Face/Off Testing

Why does Paramount's Kings Island test Face/Off with its restraints open a couple of times before the ride opens? I realize that there is an alarm that goes off when this is done, but wouldn't it make more sense to make operation like this totally impossible to begin with?

I'm pretty sure that they don't test it with the restraints open.

The alarm is on most rides in the park, it signals for anyone in the ride area to get out just in case.

I remember watching Face/Off test while waiting to get my season pass processed, and wondering what made the alarm sound at one test run, but not the other. I looked at the trains and noticed that the restraints had been buckled to the safety belts, but there was still tension in the belts. I thought that the only way there could be tension in the belts would be if the train had been dispatched from the station and the restraints had not been locked.

I apologize for not being very clear. The restraints were not completely open, but it appeared as if they had not be locked, similar to what happens when the restraints are released in a seat that had no rider. *** Edited 11/27/2004 5:28:28 PM UTC by CoasterKrazy***

It dosen't matter how much there down, just aslong as there buckled.

Look at it this way too, mabey it was a second test ride, after the first test, the restraints automatically lift themselfs. Well if there still belted down, than the belt will be where it stops.

So just launch again.

Then what is the purpose of the alarm?

The alarm is to sound off to clear the lockout areas as the ride is starting.

They were locked,just not pushed down all the way by the attendants.

The same thing happens on Two face whenever a test run is required...since there's no need to check restraints for guests safety during an empty test run the crew doesn't need to bother checking them other than to make sure the belts are fastened properly.

Most coasters have some sort of siren or horn that goes off before the first run of the day or after any breakdown that requires the ride computer to be restarted. *** Edited 11/27/2004 8:48:36 PM UTC by SFGAm Shock Wave***

Not true. Many coasters do not have an alarm of any sort. However, most parks with lawyers in an office somewhere will go through a verbal announcement or other system to make sure that the ride area is clear.

Every inverted coaster I can think of has a low-zone alarm, including the flyers.

So the alarm has nothing to do with the restraints not being closed?

Jeff, what about suspended coasters? The Top Gun incident at PKI comes to mind.

Not that alarms sounding there make any difference when it comes to test cycling the ride and running it into a truck...;)

The reason why inverted coasters do and not others is that it's easy to stand between cars and get hit. Think about it, there is no track or huge car fronts to stop you, so it's possible to have a CM standing checking, that's why they send out the alarm, then do their "clear" check with the thumbs and safety positions before a train launch.

There are some coasters out there that have alarms that sound on every dispatch, as well. Just as a fer'instance, the Cedar Creek Mine Ride at Cedar Point has a bell in the workshop/transfer table shed that rings every time a train is dispatched from the station.

On Face/Off, as on all of that park's coasters, there is an alarm that sounds when the ride is first powered up, and there is a time delay from the time the alarm goes off until the train can dispatch. As for the shoulder bars...

On Face/Off, I believe the shoulder bars are electrical...that is, there is a mechanical ratchet which is electrically released by means of solenoids in the seat backs. The bars are spring loaded, so if the solenoids are energized, the bars will tend to self-open to the extent permitted by the safety belts. The electrical power to open the restraint comes from a bus-bar on the top of the train, I believe just behind the second car...there is a shoe that pivots down and hooks to the train while the train is in the station. With that in mind, please note that whenever that bus-bar is disconnected, certainly any time the train is not parked in the station, the restraints are necessarily locked, there being no power to energize the solenoids to unlock them. Traditionally, that type of design has not required any system to verify bar position, so it is theoretically possible to dispatch the train with one or more shoulder bars *open*, although the mechanism would necessarily be *locked*.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^I think I've seen the bus bar on two face before....it's just in front of the chain pully on top of the track.

The first time I saw it I just assumed it was an extra parking brake used to simply hold the train in a stopped position but apparently it's not,the SLC's also have this as well although it appears to be more of a bar running the entire length of the station looking more like the skid brake used on older woodies.