Question about lift hills

I dont know if this will turn into a debate or not, but does having a lift hill at the begining of the ride, right out of the station have an advantage to having a lift hill a distance from the station(maggie for example)?

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Old arrows might be rough, but they are the most gorgous rides to date.

Having the lift start right at the station is less wear and tear on the chain as opposed to the train catching the chain at say 25mph.
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"You know its a good ride when you come into the final break run wiping tears from your eyes"-me

It doesn't have to be at 25 mph. You can also make sure the train comes towards the lifthill at a slow speed.
Like Superman at Six Flags Darien Lake.

It's all a matter of space. When a park wants the station to be on a spot where it's impossible to have the lifthill there too, the manufacturer just adds a few feet of track to a lifthill a little bit further.
Intamin has even used a new system on Goliath (SFH) to start the cablelift on the lifthill itself. And not in the station like Millennium Force and Expedition GeForce.

see nemesis inferno for a huge stretch of track before the lift hill, not just a corner. there is a trim brake at the bottom of the lift hill, and there is also a new lift system. it detects the speed of the train near the bottom and changes the chain speed accordingly. here are two pictures that show the full track stretch:

http://www.thorpeparkguide.com/features/coaster03con/page4/pics/sep02-2.jpg

http://www.thorpeparkguide.com/features/coaster03con/page4/pics/sep02-3.jpg

ask me if you have any questions

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Nemesis Inferno - The Pressure is Building!
Rare RollerCoaster Resources - http://clik.to/rrcr

is nemisis inferno two different colors? in the second link you gave, it looks like it is.

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Old arrows might be rough, but they are the most gorgous rides to date.

Space is really the biggest issue. The reason Magnum's chain is so far away from its station is the space issue at Cedar Point. The train has to clear that Challenge Park walkway, and the most convenient location for the hill was further away from the most convenient location for the station.

So, yeah, I was going to expand on that, but I don't really think it's necessary. Space is the biggest issue.

I do have a question though - despite Goliath's supposedly new cable lift system, Intamin still can't run one of those unless it is right next to a station, right?
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"Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation." - David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
http://www.loopscrew.com

no, nemesis inferno is only 1 colour. if you look in the second picture i linked to, the track at the back is in shade and so looks darker, but the start of the lift hill is in the sun light and looks lighter. it is all one shade of colour though

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Nemesis Inferno - The Pressure is Building!
Rare RollerCoaster Resources - http://clik.to/rrcr

ok, my bad

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Old arrows might be rough, but they are the most gorgous rides to date.

Belgian said:
It doesn't have to be at 25 mph. You can also make sure the train comes towards the lifthill at a slow speed.
Like Superman at Six Flags Darien Lake.
I was just giving an example my friend.

In term so of ride experience, lift at the beginning is definitely better than lift at the end. Allows for that anticipation to build, and who wants to climb a lift after you've been through the who ride?

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It was like that when I got here."
"faster, cheaper, and more often" that's somebody's new sig -UpsideDawnGrrrl

Apollo, I'm not sure if that's what we were talking about, but allow me to introduce you to a little coaster called ThunderBolt. It resides at Kennywood...

Okay, so the lift's only halfway through the ride, but it's still pretty darn strange, and it's still one hell of a ride!

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I hear America screaming...

I-Nar said:

despite Goliath's supposedly new cable lift system, Intamin still can't run one of those unless it is right next to a station, right?

The can now. They tested it with Goliath, a coaster which has the lifthill right after the station, but it's possible now. The train is being grabbed by the cable-system on the lifthill, after a tire has brought the train out of the station.

I've been on T-Bolt, and I do like the drop out of the station, but I honestly prefer coasters with lifts pretty much right out the station. I feel like a lift breaks up the layout too much. (For the same reason I don't really like MCBR's on hypers).

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It was like that when I got here."
"faster, cheaper, and more often" that's somebody's new sig -UpsideDawnGrrrl

The lifthill on the Phoenix isn't right out of the station, but there's a 30 second ride through a pitch black tunnel to get to it. Talk about disorienting. I think that adds to the ride, but on the other end of the spectrum theres SOB with an eternity in between the station and lift. Heck, the on-ride photo is in that area too! Talk about strange...

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The only difference between stupidity and genius is genius has limitations.