Retrieving valleyed coasters

I realize this is probably a stupid question, but for all the researching/reading I've done on coasters for the past year or so (used to be deathly afraid of them, so I'm making up for 25 years of lost time), I've never read how they retrieve a valleyed coaster. The threads on X this morning made me wonder about this.

I was also wondering exactly what happens if a ride is forced to stop at a block brake, assuming another coaster valleyed up front. I.e., on Riddler's Revenge at SFMM, the mid-course brakes are right before the first corkscrew on the ride. I've been on the ride when it barely gets trimmed through there and it felt like it was barely making it over some of the elements afterwards, it was a particularly slow run for that ride. If it was stopped at that block, I can't imagine that it would be able to make it all the way back to the station without a little bit of help.

What do they use to pull these trains/give 'em a little boost through the rest of the track after a stop?

Again, I apologize if this question has been asked a million times before or is lying around in some FAQ somewhere, but I haven't been able to find the answer to it in the past week or so.

I think they remove the upstops, uncouple the trains, and move them to the transfer track using a crane and are put back together on the transfer track.

As for if it gets stopped on a block brake: I was at Great Adventure one day early enough to see Medusa go through its morning "rituals" After they stoped it on the mid course brakes, it was going extremly slow through the corkscrews, but it made it back. Hope this helps! :)

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Mike T.
Fly with the man of steel in 2003!

It's usually easiest to take the trains off with a crane and reassemble them somewhere else.

If you were to stop in a block brake anywhere for a long period of time, you would be unloaded. All block brakes are designed to enable a train to make it through the rest of the course from the brakes.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Block brakes are designed so that the coaster can make it home without any major problems. That's why they are always at the top or a hill.

Sometimes the wheels are removed as previously described, though I have also heard of trains being dragged through where that is practical.

On Deja Vu at SFOG i think it was it valleyed right before the 2nd tower, they got the people off, and i havent heard for sure but i guess they just got it to go up the second tower with the cable and ran backwards through the course

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Yeah, my great aunt has a beard
...oops....sorry, wrong IM

I would love to know how they remove the trains off of Wild One at SFA. There is no transfer track, and before anyone mentions the shed in the turnaround back to the station, the track doesn't match up.
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Huss's Land of the Giants—coming somewhere, sometime soon.

Sometimes (depending on the coaster and location) a wench system is used to pull the train over the hill in the hopes of making it back to the station. This was done with MF at CP last season when it didn't make it over hill 3. (By the way, that was stupid: "It's cold and windy this morning, so let's dispatch a very light train and see if it makes it!")

Or, if wenching won't work, the upstops are removed and a crane is used to move the train, one car at a time, to the transfer track or some other easily accessable part of the track.

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- John
Dag, yo
Support Rob in the Great DDR Challenge!

A roller coaster should never valley after a block brake, if it does than its just poor designing. And to answer about what happens if you get stuck in the block behind a valleyed train you will be stopped at that block. Even though it may feel like your not hardly being trimmed going through them, they will still stop you in time, becasue Block brakes serve as a dual purpose (block set up, and trimming). Also in order to remove a train from a valleyed situation depending on where its at it may be abled to be pulled by a winch, if not than off comes the upstops, and the couplings, after that the train must be reassembled on the side track.

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

*** This post was edited by FoF on 1/20/2003. ***

Michael Darling said:

Sometimes (depending on the coaster and location) a wench system is used to pull the train over the hill
- John
Dag, yo
Support Rob in the Great DDR Challenge!

Push, wench! Push!

Is that what you mean?

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Wow, Maddy.....never realized how mysoginistic some buzzers are....ROFL...;)

On a side note, I do remeber seeing that Vuoristorata is *retrieved* by human power....anyone know if it's the same for other scenic railways...

Um... yeah, Chernabog, that's EXACTLY what I mean... Riiiight.

[Edit: and in response to the post below: Well, you're a poopie head! ;) ]

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- John
Dag, yo
Support Rob in the Great DDR Challenge!

*** This post was edited by Michael Darling on 1/20/2003. ***

Michael Darling said:
Um... yeah, Chernabog, that's EXACTLY what I mean... Riiiight.
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- John
Dag, yo
Support Rob in the Great DDR Challenge!

Did someone's sense of humor valley? :P

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heres a question for you, what about a vallied inverted coaster? cant exactly remove the upstops, and i have never seen any kind of winch system on one

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

LOL Chern: Much obliged for my Coasterbuzz laugh of the day!

I know some block brakes do give a little boost. On SOB at PKI they always try to make sure your going to 62 I think into the loop. Now thats easy if the train is just clearing through normally but if it was to stop im not sure if it would get it to 62 at the bottom of the hill but I bet the tire boosters would give it a jump start.

I've been on SOB when its been stopped in the Block Brake, and it finsished the course just fine, although it was rather slow.

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

I've seen a fully stopped Riddler's Revenge train on the block brake make it over the first corkscrew after being released. It might just be you? Not sure.

*gasp* You mean the engineers of the rides actually thought about fully stopped trains making it through the course after a block violation or setup? OH MY GOD! They're so smart!

Eh, John (or maybe I should say "Freud"), I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think the word you're looking for is *winch* :)

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- Chris

I put the "D" in DDR.

rollergator, the 90 year old Scenic Railway at Luna Park in Melbourne uses human power that you speak of. When they do the morning test run, they have two mechanics to give it help on some of the flat sections to get the speed it needs.

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