Storm Runner

here is my question. I was at Hershey on one of those really hot days. And while they were runnin both trains on Storm Runner, They wouldn't dispatch one until the other was back, unloaded, loaded and checked. Then they would send the waiting train out and the process would start all over again.

Is this a way of maintaing a line, or when it is that hot does the hydraulics need more recovery time?

Kinda defeats the purpose of two trains, doesn't it?

Logically, yes! Thats why I don't understand. It was a purposly imposed delay, cuase the trains were still checked and cleared quickly, just was a while til Dispatch

Hey Gary, I have been to HP on days where the launches are one after another. Usually the delay comes from guests taking their time boarding the trains! However it may have had something to do with the extreme heat we have been having here in the region lately. Maybe just a case of better safe than sorry when the temps are up near 100 degrees...

Maybe the hydraulics can only handle a one-train operation but using two trains still moves the queue quicker.

Except that it doesn't move the queue quicker because they wait each train for a full cycle.

With two trains running like a one train operation, the physical demand on each train is half of what it would be in a regular one train op - and it possibly helps the trains to cool down between the runs.
I would speculate they are doing it to avoid overheating of certain parts (such as the wheels) of the train to increase their lifespan.

*** Edited 8/5/2006 10:56:48 PM UTC by superman***

Really, the ride takes less than a minute. Compare that with waits at other parks with chain-driven rides with one train, and it would actually be about the same.

Thanks Comet Rider, that does make alot of sense. I know from going to Hershey all the time that its not like them to take their time and delay the rides, so I figured there must be a reason

Didn't TTD have launch track heat issues which were addressed with water? Or am I thinking of something totally different?

Both Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster have a cooling system built in. This is evident when you watch the area the train stops in before launch. After the trains go screaming off, you can see the spray of water come up from the beginning of the launch area.

I used to have some digicam footage of Ka, and its best seen when you are in the second train to dispatch. In the front seat during a mild wind there have been times when I have gotten misty-eyed. (Not just from the roughness.)

Phoenixphan, I can only speak for TTD but that built in cooling system is a garden hose(unless its been changed). :)

could it be because of the two parts of track move and they just are timed to move once the train has launch...I know that made noooo sense at all lol.:]

I think TTD didn't come with a "cooling system" until they realized they needed one mid-summer. Then Sandor stopped at wal-mart on 250 and purchased the garden hose.