Lift Hill Speed - CoasterBuzz

Getting back to your original question of just how fast the lifts go, I've clocked a few B&Ms at a little over 5 mph going up the lift and Superman ROS @ SFNE at a little over 7 mph. I've only clocked one wood (Gwazi) and that was a little less than 5 mph.
It looks like the average of 5-7 mph is pretty much dead on.
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G's! They're what's for dinner!

And you clock that how?

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If I was part of a coaster, I would be an upstop pad on an Arrow Mine Train.
MAGNUM HAD MY BABY!

Using a GPS to track speed.
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G's! They're what's for dinner!

Damn technology. ;)

You wouldn't be taking your GPS on the ride with you now would you? ;)

-Brent "who doesn't give a rats ass if you were" Kneebush

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If I was part of a coaster, I would be an upstop pad on an Arrow Mine Train.
MAGNUM HAD MY BABY!

Trust me, the way it is strapped on, it would hardly be considered a "loose article". ;)

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G's! They're what's for dinner!

O ok I get it now I always wondered why it did that but I guess now I know.

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Kennywood Team Member Since July 2003
Phantom Fright Nights Fridays & Saturdays
September 12 - October 25

The speed of the lift as has been pointed out has nothing to do wiht the overall speed of the ride. It does have a psychological effect on the riders however. The slower the lift, the higher the level of anticipation. Just think about crawling up the first hill towards the first drop. Heart rate rises, palms get a little sweaty, respritory rate increases,then BAM you're over the top. Increasing the lift chain speed would decrease the desired effect.

Rob A said:

"Its been proven that chain speed does not matter... the difference in speed is miniscule, at best."

Someone tell that to SFMM, please??

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New holiday & all-occasion cards on sale thru Oct 21st. 2004 Wood Coaster Calendar still available. All at S&D Greetings.

Dutchman, you haven't ridden The Beast lately, have you? People start getting really pissed off as the lift crawls at about 2 ft/min.

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- John
Homepark: CP Home-away-from-homepark: PKI
My Campusfish Blog

To be fair to my engineering mind, the speed of the lift hill does have an effect on the overall speed of the ride, though it probably isn't noticeable to a casual observer. The difference is there, though.

On another note:
I and A are the exceptions, not the rule. O is letter, not a word. U is a letter, not a word. E...well, E, I won't even get into that.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
Hot stuff.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? :-P

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph
"Those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know." -Jeff
*** This post was edited by ApolloAndy 10/18/2003 1:36:37 PM ***

ApolloAndy said:
O Brother, Where Art Thou? :-P

Clearly, not in grammar school.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
Hot stuff.

Michael Darling said:
Dutchman, you haven't ridden The Beast lately, have you? People start getting really pissed off as the lift crawls at about 2 ft/min.
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- John
Homepark: CP Home-away-from-homepark: PKI
My Campusfish Blog

Agreed. The speed on the lift hill of Beast is another reason that I hate it. From the station to the top , it must be over a minute and a half. It doesn't build anticipation , it gets annoying.

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I'd like to thank the academy , and my mom , and my fans,and.....oh forget it , I hate you all.

I don't think anyone would argue that decreasing the lift hill speed to the point that it takes 2 hrs. to get to the top is an improvement....

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph
"Those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know." -Jeff

As far as the beasts lift it waits on the 2nd train. Ive been on it and had it stop at the very top soon as the other train cleared the other chainlift we went.You can tell alot of the times youll feel it speed up half way etc. They try to keep it moving to prevent wear on parts cause of stopping and starting. So moving at a slow constant rate is less wear the starting and stopping.

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Proud member of:
PKI unlimited
PKI Central

My life is spent in between metal railing, where I stand for hours just to sit down for 3 minutes then to get up and do it allover again.

Goliath at SF Holland speeds up the lift toward the top, too...
It shoots you over the top so fast that you're already out of your seat before the train really dips.
Certainly, the lift speed affects the speed and feel of the ride a lot.
I doubt the airtime on it would be as intense if the train would just gain the speed from the first drop.

I am pretty sure the lift on the MilF! at Cedar Point speeds up partway through. I think (but do not know for sure) that it speeds up when the train before clears the last block and is fully in the unload. One of the things I don't like about the MilF! is its poor blocking, which leads to (relatively) low capacity.

I think blocking has a lot to do with how fast lifts go. Timing needs to be just right, and the better designed roller coasters do not stack as much as . I know sometimes I comment on the speed of Magnum's lift, as I would like it if they sped it up or slowed it down based on how fast the trains were coming in, so the stacking could be reduced.

-Sam
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Avalanch Run - My first Roller Coaster.
Magnum XL-200 - The BEST Roller Coaster!

Has anone ever thought about LIM's on a wooden coaster. It would put a lot of stress on the timber, but I 'm curious to see an experiment conducted. (i.e. Departing the station, the train approaches a long straight run way of track. It takes off, and goes through a course of typical camel backs and bunny hops)

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www.youngstown2010.com

With the advent of computer controls the use of variable speed motors on the chain lift has become more common. As has been pointed out, the lift has been converted into a control block. The number of trains out on the layout determines the speed of the lift, even stopping them depending upon the location of the previously dispatched train.

I was wondering if the variable speed lifts use a cluth/shifting gears or if the actual drive motors themselves slow down. I can thnik of good reasons for both.

Also, I'm not sure how GPS works, but would the figures quoted by Pale Rider be the absolute speed up the lift of just the speed along the ground (the projection onto the ground) of the train?

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph
"Those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know." -Jeff