SFKK 4/5/05

Yes. Between the second and third turns, when train headed back towards the lift, there was a double up. It was removed and the track is flat now.

Don't forget that the footers were THERE to add a storage shed, transfer track, and the aforementioned second train on TR. Someone (whose head should be on a platter, LOL) decided that a wise use of money was to REMOVE those footers...

bill, STILL thinks a second train on TR would be the best investment SFKK coulda made...look to the park an hour west for confirmation...;)

Unfortunately, there would have to be quite a lot of work done to add a transfer track there. Keep in mind, the break trestle (the only place they could really fit a transfer track, are directly above a pathway. It would be too dangerous for guests to have a transfer track there, and they would have to completely remove that pathway entirely, making it even harder for guests to find away around. Don't get me wrong, I love when coasters have more than one train to limit the wait time, but on a ride like Thunder Run, I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

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SFKKThunderRun said:
Adding a second train on Thunder Run would involve adding a tranfer track, an extended amount of breaks, and an extra block section.

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Adding a second train to Thunder Run would involve a transfer track and more brakes, but it doesn't nedd another block (three blocks are the station, the course/brake run, and the lift). Also, there are plenty of parks with paths under transfer tracks.

I also don't agree with your assessment that a second train would not improve capacity. Even a marginally decent crew should be able to unload, load, and dispatch a train in two minutes. Thus, a second train would double capacity.

SFKK isn't a particularly highly-attended park, but nearly every coaster there has an extremely low capacity. Choosing not to add a second train to Thunder Run was, in my opinion, a mistake.

-Nate
*** Edited 4/8/2005 7:07:05 AM UTC by coasterdude318***

Nate, I don't recall ever agreeing with you THIS completely. Having what is CLEARLY your best coaster *halfway ready to rock* with a second train, then spending money to make sure that DOESN'T happen, that is nothing short of insanity.

...and doubling capacity on Thunder Run woulda made SFKK a better place to visit overall...

Talk about a park with an easy course to plot! Just follow HW's lead (they added a second train to THEIR best wooden coaster)...;)

Well, also the thing you have to keep in mind is that the restraints on thunder run (seat belts and lap bars) are checked separately from eachother, for safety reasons (which I won't get into detail with). By the time the train has completely been checked, the other train would have already returned. It takes longer than 2 minutes to load and dispatch TR because of these safety procedures. I agree with you a great deal that doubling capacity on a star coaster is an excellent way to increase attendance, and satisfy guests, but I don't think it is in the works to do this at this time. But this is America, i'm entitled to be wrong! :-p

If it takes more than two minutes to unload and load a train, your crew is crap. There's no reason why a crew shouldn't be able to check both in less than two minutes.

Of course, SFKK is home to the worst crews I've ever seen in my life, so your assessment really doesn't surprise me. I will note, however, that I have never seen a Thunder Run crew check seatbelts and lapbars independently of each other. SFKK is hardly the most safety conscious park.

-Nate

Wow, well you must have had some bad experiences there, and I'm sorry you feel that way. To avoid further temperatures rising, I am choosing not to comment on this topic anymore. Hope you see better days at SFKK than you have in the past, coasterdude! :)

I'll go along with everyone else in saying, "Thunder Run is one awesome woodie!"

When I go to SFKK, (about once a season, usually on the way back from HW), I make at least 6-8 trips on Thunder Run, plus Greezed Lightnin' and Chang also rock, (it's my favorite stand-up).

The one ride that always seems to elude me though is that Batman/Penguin themed raft ride. I usually avoid water rides unless it's scorching hot, but I really want to ride that thing someday.

Anyway, glad you had a good time, SFKK gets too much crap from people, it really is a nice little park to visit.

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SFKKThunderRun said:
Wow, well you must have had some bad experiences there, and I'm sorry you feel that way. To avoid further temperatures rising, I am choosing not to comment on this topic anymore. Hope you see better days at SFKK than you have in the past, coasterdude!

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Who says my "temperature is rising?" I'm not angry or frustrated about anything.

I've been to SFKK several times. Although it's not the worst park on the planet, it is most definintely one of the most poorly-operated parks I've visted. It's dirty, it's ugly, the rides are low capacity, and the employees are generally brain-dead. Again, it's not the very worst, but there's a whole lot to improve upon.

-Nate

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Chadley said:

Anyway, glad you had a good time, SFKK gets too much crap from people, it really is a nice little park to visit.

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Thank you very much Chadley! We at six flags work very hard at making this park an enjoyable place to stay, and it is really frusterating when people are too hung up on getting all the "thrills" they can to really notice our efforts! People like YOU are the reason I love my job! :)