Loch Ness Monster - CoasterBuzz

I saw this picture of Loch Ness and there was a train in both of the loops in the picture. How do they do this? Doesn't one train have to finish its course before the other one can begin?

It might have been edited...but I'm not sure.

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"I’m more than a bird..I’m more than a plane...More than some pretty face beside a train...It’s not easy to be me"-Five for Fighting "Superman" dedicated to all of the hardworking rescuers of the WTC...

I believe they are supposed to both go through the loop if three trains are run, unless there are some slow ride ops.

Well, seeing as there is a mid-course brake run, that allows for multiple trains on the track at once. When all 3 trains are running, it is not a strange sight to see them fly through the loops at the same time.
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Bomb Squad Technician

If you see me running, try and keep up!

I heard that if all three trains are running on a busy day, then train 1 and 3 will cross in the loops.
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Paramount Carowinds: Forgotten but not Gone

Allthough I've only ridden it a few times, my memory tells me that the loops are very far away from each other in the circuit. I think the second lift hill seperates them also. It's a long, and very surprising ride!

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- Peabody

They can run the trains timed so that they are both in the intertwined loops at the same time. When the ride first opened, I believe that they intentionally did do this. It's probably not that important a detail for them now. As I remember, all of the publicity shots and commercials for LochNess when it first opened featured two trains in the loops.
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"Reality" is the only word in the language which should always be used in quotes.

Yeah I always read that when all three traisn are running the trains do meet in the loops.
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All at once the ghosts come back reeling you in now.

I believe that Peabody is right, this is done with the second lift hill. It is the same thing as having block brakes, allowing the two trains to meet on the course. However, I have been going to Bucsh Gardens since I was little and still have not seen the two trains meet in the loops.

Yes, it is correct when all three trains run both trains will enter the loops at the same time. However, it is now rare for all three trains to be running. I was at BGW about 30 times or so this season and not a single time were all three trains running. Granted, I did avoid a lot of the peak times, but I was there on July 4th when it was pretty crowded and they still were only running two trains.

In '89, on my first trip to BGW, I rode Nessie 5 times. On 2 of those times, the train I was on hit the loop at the exact same time as a train coming from the second drop. Obviously, that put me on a train just coming off the second 'lift' after the enclosed helix. I have seen it many times, although the last trip in 2000, it never happened once, perhaps due to the park running less trains?? I don't understand the loss of Nessie's popularity. At least that day in August, the park was very busy, and the wait for Nessie was less than 15 minutes. Not that I mind..:)

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Nessie was designed so that the two of the three trains would enter the loops at the same time. As others stated, since ridership has dwindled in latter years, the park has no need to operate with 3 trains. Thus the trains no longer enter the loops at the same time.

The coaster, when running 3 trains, accomplishes such as feat as follows:

There is a block brake following the first loop. The train is slowed just prior to entering the Nessie cave in which a double/ triple (can't remember how many) helix resides. After exiting the cave, the trains hit a small 2nd lift whereupon they crest, do a 180 degree turn and drop into the final loop. The use of the block brake, as well as a timed 2nd lift allow two trains in three train operating circumstances to enter the loops at the same time.

There are basically two halves to Loch Ness. Obviously the first half includes the "upper" loop and the second half includes the "lower."

I personally believe it to be one of Arrows finer creations. The ride is over 20 years old, and is still very well maintained. I find it smooth, for an Arrow, and enjoy the ride each time I ride. The first drop is still very well orchestrated and falls into a category of underrated rides IMO.

The poorest part of the ride has always been, and will always be the terrible que. Although themed fairly well, the que becomes a bottleneck upon entering the main station.

Ironically, Nessie was Busch's first attempt at heavily theming a coaster. It was first in the Busch parks to use TV minitors to "set up" the experience with pre-show banter. Many credit OL:FOF with that. But in fact when the ride opened in '78 (as far as I can recall) those monitors helped broadcast the myth of Nessie to those waiting. It was still being used when I was there last in '99. In 1984, BGW also used the monitors to set up the BBW rides... then later Alpengiest. However, if memory serves me, Apollo's Chariot does not have a pre-show. (I have never waited in the que house for Apollo.)

Honestly, LNM is a wonderful example of the better skills Arrow brought to the table. It is still a magnificent coaster to look at, and fun to ride. I will always miss the indescribable feeling of manuevering the loop while another train looped "though" yours. It's a shame that park does not operate the coaster as it was intended.

For years and years it was rare to ride and not have the two trains enter the loops at the same time. Now, it is a rare, but beautiful site when they do.

Shaggy

*** This post was edited by Shaggy on 11/5/2001. ***

Nessie's loss in popularity is due to 2 other things called Alpengeist and Apollo's Chariot...
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Bomb Squad Technician

If you see me running, try and keep up!

LoL, true, but still my fave Arrow...

Apollo has the TVS in the queue before the winding trip down to the station.

Personally, Nessie is my favorite Arrow looping coaster...smooth...fast...nice long ride. And that tunnel took me as such a surprise my first time...it was great!

I agree that nessie is still agreat and underted ride the first drop suprisngly has some decent air time. and the loops are classic and great to just lookl at let alone ride! it;s a nice cruise around the river too. a true classic!
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All at once the ghosts come back reeling you in now.

I found Nessie not to have lost all that much in ridership this year. Sometimes the wait for Nessie was longer than that of AC or Alpengeist, however even when the line filled the queue house they did not run the third train. I believe that my second and third longest waits of the year were for LNM, mostly due to the fact that they only ran two trains. I really like Arrow coasters even though they are a little rougher, and I loathe the fact that I had to watch one sit dormant yet another summer.

While Nessie doesn't have really long lines anymore, it is still quite popular. It seems to usually be able to run 2 trains and keep them full with a wait of several trains for riders. Most other loopers of the same period are walk ons much of the time. I attribute this to several items. 1) Nessie's relatively smooth ride. 2) Nessie's nice themeing and beautiful setting. 3) The family crowd at BGW that doesn't always demand the wildest ride available.