Number of trains running on a given coaster

Just curious. We all complain about it when a coaster (ahem....*cough*villain*cough*) is just running one train, and what i'm asking is who determines when the second train goes on. The crew? The Managers? Is there a set policy for this at some parks, like "If the line gets past this certain point, we add another train...."

Of course, i wouldn't mind it if all parks just about always ran their rides at full capacity ie CP.

-----------------
Kicking screamin' Gucci little siggy.

For some strange reason(and I have NO idea why), the park mechanics seem to determine how many trains are used on a particular day. At least that's the explaination I got when I asked why ROAR(SFMW) was running one train on a Sunday afternoon. I'm sure it's different at every park.
-----------------
"Time flies...Whether you're having fun or not". -Mary Engelbreit.

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 12/8/2001. ***

Nope, train addition is determined based upon number of people in park, and the staffing for the ride. That would be rides managment that actually makes the call. At SFGAm we never run with less than two trains ever, unless there is a mechanical problem or the ride only has one train(DV and V2).

Does it cost more to run 2 trains than to run 1 train?

I don't really think it is determined completely by the total number of guests in the park .If it were then we would've seen at least 2 if not all 3 trains running on Batwing this season,every time I went to SFA this season they only had 1 train operation on Batwing with extremely long lines,Staffing however may play a role in the number of trains used though.

A LOT of different things come into play which have been mentioned. Such as amount of guests in the park at a given time, how long your line is, mechanical problems, staffing. Management OR maintenence can make the call depending on what the situation is. Every park and every ride will have different scenarios so there's probably a different reason for every coaster having x amount of trains running.

Yeah, obviously, if there is a malfunction with the train, or the train is being worked on, its not going onto the track, so i really wasn't talking about that situation.

So what about SFWoA? Is there only one train run on Villain so much of the time because of the operators, the mechanics, or the managers? It really doesn't make much sense, personally, for mechanics to decide that sort of thing (unless, or course, there is some issue with the train itself, like i mentioned above.)

-----------------
Kicking screamin' Gucci little siggy.

Usually ride supervisors (at least that is what I was told)
-----------------
"They may destroy the foundations of our biggest buildings...but they cannot touch the foundation of America"-George W. Bush 9/11/01

If a coaster opens the day with two trains, and finds itself dispatching the trains with less than a full load, they will remove a train from the circuit. Especially on trains that require semi-precise weight distribution. Batman:The ride was running two trains, but they were only filling the first four rows. I dont know if it was because of weight issues, but i can only imagine so. Conversely, I was at Magic Mountain one year when they stopped and ADDED a THIRD train. This wasnt even a VERY busy day. Colossus also MUST have TWO riders in the back seat. Often a passenger from another seat is directed to the back if someone tries riding single in the back. Mechanical problems and staffing can reduce the number of trains operating even IF the park is crowded enough to fill them. After the Braking accident on S:ROS @ SFNE, the other S:ROS at SFA and SFDL began running only one train as a precaution while the cause of the accident was investigated and necessary changes made for rider safety. Superman:the Escape at SFMM runs only one side now because of the recent power problems in California. The ride has its own dedicated power source and draws quite a bit with each launch. This is something the park is doing in an effort to help out all of LA, even if the park patrons find it annoying. TOO many variables to really know why, but mostly I would put it on the park not WANTING to run at full capacity. If you can get on all the rides within and hour or two, you'll go home. They want you to stay there long enough to grab a couple meals and some snacks. Concessions account for much more revenue than park entrance fees.
-----------------
My other car is a Giovanola!

Lots of things can determine how many trains a park runs on a coaster. Some sensible, some stupid. It doesn't seem to be real consistant.

Batwing Fan: The number of trains running on Batwing this year was determined by technical problems, not the crowds. I think that they only used both sides of the station one day. I'm not sure that the third train was ever fully commissioned due to the technical problems.

On most coasters if crowds are light, the park tries to limit the number of trains to keep them more or less full. Most coasters provide a better ride with more weight.

At SFOG, it's up to the ride supervisors. They usually put as many trains on the track as possible unless something needs repair on a train or staffing is really bad. For example, at the Mindbender, if there is a two person crew (very small) they'll only run one train. But if they have three or more, two trains are put on. Even light days get as many trains on the track as possible.

ravenguy98 said:
Just curious. We all complain about it when a coaster (ahem....*cough*villain*cough*) is just running one train, and what i'm asking is who determines when the second train goes on. The crew? The Managers? Is there a set policy for this at some parks, like "If the line gets past this certain point, we add another train...."
Of course, i wouldn't mind it if all parks just about always ran their rides at full capacity ie CP.
-----------------
Kicking screamin' Gucci little siggy.

have you been to CP every day? because when i went 1 day i saw very low capacity. 1 train on MF, 1 train on gemini with 3 rows blocked, 1 on mantis, 1 on CKMR, 1 on iron dragon. 2 trains on raptor and magnum and everything else (except WE). that is a false statement by you

-----------------
HurricaneGeauga- Just in case

yes yes, batman, very rarely though, does run with only one train. That only happens when there's not enough guests, staffing has nothing to do with it. They could run 2 the same as running one train with the same amount of employees. So i'm with Rob on that one!

have you been to CP every day? because when i went 1 day i saw very low capacity. 1 train on MF, 1 train on gemini with 3 rows blocked, 1 on mantis, 1 on CKMR, 1 on iron dragon. 2 trains on raptor and magnum and everything else (except WE). that is a false statement by you

Well, although it might not happen every day, It probably happens at least 95% of the time, I went in June this year and MF,Raptor,Iron Dragon and Magnum all ran 3 train ops, and all other coasters has 2 trains out, It was great to see CP operating full capasity on everything nearly, and on a day when it was'nt particually busy either.

This is a good topic, because I have always wondered who decides how to operate the rides every day, Whether it be an employee decision or a managment decision. My feeling is that parks should always run at least 2 trains all the time on a certain coaster however busy it may be, People hate to see 1 Train operations happening all the time, and it really gets most people annoyed, I witnessed this at SFWOA where Double Loop,X-Flight and Raging Wolf bobs all were running 1 Train Ops and the ride ops on these rides were poor, Everything was such a shambles on X-Flight especially though, because there was breakdowns,5Mins dispatch times, and to make things worse, at about 6PM on one day day I went, everyone was told to leave X-Flight because of the problems they were having, Everyone was so furious, that they threatened to start fights with the staff, luckly everything calmed down in the end, but it sure got nasty at times.
I dont know if anything else like this happens at other parks, but this just shows the frustration of people who see 1 train operations when a park is busy, I wouldnt mind if parks did run 1 train ops when the park is really quiet, but to see it happen when the park is extremly busy is another thing.

In my experience, SFOG tries to put out as many trains as possible, regardless of crowd size. They never subtract trains unless it needs some kind of service, or staffing gets low.

SFGRAMBoy20 said:
At SFGAm we never run with less than two trains ever,

isn't the only coaster in the park that has more than 2 Raging Bull?

No it isn't.

Each of the following rides has three trains (but rarely uses them, excluding Raging Bull): Bull, Demon, Shockwave and Whizzer.

HurricaneGeauga, what day did you go?

I find it extremely hard to believe that all those rides were down to 1 train. Especially MF...I don't think it's ever been down to 1 train. Also, I don't think Mantis would have either. Did you go on a really crappy, cold day in May or something?

-------------
Mayday - Memorial Day Weekend - Nonpoint, Nickelback, Oleander, Staind
Ozzfest - June 8 - Drowning Pool, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Black Sabbath
Awake Tour- June 15 - Darwin's Waiting Room, Puddle of Mudd, Deftones, Godsmack

And in a sense American Eagle has 4 trains (2 on each side).
-----------------
Rob

"The doctor said I wouldn't have as many nose bleeds if I could just keep my finger out of there!" -Ralph

ALF is cool said:
And in a sense American Eagle has 4 trains (2 on each side).

six. two on red. two on blue. one blue and one red in service each year. six.