Parking Trains at night

I was just wondering why some parks park their rollercoaster trains differently. Some park one on the lift, others park them in the brakes, and some take them off onto the storage track(Actually I may be wrong, do all parks do that for inspection?). I mean an example could be PKI parks a vortex on the lift but they have enough room to put all three on the brakes. Im pretty sure at CP they park all or most of there coaster trains on storge track. I was just wondering though why most parks do it differerent.

I dunno, but it'd be pretty scary to be accidentally left on the Vortex lift by yourself all night. Especially if it was windy and cold. Sorry.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Just different park policy?

At SFOG, we usually take both trains off at night for nightly inspection. They get another inspection in the morning before they're put back on.

There's nothing wrong about parking a train on the lift. Sometimes the controller will stop trains on the lift if a block or two ahead isn't clear as to reduce the risk of collision. That may be why it was on the lift. Or it could be stopped so the ride could be put in transfer mode if they were getting ready to take a train off... could be any number of things.

Me regarding SFOG's Deja Vu, stuck in the boomerang, to a guest: "oh, that's where we store the train at night."

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the member formerly known as MisterX
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Lifts are for wimps. Real enthusiasts use the power of their minds to make the trains go up the first hill.

Remember that each train has to be in a separate block. It's not just the space available on the brakes, it's also the blocking. I really don't know why different parks park them differently. I can say that some parks on some coasters start and finish the day with only one train because crowds are light at those times. This would naturally result in one train spending the night on the storage tracks. Storage tracks in a nice shed are also handy for night time maintenance.

I know that each train has to be on a separte block. And at PKI vortex has a station block, a block brake behind it, and a block after a little turn. They just chose to not fill all of those I guess

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The cleveland browns suck, if its brown flush it down, Go Bengals!

Sounds like the layout of a few coasters we have... even though there is an extra block, the controller will wait till the next two blocks are clear before sending a train over the lift. The intermediate block/brakes function as a safety brake in the event the main brakes don't fully arrest the train.

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the member formerly known as MisterX
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Lifts are for wimps. Real enthusiasts use the power of their minds to make the trains go up the first hill.

It depends on the park and ride. Some rides need more thorough inspections than others, and are parked accordingly. I have witnessed trains parked for the night in all different places. Most commonly they are in the station and on the check/mid brake runs and storage track. I don't see many coasters parked on the lift, although it can be done if needed. For example, say a coaster only has room for one train in the station and one on the transfer and typically stores the trains in these two locations(no reliable storage in the trims or checks), but they need to work on the station brakes, they can park that train on the lift and let the anti-rollbacks hold it.

As far as the block issue, yes coasters are designed to operate in this fashion, but many have an override capability (usually for maintanence) to bypass the blocking system. For example, say you currently have a train in the station, but you need to get the 2nd train (currently in the mids) into the station to unload, but you also don't want the first train to go far enough up the lift to clear the first lift block. Maintanence can (on some)override the computer to allow the trains to be in concurrent blocks. Doesn't happen very often, only know of twice in particular and both were due to violent weather.

Ok...long drawn out explanation there, but in conclusion, the trains get parked where ever possible to allow maintanence to do their stuff, whether that be on the train themselves or the structure. The location might also alternate to allow different access points.

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Waiting for the CP announcement to be made so that about 1000+ posts will be made complaining about it.

The coaster must have some location where maintenance can inspect the underside of the train. If there is a section of track where this can be done, there is no need to remove them to a storage shed at the end of the night. For example, at Beast, there is no place along the course to see the underside of the trains, so they have to be removed to the sidetrack every night.

As for parking them, the air compressor usually gets turned off at night. That means that the air in the system will slowly bleed out over the course of several hours. If there are trains in brakes, they will slowly creep forward as the brakes lose pressure. So the trains in brakes must be chocked and/or chained in place to prevent that. Sometimes it's easier to park a train on the lift than to run out to the furthest block/safety/ready brake to chock and chain.

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Face/Off Crew '99-'00
Top Gun Sup '00
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Ok I would think it would be a bad thing to park a train on the lift. 1st what if it rains. 2nd in the current time we are in where most parks are opperating on a weekend only schedule, wouldnt they want to take off the trains from their tracks and especially not park them on the lift?

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If practice makes perfect but noone is perfect, then why practice.

HelixSpiral, you don't know how virtually all coaster brakes work apprently. If the brakes lose pressure, the calipers will close completely (e-stop). No train can get through if there is no pressure.

Boz, there is no safety issue parking trains on a lift. They may get wet but that's about all the damage they'll get. Most parks won't keep them on the lift all week, either. They will be inpected and worked on as warranted.

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the member formerly known as MisterX
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Lifts are for wimps. Real enthusiasts use the power of their minds to make the trains go up the first hill.

General Public that is true for the newer fin brakes, but not for the old style skid brakes. Pressure must be applied to set the brakes, then discharged to release. This was done usually on rides that had manually operated brakes as built, installing pnuematic cylinders on the brake levers.

Didn't the Beast have it's skid brakes romved recently and replaced by standard fin brakes?

GASM used to have skid brakes and trains were parked on them all night without problems... they can be set without fear of them unsetting even over a long period of time... otherwise, I'd say those would be some pretty ill-designed brakes.

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the member formerly known as MisterX
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Lifts are for wimps. Real enthusiasts use the power of their minds to make the trains go up the first hill.

The Beast has magnetic brakes.

-Nate

I'm not sure.

I believe on most SLC's, they park one on the lift. I don't know if it might be easier on the brakes to leave one on the lift or not.

On Twister II, they leave one on the transfer track, I would assume they would do this for a lot of coasters.

All trains are eventually removed for inspection each day. Also a reason a train may be parked on the lift is so you dont have to go real far to chain/ chaulk, so you just chain and chaulk the one in the station, and put the other on the lift so the anti-rollbacks hold it, so you dont have to run out to the saftey brake to do it.

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So you believe that you are studying us, then kindly explain why you are the ones trapped in your seats.

General Public,

HelixSpiral is actually right unless there's a type of brake system I'm not familar with. When coasters (or any ride for that matter) are closed for the night they shut down the power down on the ride and the air pressure can creep out slowly. That's why on most coasters you'll see a place in the back of the train to attach a chain, so in the event that too much air pressure is lost the train doesn't move too far on you.

That's what I've usually noticed when I've ridden anyway.

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Fav Steel: Millenium Force Fav Wood: Viper

I thought that "fail safe" air powered brake calipers close when there is no pressure, not open up. The squeezing and braking force comes from letting the air out not in.

The "fail-safe" brakes do close when the ride is estopped, or when air pressure is lost, but the pressure does begin to slowly creep out when the ride is powered down and tehe pressure bleeds out of the brakes.

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So you believe that you are studying us, then kindly explain why you are the ones trapped in your seats.

..hence the hook & chains on the back of the trains at night.

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Fav Steel: Millenium Force Fav Wood: Viper

I've seen Nitro park one in the station, one in the final brake run just before the station, and one right at the bottom of the lift hill. Of course this time it hadn't been a normal night, as something had broken the night before.

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