effects of weather on coasters

i live in henderson, ky, it's just about an hour to holiday world. right now we are experiencing a fairly serious ice storm with about an inch of ice on everything.

the ice has got me thinking about the effects of weather on coasters in the off season. do any of you know of any serious weather conditions that resulted in added prep work to open a coaster for the season? i'm not talking about new ride additions and openings being delayed. but instead, existing coasters having to go through additional prep work to open on time.

seek first to understand then to be understood

I would highly doubt that it would effect any of the steel coasters, but, I am guessing it could effect wood ones, given the right conditions.

I'll be curious to hear any responses....

Fever I really enjoy the Simpsons. It's just a shame that I am starting to LOOK like Homer.

I haven't seen any ice yet, Johnathan, but the snow is sure pouring down here in Charleston! >:-(

I think it's suppossed to ice up overnight. Nothing like waking up and discovering your car turned into an oversized ice cube. lol.

-Tina

Didn't a severe wind storm have something to do with a section of newly erected bents to *domino* into each other on SOB during construction in early 2000? I think it had something to do with improper temporary bracing.

Wet weather can also severely delay or at least hamper foundation work. That happens all the time in construction!! Even when building new homes, the worst time to pour foundations is in the freezing winter months because when the ground thaws the foundations tend to settle more.

But to answer your original question...No, not that I'm aware of. It may slow down winter rehab work some, but there are guys retracking the Dipper at SFWoA right now and it's been snowing with sub zero wind chills for a while here. Coasters are very solid and are built to withstand almost anything.

(Sorry...I forgot to answer your original question. duh)

Wood - anything else is an imitation *** Edited 1/26/2004 1:01:48 AM UTC by Thrillerman***

Thrillerman, Johnathan is talking about existing coasters, not coasters in the construction process.

I also would be interested

I know LIMS can't work in cold weather. Joker's Jinx was closed during Frightfest, and I think its getting new LIMS for '04.

OK..now it' my turn.

He's talking about off-season weather causing problems with a ride. NOT during the season when it is operating. sheeese :/

He is talking about off season problems with existing rides.

Johnathan said:
i'm not talking about new ride additions and openings being delayed. but instead, existing coasters having to go through additional prep work to open on time.

SixFlagsAmericaFan said:
I know LIMS can't work in cold weather. Joker's Jinx was closed during Frightfest, and I think its getting new LIMS for '04.

Wrong. The reason JJ was closed is because of the noise that the coaster generates. Apparently the leaves on the trees provide a buffer which disappears during fall.

coasterqueenTRN said:
I haven't seen any ice yet, Johnathan, but the snow is sure pouring down here in Charleston! >:-(
I think it's suppossed to ice up overnight. Nothing like waking up and discovering your car turned into an oversized ice cube. lol.
-Tina

LOL, good one, I think it would effect the pure wooden ones like Mean Streak at Ceder Point in Sandusky, Ohio....here in Northern Ohio we are getting pounded with ice storms and more coming throughout the week....now Wooden Coasters w/ a steel frame like Villian at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in Cleveland will not be effected as much! Steel coaster are probaly still ok. Hate to wake up inside that ice cube!

I think the ice might make some coasters scarier, like say Thawk at Dorney and Phoenix at Knoebels, but they would probrably fly of the rails if you think about it.

R.I.P. Hercules 1989-2003 Gone but not forgotten

I'd guess quite the opposite. Extremly cold weather tends to make steel more brittle. Wood is an insulator by nature, so cold weather doesn't have nearly the effect on it's structural properties. Steel, however, tends to get very brittle when it's cold. I'm certain that yhe steel would still be strong enough to withstand high winds, coaster traffic, etc. as steel coasters are designed for the worst weather conditions possible. Railroads must ceace traffic on rail lines during extremely cold weather because the steel rails could break. This was evidenced in New England this past week, all frieght service was cancelled out of Boston.

Wood, as a material, is much more flexible, and less suceptible to thermal changes therefore is a good building material in extreme climates. Any addition of ice is simply just weight...not more than a coaster train exerts during it's run.

-seth