too fast and powerful, but most are slow enough to allow folks to get out of the way if they're moving. At Scream Machine, people lose those freaking basketballs all the time by playing with them and then they roll into the track. If not for the gates, I honestly think some guests would walk into the track.

We lasted years without air gates. Some people aren't to bright, but really do we need to be caged in?? After all if someone were pushed hard enough they would flip over the gate and tumble head first into the track. My opion of the matter has been steadfast throughout, and i will never think that they are a good idea.

Well, a lot of people aren't bright, and a lot are just downright dumb. Sure we have e-stop buttons, but I would rather not use one. Gates are also pretty hard to be flipped over, depending upon their size.

I am sorry, but parks have to make things "Stupid-proof". The gates also would seem to control people just rushing to get into a train while others are exiting it. I know it slows capacity a little, but safety always comes first.

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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!

and of course the size of the induvidal. But i go back to the fact that there have been coasters for around a century now and i really don't think people are any more stupid than in the past. Why make change for changes sake? How many loading platform fiascos have you heard of?? And rushing the coaster? When did humans become animals incapable of controling their desire to ride a coaster?

*** This post was edited by meangene on 5/29/2002. ***

It only takes one time for action to take place. Do we have to wait until something serious happens before we act on it? And yes, people do rush the trains when there is nothing to control them. I witnessed it when I was at CP.

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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!

Oh God, we'd never be able to control people without them. Everyone would rush on at once. They're great crowd control. And hey, guests are pretty incapable of controlling some of their behavoir... they just can't think straight at a ride.

I guess i just have more faith in humanity. After all of my experience at parks i really don't think that they are necessary for all coasters. In my mind this is just another thing in the catagory of creating safeguards for highly unlikly situations. To be completely safe, they would have to construct a wall that people couldn't penatrate before the gate was opened. next they'll have cages around each car so that people won't put their hands up or out and to keep objects from flying into your face (which is far more dangerous for a park guest than accidentally falling into the station track).

Well, those are definitely safety measures, but they're not real practical... however, airgaes are. It appears they're going to be here to stay.

In this day and age when a fast food restaurant can be sued for serving hot coffee, or a pharmecutical company can be sued because someone brushed their teeth with Prepraration H, is it any wonder extra safety measures are being added to everything??

Years ago, a park wouldn't be sued for someone else's stupidity. Now a park would be sued at the drop of a hat, and stupidity doesn't matter in the least.

IMHO, the stupid ones are the ones who need to be culled. Instead we protect them so they can produce even more stupid progeny.

It's just something we have to accept and live with.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

This might sound like a stupid question but what are airgates?

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-Sean Newman
80 coasters and soon to be more
Life is a roller coaster Ride It!

Airgates are gates that are located in the queue usually at every row of a train preventing people from going pass this point, the gates are impossible to open by hand, and can only be opened from the operator control panel.