Construction at the Magic Mountain still active

I just don't understand why X had stress fractures in the first place, you figure Arrow would have worked those out before starting such a huge project. :(

C'mon Arrow baby!

I personally don't buy that rumor. Last I checked, there weren't a lot of structural engineers in the enthusiast community.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.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"

Well, Jeff, I don't mean to disaggree with you but, there have been several sites, including Twisted Rails and Screamscape, which show trains torn apart after a long testing process, and has the speculation of fractures. There is obviously "Something" that went wrong during those tests.

I am really hoping is something small, and since the ride has been testing again so soon (its been 1 and a half months) I am hoping whatever it is that was wrong is worked out....

There has also been a second trim added.
1: on first drop
2: after second raven turn

Yes, something went wrong. There were no stress fractures. None, period. Screamscape is a rumor site, not CNN.

I did some checking, stress fractures are not the cause for the delay. I'd love to tell you what the real problem is but I don't know. I do know what it isn't though, and that's from People Who Know(TM), not a Net jockey who makes stuff up.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.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"

It is very, very, VERY doubtful that stress fractures were to blame. Software that can test repetitive loads to determine where and when these things will occur is a dime a dozen. Okay, so it's actually more like fifteen grand a seat, min, but I assure you that the simulation was done. It's a really easy sim. Really easy meaning it would take me (sophmore MechE student with about 250 hours of FEA experience) about a day.

Chances are the "problems" are with things that don't play well with textbook figures, such as coefficients of friction. The reason that the trains are the problem is almost certainly because it is the trains that are new technology. The structure of the trains isn't that new or radical, only the mechanism. Also while you can (and do) use a large factor of safety when designing anything where human life could be at risk, which ensures the structure will survive, there isn't really the same concept for a mechanism.

In short, my best guess is the rotation of the seats was bleeding too much energy or not smooth enough. This means minor reworkings, material changes, bigger dampers or whatever. I gurantee the structure was not near failure and never will be near failure.

all i can say is everyone laughed at me when i compared this thing's opening delays to superman the escape.  i am glad that they are taking care of what needs to be done and hope they can open it up soon.  since i'm not very well versed in coaster design 101, can you tell me what kind of difference trim brakes will actually make?  i remember someone telling me that Goliath opened without a breaking system that was later installed, and the ride was completely different before that setup came on.  any truth to that?  and what exactly are trim brakes?  thanks and see you at the mountain, you know, the place where they build to attract people rather than depending on their name alone.

AdamFrank:  Goliath has always operated [at least since the media day] with a set brakes at mid-course, the final brake run, and the station.  No other brakes have ever been added.  The only major difference in operation is that the mid-course brakes have been reprogrammed to trim a little more speed from the train before it enters the second half.

Matthew

Well when you open something early, you are bound to open something else late in return. This goes for Goliath and X. Goliath was the first coaster to open in the 2000 season, on February 11, while X is many months behind the predicted opening day/month. Same for GhostRider and Perilous Plunge. GR opened THREE months earlier than expected. It had been planned to open in mid-March 1999, but it opened on a high afternoon on December 9, 1998. While Perilous Plunge was said to open along with Soak City USA in late May/early June of 2000, the ride officially opened on a quiet Friday - September 15, 2000.

The new chassises for the X trains are sitting behind Colossus.  They will be used to replace the ones that were damaged due to excessive weight on the seats.

-Jeff
http://americacoasters.com

*** This post was edited by xbombman on 10/30/2001. *** *** This post was edited by xbombman on 10/30/2001. ***

I just wan't mabye CCI or somone to reprofile Colossus and put the thrill back into it.

Well., all I can say is that I'm real hapy that they are taking care of whatever the problem was. I really hope to see "X" open soon but if it takes them a little longer to work things out, so be it. I would rather wait a little bit longer and experience a nice smooth ride as opposed to it openiing right away and have a real rough ride.

xbombman: Why was it excessive weight that damaged the chassis?
What kind of testing was it?
I can't put my finger on all this.

Weight testing (sandbags, etc).

-Jeff

http://americacoasters.com

Yes! Something done with Collosus!

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"Roar" You'll never hear the end of it!

Well, Jeff, Im quite glad that its not as bad as its been rumored to be.