SFMM Colossus - where was the reprofile?

Hey ya'll, I was wondering where the infamous death on Colossus happened? Was it where the block brakes currently are now (where they installed the brakes over the double dip) or was is elsewhere on the ride.

CBuzz member Matt D. swears it was after the second drop, but I have never heard of that part of the ride being anything other than what it is now.

Little help here!

Joe - Matt D is correct. The rider was ejected on the second drop, and that portion of the ride has never been reprofiled.

The ride has had two reprofiles: the speed hill following the second drop was lowered and the double down was replaced with a MCBR.

The most drastic changes, however, are to the track bed. At this point about 80% of the ride's wood track bed has been removed and replaced with steel I-beam. IIRC only the three turns remain traditional wooden track. I don't call Colossus a wood coaster anymore.

mOOSH

I love being right...

Did these alterations happen at the same time?
If not, when was the speedhill lowered? I am asking because I had my first ride in 1990 when the double dip was still there.

I think the speedhill was lowered about a year or two after the ride originally opened. I was way too short to ride it back then, but I did get to experience Colossus with buzz bars and the double dip on my first trip to SFMM in the mid-80s.

...wondering whether Moosh has Colossuck rated amongst his worst steelies....;)

It's in my bottom 15 woodies, mostly due to boredom and the effort riders have to put into making sure it completes the course...wish I'd have ridden it before the neutering, er, um, dismemberment of what I've heard called (by some fairly reliable sources) a truly GREAT coaster at one point....at least I got to ride it racing, a consolation of modest importance...

So it was actually as the train went down the second drop she was thrown? I honestly don't remember any severe negative G's right there (I do remember some weightlessness though). I guess I always just thought that the double dip contained the potent negative G's.

Was the double dip even that strong?

Well, that woman did weight close to 300 pounds. Average guests may not have felt any severe negative G's in that dive, but it was more than enough to toss the woman from her restraints and out of the train.

Joe - you have to keep in mind a number of things.

First, the ride opened in 1980. The death occured within the first few years of operation [1983, IIRC] when it ran the original IAD trains. Also the lift was not slowed down as trains reached the top as they are today.

The woman was sitting in the second half of the train, near the back. Her weight was such that the lap bar was now low enough to sufficiently keep her in place.

The reason you didn't feel much in the way of negative-gs on the second drop is that with lighter Morgan trains and a slower lift speen the forces originally felt there have been reduced.

The double down never really had strong negative-gs as far as I can remember. Since the ride opened the spot with the highest negative-gs has been the third drop, the one coming off turn #2.

But even that isn't enough to make the ride enjoyable. Colussus is a shadow of its former self.

Mamoosh - the ride opened in 1978, not 1980 and yes, the double down was one of the ride's more extreme parts. Riders were subjected to approximately -2 G's I believe during that part of the coaster.

I agree with Moosh. The double down never really had severe negative g's, but the drop off the 3rd turnaround used to throw you from the train. This was my first wooden coaster, and I remember loving it for the airtime on that drop.
*** Edited 11/30/2003 2:31:31 AM UTC by Matt D***

The track layering was extremely high,somewhere around 18 to 20 inches if I recall. It soon became troublesome to maintain as the wood started to really dry out. The bottom layers were replaced with I beams at the areas that gave the most problems, beginning in the the mid 1980's.The top is still layered wood, with the bottom 10 or so inches being the I beam. The change in rolling stock has definitely changed the ride. Morgan trains just don't have the mass to "get a good roll on."

-2Gs would be the equivalent of having twice your body weight pulling up on you. It'd feel like a person twice your weight is standing on the lap bar. I don't think so. Negative G's are generally in the 0 to -0.5G range. It looked like a really sweet element, but I'd be surprised if it was even down near the -0.5G mark.

When did the ejection incident occur? I'd suggest that the MCBR was added for an entirely different reason (i.e. to make dispatches easier or the block system more efficient or whatever), and this incident had no bearing on the modifications. *** Edited 11/30/2003 5:21:53 AM UTC by auscoasterman***

From what I understand, there was indeed a -2 G moment on 1978 Colossus, but it was not on any of the drops off the turns or the double down. It was the speed hill after the second drop (first turnaround). It had a much more pronounced acute angle that would cause the massive negative force. This is where I hears the woman was ejected, which was late in the 1978 season. There is an old vider somewhere of Vincent Price riding Colossus in it's opening year, you can see how violent that particular element is.

I laso thought that after the accident no less that 8 of the 13 hills were reprofiled to keep the -G's in check. The double down was not changed into a midcourse until much later in its operation.

From what I have heard, Tower of Terror has the highest amount of negative g's on any thrill ride ever, and that is when it pulls you down at -1.3 g's. I could, and probably am wrong though, I don't know much about colossus.

I believe Hypersonic pulls the most currently at -2.11, but I'm not sure where I picked up that stat.

No one seemed to mention that Colossus is still running backward and that they even put Colossus logos on one of the Psyclone trains... I'm wondering if this is going to stick around. Having said that, Colossus backward is now in my top 10- very little trim on the MCBR and air I didn't know it had! Great ejector on the fourth drop and that twist on the first is freakin amazing!

Wasn't the double up changed a lot too? *** Edited 11/30/2003 5:05:27 PM UTC by GoliathKills***

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Turbo said:
From what I have heard, Tower of Terror has the highest amount of negative g's on any thrill ride ever, and that is when it pulls you down at -1.3 g's. I could, and probably am wrong though, I don't know much about colossus.

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The large Turbo Drop towers (Power Tower CP/VF, Supreme Scream) subject riders to -1.5 on the blast-down.

really? huh, than I guess Discovery Channel is really outdated then.

Don't believe everything you hear on TV, especially on those Discovery Channel shows.

The trains for both Psyclone and Colossus are interchangeable. I have ridden Psyclone in a Colossus train... haven't ridden Colossus in a Psytrain yet... at least not to my knowledge... but they are the same trains. This was probably not always the case, as Colossus used IAD trains and these were phased out before Psyclone was built.... IIRC.

Colossus backwards might actually be worth a ride... I've not had the chance. I still like it better than Psyclone, but between them, they are the two worst woodies in CA. :-P

Give me Ghostie or even Roar any day.

-Escher