Guys how is Six Flags New England operating Batman and Mind Eraser in this cold?

We are season pass holders and have enjoyed the inaugural Holiday in the Park here......a good portion of the park is closed - like the whole lower area where Superman is and then the north end of the park where Wicked Cyclone is - but the rest is open and they are operating Batman, Mid Eraser, Thunderbolt, and Joker......question is how the hell are they doing this when the temp was at 30 maybe a tick lower......I love all the roller coasters here and while Batman has gotten a bad rap it’s not a bad coaster IMO and I rode it 3 times tonight.....last row then front row then right in the middle.....it seemed to run fine but I was reading up on coasters in cold weather and the general theme was that under 40 the ususal practice is to close..... it was easily below freezing tonight.....as well as last Sunday night when I rode Batman twice.....I will note that Batman did speed check itself at the bottom of the dive right before the picture is taken.... so IDK, if slow speeds are a worry during cold weather Batman seemed to be going fast enough that it needed to be speed checked during the ride.....

Some of the B&M coasters have cold weather wheels that allow the ride to not slow down as much in the cold. Batman The Ride at Great Adventure has those wheels during Holiday in the Park, maybe it's the same with Batman at SFNE as well even though it's a floorless? Generally Six Flags doesn't seem to care how cold it is to run the coasters. Nitro has ran the past 2 years when it is in the 20s out. It is nice to go to one of their parks and not have to worry about the temperature. When I went to Hersheypark a few weeks ago, I was watching the outside temperature display inside the car as it was around 40. I knew if it got a couple of degrees colder, the outdoor coasters wouldn't be running (supposedly for Hersheypark it is 38 or above to run the coasters).

Goliath at SFNE not running during Holiday in the Park? I can see why that one would be challenging to operate in cold weather. But what a dismal selection. Mind Eraser is #2 on my list of the worst coasters I've ever ridden.

Funny, in another (FB) group, I commented to the effect of "Why isn't Carowinds running their flagship coaster for Winterfest?" (Fury325)

I was met with "In the cold temps the steel will shatter and kill everyone." (slight exaggeration.) And this was in the Carolinas, where it rarely drops below freezing.

I don't know why this is such a crazy concept but not all rides operate the same in colder temperatures- even those built by the same manufacturer. A ride like Batman is going to have fewer opportunities for rollbacks (due to hill profile and track length) than say a ride like Fury.

I know at Hersheypark they have the Wildcats Station enclosed and heaters blowing on the wheels when the train returns to the station. Christmas Candylane is the only holiday event we've been to this season, but wanted to hit SFA, SFGADV, And BGW. Too much other stuff to do at this time of the year.

Right, its just basic science. If you think that its unpleasant to hang around in 20 degree weather with 10 MPH winds, imagine how much you'll have in 20 degree weather with 80 MPH winds. That might be a wind chill of -20 degrees. I'm sure that everyone is bundled up, but you risk frostbite and hypothermia.

And, the cold puts more of a strain on the track and wheel.

Remember wind chill only has an effect on living things. Water doesn’t freeze due to wind chill factor below 32° if the actual temp is above 32°.

ShaneDenmark said:

Remember wind chill only has an effect on living things. Water doesn’t freeze due to wind chill factor below 32° if the actual temp is above 32°.

Where's my brain? Very insightful piece of knowledge that you dropped. I guess its just that when you approach 30-40 degrees in general, its no good for the track and trains?