Has anyone heard anything about Hershey Wildcat Retracking?

Good Morning,

I saw a picture of the the Hersheypark wildcat being retracked on site that Coasterfantom2 is providing us with all of those wonderful storm runner pictures. I was just curious if anyone knows who is doing the retracking? Is it GCI, Hershey maintenance or another company?

Thanks
Wood Coaster Fan

Hershey has been doing it themselves. Hershey does all their retracking themselves. I just hope they fix the lowest part of the helix before the breaks.

that stinks that they have to retrack all the time. this is the second time i heard about the retracking

I'd sooner have it retracked than it being a back breaker any day!

There's usually at least one section of the 'Cat retracked
every year. This year it was the helix into the brake run
("turn 10") and a section right before that near the lift motor
house.

The problem with the constant maintenance on this coaster
is attributed to the larger, heavier PTC trains (even though
they are the short 2-seat cars). The Milennium trains like the
Racer has are better suited to the track design, but they cost $$$.

Also, since this was one of GCI's first coasters, there were
some design errors made which caused it to beat itself. Most of
these have been corrected through the efforts of Hershey's
maintenance staff.

All of the wooden coasters have some sections of track rebuilt every
year. The 'Cat just requires a bit more than the others.

Actually Millennium Flyers weigh a little more than the PTC's. That is if your counting 1 PTC car and 2 Millennium Flyers cars to total 4 riders. But the Flyers track alot better.

It would be nice if Hershey would decide to get Millennium Flyers for the Wildcat. At least I'd know I would have a job for several months again! :)

My first ride on the Cat a few years ago was pretty rough...but since I've been on it after that, it hasn't been that bad...probably thanks to the Hershey crew and their retracking. Hey, in my mind, as long as the ride remains good, Hershey can retrack it as much as they want!

I'd love to see the Millenium Flyers too, it would really improve it. Too bad they weren't around back when the Cat was built. I'd assume they wouldn't get them, until the PTCs need to be replaced, and I'm thinking they'll keep them pretty long. Comet's trains must be really old, they seem like it.

I agree Cometrider....while I've never ridden Wildcat yet I have had plenty of rides on Roar & lately those rides have been getting progressivly rougher & rougher.

Simply put the PTC's just don't have the articulation needed for such tight turns to be taken smoothly,the longer wheelbase of the PTC's makes for a much rougher ride & in the long run causes more wear & tear on the track.

Both Wildcat & Roar could benefit greatly from a set of M-flyers to replace the current PTC rolling stock but it's up to the individual parks (HP & SFA)to make the choice to replace the existing trains with new ones.

You think Roar is rough? I'd advise against riding Wildcat, then.

Batwing Fan, I don't think it has as much to do with the trains as it has to do with the quality of the retracking. Roar at SFMW has had some rough times, mainly 2002 *ouch*. But MW constantly retrack the ride. Each year about 1/4 of the layout gets retracked, along with the same -old problem areas. Roar can become a rough puppy pretty quick if the maintenance get lazy. Areas with high positive Gs will get rough really quick too, of course.

BFAN, why don't you try riding Wildcat before making comments. It rocked last year, and me and my friend agreed that it blew Roar out of the water. It handled the turns just fine. I would hate to see the Millennium Flyers on this coaster, because I don't like those trains for one reason--the lapbars.