Lightning Rod Updates for 2021

Kind of how I don’t see myself driving the 4.5 hrs to Tennessee regardless of....

I've seen and heard good things about this heck of a roller coaster, RCMAC. Totally worth the time and effort.

I’ve ridden it many times, and yes. If I had a list it would sit very near the top.

RMC IS RMC'ing LR.

I read last night that 2160 feet of track is being changed to iBox. That's more than half of it.

The RMC is being RMC-d.

So... is it a steel coaster now?

It's uncharted territory.

That said, if not now, then what happens in a few years time when the rest of the Topper Track gets swapped for iBox?

(Also, does anyone really care? It's a coaster.)

But do they charge for parking?

I think it's free mid-Rod and beyond.

Vater said:

I think it's free mid-Rod and beyond.

That's what she said.

Jeff said:

But do they charge for parking?

Only if you're there to chaperone kids under 18.

It's a whole new world.

High five!

Lord Gonchar said:

That's what she said.

I prefer the British version of that observation:

"As the actress said to the bishop."

But was the Rod black?

Also, I genuinely can't tell the difference in the I-Box and Topper track styles in terms of ride experience. They're both super smooth and indistinguishable from a traditional tubular steel coaster, as far as I'm concerned.

I haven't been on the topper, but considering that it's the part the wheels touch, I can't imagine they would feel particularly different. Did it start as topper? I guess I never really paid attention, but the lift in photos always looks a little gnarly to be launching trains up it.

This is the ride where RMC threw some contractor under the bus for their quality of work, wasn't it?

It's one of two projects I know of where RMC blamed a contractor for a major engineering error. I don't know if this is because RMC got their specifications wrong, or because the contractor supplied product that did not meet specifications. Either way the result is a faulty end product, and I suspect that the customer doesn't really care who made the mistake.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RMC threw Velocity under the bus for the launch, but the more persistent issue seems to be that the ride is tearing itself apart, which is evidenced by the fact that the launch hardware is still in place but the track is being replaced. You'd think this would have to fall under RMC's responsibility, no?

Between this and the issues that Cedar Point has had maintaining the structure of Steel Vengeance, it makes you wonder why RMC is having trouble accounting for the stresses of their rides.