Griffon to reopen Aug. 5th

Yeah, it's SOOOOOO funny. Why didn't you just come out and say what your credentials were instead of saying how you know better and everything is so funny? Is it more gratifying to say how you know better first, get called out, and then have the big ta-da moment?

Rob has a history of attention whoring and trying to appear important, both here and in real life. So far you're following in his footsteps.

I've mentioned it in a few previous threads - plus

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That especially goes when I also personally know the maintenance people we are talking about at not only CP and BGE but many other major parks. So in a case where I do know the real stories behind it all, I do my best to enlighten

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I'd still like to know the facts on why I'm talking out of my ass.

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Jeff said:
It's not a versus debate. I just think that if you're not prepared to keep your star attraction running with parts that are known to break, that's lame. You're going to replace the chain every couple of years anyway, so why wouldn't you have it on hand? And if B&M rides have interchangeable chains, why not have one when you can put it on three rides?

When did everyone become apologists for poor maintenance?

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I assume your last comment wasn't directed at me, as my attention-whoring is only now evident in this thread. I would also assume that a class operation such as Busch would have spare parts on hand in the event of an emergency, but then again, it's not like people stock replacements for wear-and-tear parts on their cars. I know my tires and brake pads are eventually going to need replacing, but I don't have spares in my garage.

If I were to guess, a chain probably takes up a lot of room in a maintenance facility and that's why parks don't keep spares on hand. And even though BGE has three B&M coasters, none of them are the same height and therefore likely don't need the same chain (such as, the chain that works on Alpengeist wouldn't work on Griffon.)

Do you sell rides in your car?

Your car parts don't serve 30,000 people a day, and the attention whoring comment was directed at the other Rob, not you. It's not always about you.

"I do know the real stories" does not establish your credibility. You made how many posts before you revealed your involvement in the ride? Any anonymous kid with an Internet connection can make that claim.

This is why I've toyed with the idea of deleting all of the members and starting over with first and last real names. At least when I tell Rob Ascough I think he's wrong, I know who I'm talking to. ;) I can't stand people hiding behind anonymity.

Ah yes, just what I want, people Googling my name and finding how many posts I have on CoasterBuzz!

Ah, what's that you ask? Yes, of course people Google me. People Google me all the time. I get Googled so much sometimes I lose count of all the Googlage.

My car parts don't serve 30,000 people a day, but they serve me. When I have to get to work in the morning or meet my wife for dinner, the "one person" I am is just as important as 30,000 people having to get their ride on a roller coaster. I don't keep spare parts for my year-old car so I think it's completely understandable that BGE doesn't keep spare parts for their year-old ride. A lift chain is one of many things on a roller coaster that can fail. If a park kept on hand all the parts necessary to keep all their rides operational, there would be no space for rides.

Ironically, I agree with Jeff when it comes to having people post under their real names. Like me or hate me, at least you know who you're dealing with. I'm not into hiding behind some senseless nickname when I make a statement. I don't care if people Google my name. What are they going to see? A bunch of Coasterbuzz posts? So what?

So will there be an ID check too? Because what is to stop someone from posting as Claude Mabillard?

Your own posts don't include your full name. And if you want to go off of assumption, I never hid what I do in past posts I made either.

I'd still like to know the facts on why I'm talking out of my ass.

And you're right Rob, a line needs to be drawn somewhere. Otherwise parks might as well build duplicates of every ride.

Hooray! Me and Rob agree! That's like twice now, maybe three times.

What part of this don't you get, Brian? You come on and post as another guy, say you know better, and don't qualify why you do. That's talking out of your ass.

Now if you backed up a few days and said, "I know this because I did this and this, and therefore believe this," instead of, "I know this, and I'm enlightening you," then you wouldn't have been talking out of your ass.

Get it?

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This is why I've toyed with the idea of deleting all of the members and starting over with first and last real names.

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Works for me. ;)

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Rob Ascough said:
I know my tires and brake pads are eventually going to need replacing, but I don't have spares in my garage.

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You might if you replaced them yourself. Also, you don't need to have them on hand because you know that they're readily available at probably 10-20 stores within 10 miles of where you live or work. In essence, they're "virtually queued" in your garage. Ready to go, but not actually there. ;)

You can't say the same for ride parts. If everything was available at a store across the road, our parts storage would be empty.

I can't even imagine how many things you actually need to custom manufacture for the older rides at your park. That's gotta be a pain.

Wow, when did I become another guy? I'll have to get that checked.

And talking out of your ass means you are talking about something you know nothing of. But I will leave you to continue doing that as you have never qualified where you get your information. As people like to say, those who know, don't tell, so I'll go back to that and leave things to random conjecturing.

I've worked in the amusement industry for over ten years now and due to my position I do have a lot of access to inside information I'm sure that coaster enthusiasts would love to hear. At the heart of it all, I too am a park enthusiast and, when it's appropriate and OK for me to do so, I love to share what I've learned with people who feel the same as me. That's what I was attempting to do here with no motivation of knowing it all or boasting about "inside baseball"...just sharing with people who feel the same. But thank you- I won't waste anymore of my time sharing what I know on this site due to your actions in this thread towards me. It's a shame....I do honestly love to share what I can because I remember how I loved to hear inside info when I was not working in the industry and those that did came forward to share what they knew. I'll look for another place where there is a shred of respect given rather than an endless stream of hostility. *** Edited 8/6/2008 10:35:28 PM UTC by Wolfhound***

So now you tell us your resume, and change your signature to say who you work for. See, if you would've just put that out there in the first place, no one would have any reason to be skeptical. If you want respect, show us your credentials in the first place, not after the fact. I've been doing this for a long time, and I've seen countless self-appointed "experts" who were little more than high school kids with an Internet connection. You gave us no reason to believe you were anything other than that.

That's not hostility... that's skepticism. Because everything you read on the Intertubes isn't true.

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Jeff said:
Hooray! Me and Rob agree! That's like twice now, maybe three times.

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Thought it was about four or five, but I'm not counting. Got better things to do, I guess...

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kpjb said:
You might if you replaced them yourself. Also, you don't need to have them on hand because you know that they're readily available at probably 10-20 stores within 10 miles of where you live or work... If everything was available at a store across the road, our parts storage would be empty.

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I get what you're saying, I was just trying to point out that it probably doesn't make sense for a park to stock every single wear-and-tear item that every ride might need at some point. As Jeff pointed out, older rides are probably a pain-in-the-you-know-what because many of those parts have to be custom manufactured. But as for a modern-day steel coaster like a B&M? Even though the part might not be in your inventory, it could probably be at the park in a relatively short amount of time, right?

I guess what I'm wondering is, at what point does a park draw the line when it comes to keeping spare items in stock? I know things like wheels and proximity sensors are a given, but what about larger, more expensive pieces like lift motors and chains? Seems to me those are the kinds of pieces that parks wouldn't stock because they can acquire replacements in a short amount of time.

Even motors aren't out of the question. Wasn't it CoasterMania in the last couple of years where they swapped out the motor for Magnum to get it running for that evening's ERT?

Speaking of which, Magnum's chain broke in 2000 and reopened the next day. Steel Phantom had a spare chain its entire lifespan, and was never used. I stand by me earlier comments that a broken chain alone does not justify extended down time.

In theory, I agree with that. A ride that is a park's headline attraction (or one of the headline attractions) should not be down at any point during the season. The park isn't going to discount admission because they're unable to give the guest the whole park experience, so every major ride should be up and running. I'm just saying that I understand there are logistics involved, and it's probably unreasonable to expect a park to have every spare park on hand to prevent every major ride from experiencing downtime.

To me, the question is how a chain happens to break. Aren't they made of high-strength steel? That occurs to me as the kind of thing that shouldn't be expected to fail.

Everything can fail.

I'm not an engineer, but I would think that anything with that many moving parts (hundreds? thousands?) is bound to fail. Certainly the manner in which the chain dogs are dragged on it makes a difference too. An old Arrow ride like Magnum engages and disengages the train with some scary noises, but the B&M's use motors to move the train at the same speed as the chain and they seem to disengage pretty smoothly as well.

If a part is gonna fail, it will do so at the worst moment and in a very strange way. Guess this was what happened to the chain.

Then again, hot & cold weather can do some strange stuff, as can salt water. Wasn't this stuff shipped by boat from Europe?