Cyclone SFNE

On RCDB it says that Cyclone at Six Flags New England was changed "for the 2001 season the first drop shortened by about 15-20 feet. It is still possible to see the old track beneath the new." I couldn't find pictures of this, does anyone have any?

http://rcdb.com/ig180.htm?picture=20
http://rcdb.com/ig180.htm?picture=12

It's still a fantastic coaster, though. *ducks*

Ah, I see it now. I was thinking we would just see some bents, not the whole track. A first glance that looks like it is part of the coaster path, but now I see what you're talking about. That's kind of sketchy that they didn't remove the old track when they built up. I guess it makes it look like there is more coaster there than there is.

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matt. said:It's still a fantastic coaster, though. *ducks*

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Still the only coaster I fear for my life on.
Backseat ride :)

Definitely a back seat ride (esp. coming off the lift). Still a very solid ride, although I wouldn't put it among my favorites. It's just so unique in terms of layout...almost entirely elevated without any real drops that take you all the way to ground level.

That's so odd that they didn't remove the old track, just built over it.

It's almost like they didn't know if the reprofiling would work, so they left the old track there in case they had to switch it back.

They did it with Collosus at SFMM when they removed the double down with a brake run. Just left the old track under it. not sure if its been removed since. MOOSHIE?

Rattler's initial drop is still visible as well....seems like it would be even more (unnecessary) work to remove the existing track to build over top.

How come no one ever INCREASES the size of the drop? ;)

Actually Rattlers lift was raised to get the record and thus creating the problems later.

Wasn't Hercules a modification of the orriginal coaster and took the lift, Put a left hand turn and dropped it to the lake?

Steel Phantoms drop was increased ten feet for PR. *** Edited 7/25/2008 8:16:19 PM UTC by Charles Nungester***

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rollergator said:How come no one ever INCREASES the size of the drop?

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Thunderbolt's first drop was increased by about 3 feet due to clearance issues when Phantom's Revenge was built. So there. ;)

I remember seeing Colossus double down, but I don't remember seeing any track, just the bents left over. Rattler was a case of redesigning the lift (has anyone read the conversations with RCCA over that mess, very interesting read!).

I thought Hercules was new all together.

I actually watched a video of the Steel Phantom the other day, and I just don't remember it being as rough as it was in the video. I then watched a video of Phantom's Revenge and some of the bunny hops look very painful (like Mamba's double up).

They did it with Collosus at SFMM when they removed the double down with a brake run. Just left the old track under it. not sure if its been removed since. MOOSHIE?

You're asking me? I won't go to that park!

Further proving myself wrong, I found a picture of the track existing on Colossus, but it appears that the photo is from 1997, so who knows now days, I'm guessing Six Flags didn't take the time to remove the old track, it does seem unnecessary the more I think about it. The only problem would be if the old track kept the structure from moving the way it should.

Photo link:
http://rcdb.com/ig26.htm?picture=5 *** Edited 7/25/2008 9:07:32 PM UTC by OrientExpressKid***

I think there was an article in Rollercoaster magazine about the Cyclone. If I remember right, they made the change because the coaster would valley occasionally (which was caused by changing to lighter trains).

Can someone verify?

The double-down track has sat under the brake track for over ten years...why would they remove it now?

And yes, Cyclone is the lick. :)

Hercules was designed at the beginning with a left hand turn and the drop to the lake. It was never changed or modified. Just ripped down. *sigh* Not that I really miss it: I never rode it.

To me it also seems cheesy that they would put in the new track and not get rid of the old.

By not removing the track, it saves both cost of labor and time. All they had to do was bolt the new bents around the old track. Seems pretty simple to me.

^Actually, as I recall leaving the original track helped maintain the entire structures integrity, as well as cost and labor. I remember reading an article that claimed removing the track would have caused more problems. Regarding the ride itself, I was there opening year since Riverside/SFNE has always been my home park. I grew up on the Nantasket Beach coaster, so saying Cyclone was disapointing would be an understatement. A ride with not one drop to the ground and virtually no airtime just isn't my cup of tea.

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Rctycoon2k said:By not removing the track, it saves both cost of labor and time. All they had to do was bolt the new bents around the old track. Seems pretty simple to me.

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Well said. Besides, leaving the old trackwork has not been shown to lead to a significcant reduction in "charm". :)