Why is that coasters, especially Arrow and Vekoma STOP DEAD in their inversions? I am talking about during accidents. Is it directly linked to the specific conditions of the accident? What exactly is it? It seems stupid for trains to stop dead when a malfunction occurs. I know there is a techinal reason for this, anybody know? Anti rollbacks?
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Coasters- a little slice of heaven
If a chain broke on a Boomerang half way up it would not have enough momentum to get through the inversions.
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SFEG-*New For 2001* Carnival Of Chaos Batman Stunt Show. Wow.
well i guess its because theres sort of a hill when trying to get in the inversion.I know it sounds weird.But thats my opinion.
Stick upside down in inversion not a roll back.
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Coasters- a little slice of heaven
Hasn't that only happened once, maybe twice, on a modern coaster? I think that design companies make sure a coaster will naturally exit an inversion due to gravity. The only exceptions are when a wheel might break or something gets caught between the wheel and the track. Please correct me if I'm wrong. :)
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Is it just me or does Hypersonic look like one of those coasters you would see on Looney Toons?
*** This post was edited by Josh on 3/22/2001. ***
I know one of the times, I believe it was on Demon or somthing like that, the wheel on one of the chasis broke off, and stopped the train. I know there is a technical reason though...Rideman?
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"Shut up brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-tip!"
~From the brilliant mind of Homer J. Simpson.
It has happened on the SFGAm Demon, and an overseas Schwarzkopf.
Boomerangs don't get stuck in the cobra roll, they simply valley.
Also, a boomrang can't go halfway up and then roll into the cobra roll, because of the closed brakes in the station.
All coasters can roll back, and boomerangs just happen to roll back in the cobra rolls.
When a coaster jams in a loop, it is usually the cause of the wheel/axle assembly, as on the Demon.
Josh, you're exactly right - a coaster cannot naturally get stuck in an inversion unless there is something interfering with the train itself, like a broken wheel/axle. If the ride were to be stopped, the train would simply proceed to the next brake. Or, if it did not have the momentum to get to the brake, it would exit the inversion and just settle in the next convenient spot.
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Po!nt of View: A different look at Roller Coasters.
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/index.html
i remember when boomerang got stuck at SFMW and it was schorching hot i think it happend a wheel came off and then the next season they got new cars. and then medusa got stuck on the chain lift but nothing too major.
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are you ready to go vertical?...V2 SFMW 2001 ...
There are three spots where a Vekoma Boomerang can be predicted to stall: In the station, in the saddle between the two Sidewinder inversions, some 40' in the air, and at the base of the second lift , between the lift and the vertical loop. This is why there are brakes at the base of the second lift: as the train is hauled up the second lift, the brakes are kept closed until the train gets high enough to clear all three inversions...that way if it breaks loose prematurely the brakes will bleed off enough energy to prevent the train from going through the vertical loop, so that it will just roll back into that valley. A similar tactic is used on the other side with the station brakes.
One thing they didn't consider, though. There is no roll-axis pivot on the connection between the train and the catchwagon. Now here's the problem. The train gets high enough up the first lift for the station brakes to open, but not far enough to release the catchwagon. Suddenly, the lifting cable breaks, and the train...with the catchwagon still attached...barrels down the hill and through the station. It makes it up the hill and the train goes through the sidewinder inversion. But the catcwagon can't roll relative to the rest of the train. The forces attempt to twist the locking mechanism into a pretzel shape, but it just isn't malleable enough. The last axles...the train's back axle and the catchwagon...jam tightly enough that the train can no longer move forward past the twist at the top of the inversion. Furthermore, with the entire weight of the train pulling forward and down out of the inversion, there is no way that this thing is going to spontaneously go backwards. Result?
The last car or two are stuck, inverted or nearly inverted, at the top of the Boomerang element. Whoops!
On the Demon, the best information I have says that they dropped the last axle off of the train, allowing the back end of the car to function as a giant combination of skid brake and anti-rollback. The friction of the car dragging against the track would slow the train enough to keep it from completing the loop, and when the back end of the train drops and hits the track tie, that keeps the train from rolling backwards out of the loop.
Finally, the Schwarzkopf shuttle that got stuck upside-down. As I understand it, there is a pusher-plate at the back of the train, normally high enough that it will clear the track-ties. But in the loop, it is close enough to catch. Normally that plate is weighted to stay clear of the track except in the station...but going too slowly through the inversion, it drops (since the train is inverted), and can catch on the loop track tie, preventing the train from rolling backwards after it fails to complete the loop.
It's worth noting that since the Demon incident, Arrow has modified their looping coaster trains, adding a safety bracket to prevent the last axle from separating from the train even if the attachment pin fails. The other axles on the train were already backed up.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
One other Schwartzkopf had an axle failure, but not overseas and unfortunately, not on a vertical loop.
The reason Mindbender runs only 'first car's
