CCI Woodies

How come most CCI wooden coasters use steel frame support structues, as opposed to just all wood?

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Belvedere

I assume its what the park wants. Its less maintenance and it takes up less room than a wooden structure.

Are you sure CCI has constructed more steel structure woodies? I never bothered to research that.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

Actually, most of their coasters have wood structures, but yes, a half dozen or so of theirs do have steel structures. Villain, Zeus's lift, Hurricane, and the like.....these have them due to space constraints. Others for maintenance reasons or cost reasons, I believe.

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- "I used to be in the audio/visual club, but I was kicked out because of my views on Vietnam........and I was stealing projectors" - Homer Simpson

I noticed this on coasters like Villain, Hoosier Hurricane,Cheetah, and Mega Zeph. I was just wondering why, i dont know how many coasters use all wood but i was thinking it was because of the type of land or soemthing.

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Belvedere

Of the ones I've ridden.....
Ghostrider-wood
Boulderdash-wood
Timber Terror-wood
Tremors-wood
Shivering Timbers-wood
Zach's Zoomer-wood
Raven-wood
The Legend-wood
Cornball Express-steel
Hoosier Hurricane-steel
Twisted Twins-steel
Villain-steel

8-wood, 4 or 5 (counting both twins) steel. More wood for me so far. Did I say that. :)

Of the 34 CCI coasters, 22 have wooden supports and 11 steel. (I had nothing better to do.) ;)

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Whenever you can ride a roller coaster and experience 15 spots of intense airtime, you know you're on a good coaster. (see: Phoenix)

MG87.....that's 33...?

Anyway, I've got about the same number as boblo, but a different ratio. Adding in Sky Princess, Cheetah (S), HC5 (S), and Boss, but minus the Silverwoodies....

The steel supports seem to have less to do with the quality of the ride than the *maintenance* given (or not given) to the rides....IMO. If your park has a CCI that is NOT performing up to specs, you *might* have substandard maintenance....;)

Cornball, for instance, was AWESOME....HC5 much, MUCH less so....and it was way more than *just* those horrible Gerstaluers...
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"The robot mafia is running numbers?"
"Well, nothing fancy, mostly just ones and zeroes"...;)

I love Gerstlauers but Hate Gerstaluers Gator :)

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Charles Nungester.
It's official Lesourdsville Lake is closed for 2003

I haven't found any real correlations between which CCIs are good and which have steel or wood frames. In addition to a number of the worlds finest woodies, CCI did also design a few turkeys. Then as previously mentioned, maintenance is a major factor in the performance of any woodie.

The galvanized steel frames have lower long term maintenance costs and require less on site skilled labor for the wood work. They also require smaller cranes for assembly since the largest pieces are quite small.

Maybe this deserves its own thread, but what CCIs are considered "turkeys"?

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

CCI Turkeys?

I've only been on one, Hurricane @ MBP, but there are just as many fans of that ride as there are detractors. It's far too subjective to qualify something as a 'turkey.'

The worst CCI is still better than Psucklone, Mean Streak, or Wolverine Wildcat (true turkeys), if you ask me.

Come to think of it, there aren't any rides named after turkeys. With names like The Gobbler, and Cluck, you just don't cut it. Although, some rides are prime for stuffing!! :-)

Wood - anything else is an imitation

You should take a ride on the silver comet at martin's fantast island it also has a steel support structure and it Rocks!

I'd have to go with TS/TT as the real *gobbler*.....sure, HC5 was a worse, rougher ride, but I didn't fault the design/layout as much as the (lack of) maintenance....honestly, I could see HC5 becoming a ride on par with Cheetah and the other "second-tier" CCI coasters if the track/trains were kept in good condition...
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"The robot mafia is running numbers?"
"Well, nothing fancy, mostly just ones and zeroes"...;)

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Superman The Speed said:
I was just wondering why, i dont know how many coasters use all wood but i was thinking it was because of the type of land or soemthing.

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I think the Great White has a steel structure because it is built on sand.

D'Oh....totally forgot about Great White....the best woodie in Jersey...by a long, LONG way....;)

bill, bummed he never got to Clementon to ride JackRabbit...:(
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"The robot mafia is running numbers?"
"Well, nothing fancy, mostly just ones and zeroes"...;)

I think it has a lot more to do with two other factors:

1) The Great White was built over a bunch of existing attractions and structures, like a go-kart course and a building that houses guest services and a refreshment stand. Spanning other structures is a lot easier to do with steel than wood.

2) The coaster is built right on the beach, literally a hundred feet or so from the ocean. While a wooden structure would have needed constant upkeep (replacement of wood, painting, etc.), a steel structure needs little, if any, upkeep.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Rob's right, the Great White is built with galvanized steel because it will be less prone to damage from high tides and flooding. The steel structure will also withstand the fierce storms that often blow up the Atlantic coast better than an all wooden frame. Being built on sand is much less of a factor in that regards.

Wood - anything else is an imitation
*** This post was edited by Thrillerman 8/19/2003 11:23:42 AM ***

Don't feel bad, Bill... I've lived here all 25 years of my life and have regretfully never ridden the Jack Rabbit. I actually tried a few weeks ago, en route down the Turnpike to a concert in Philly... we got to the park Saturday afternoon and the coaster wasn't running. I'd love to get to ride it this summer, but I'm not sure I would make the two-hour drive just for a few spins on the coaster- I might wind up waiting until I have another reason to head down that way.

And you're right- Great White is the best wooden coaster in NJ. Since that isn't saying too much, I will point out that, for numerous reasons, it remains one of my faves.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Thrillerman said:
The steel structure will also withstand the fierce storms that often blow up the Atlantic coast better than an all wooden frame. Being built on sand is much less of a factor in that regards.

And Rolling Thunder has an all wood structure and it is built on sand. Actually, just about all of Great Adventure is built on sand (along with much of southern NJ).

I lived in NJ for 24 years and never got down to Clementon Park, Wildwood, or Keensburg Amusement Park. Yes, I regret it now.

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Ripple Rock Amusement Park
Flying Scooter coming soon!