Number of Trains and Break Runs

I was thinking about this and I decided to see if anyone knows...

Manhattan Express has a load and unload station, a holding break at the bottom of the lift, a midcourse break, a reduction/holding break at the end, as well as another reduction/holding break at the end of the ride. Why is it then that it only runs three trains? I would think that they could at least safely run four (which they do have another in storage).

Also, anybody else know rides that have plenty blocks for more trains than it already has?

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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"

Having all of those blocks would be fine, but it still requires you to move the trains through at a certain interval. What it comes down to then is how fast you can get trains in and out of the stations.

A good example would be to imagine that Millennium Force had a mid-course block. As it stands now, their dispatch interval is about a minute. At the end of that minute a train is arriving and a train is leaving.

Now add a mid-course block, cutting the course (time-wise) in half. That means you need to get a train out every 30 seconds. I don't know about you, but I think it's obvious that guests couldn't get in that fast.

You might then argue that an additional brake area could be added just before the stations. That might be true, but it means you would just have a loaded train sitting there, so capacity is not increased.

Get it?

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"

I get it, often Manhattan Express' trains just sit in the station waiting for clearance.

When i worked Canyon Blaster we were told to run at a 20 second interval meaning from the time the train stops to unload to the time we pushed the buttons. I remember being called a few times at controls being told to speed it up even though there was no stacking.

Its becasue of this i think 30 seconds is enough time, but MF has seatbelts and the no loose articles thing which probably adds to the time they need. Disney i think is the king of capacity with 12 trains on Space Mtn when its really busy. Those trains leave every 15 to 20 seconds.

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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!" *** This post was edited by baddboy on 7/27/2001. ***

Another ridiculous ride with more than one block brake then needed (probably due to the large number of rolling stock running at a time) was Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott's. And what do you know? It's a Togo like Manhattan Express. Each of WJ's tracks weren't even longer than 2,000 FT and the ride had TWO BLOCK BRAKES/MID COURSE BRAKES...as if it needed to be any slower than it already ran...

space mountain at DL has a lot of block breaks i think they have to send a train every 45 seconds or it all goes bye-bye
*** This post was edited by Wackokid on 7/28/2001. ***

Generally, the train in load is "ready" on MF when the one on the course is around the 2nd tunnel. The earliest I have been sent out this year is right when the train on course cleared the hop. Our train jerked at the top and did not speed up because the train on course did not get al the way into unload (Shivering Tim was on it too). Because MF's lift is so fast they pretty much wait for the one on course to finish to avoid setting it, like what almost happened to us.

I think I read on GTTP, that the preferred dispatch time on MF is when the train on course blows by the station, therefore there is no stacking anywhere....and about halfway up the lift you know when the train has cleared the block and it goes max speed.