Tennessee Tornado's sibling?

Check out this coaster... looks like the same track ties and loop support structure as that used on Dollywood's looper, only this one was built 3 years earlier!

I guess Arrow did have some business in the mid-90s, even though we never got to see any of it.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

The things that makes you think it is an older ride is the color of the track, the support structure, and the height of the ride. I guess it is the way the park wanted it built.

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Chris Knight
RIP Orient Express 1980-2003

They started using those curved track ties in 1994 on their non-looping megacoasters. Both the Big One and Desperado use the newer track tie.

http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery103.htm?Picture=8

http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery775.htm?Picture=10

But up until this point, I had thought that TT was the first Arrow inversion coaster to use those track ties. The thing that seems to make it a current generation Arrow looper (if such a thing exists) is the loop- it is not the typical Arrow teardrop, nor does it have supports typical of those loops.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

It's interesting to me that on Canyon Blaster they re-worked some of the track layout and you can notice the older and more square track ties and then you can notice the newer, more curved ties in the places where they modified the track from its original layout.

http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery2214.htm?Picture=19

Wow, I never noticed that. I didn't know that sections of that coaster were reworked for its installation at TGE. I wonder why the newer style of track ties were used instead of the original kind. Cheaper, perhaps?

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Trians look like the older model Arrow.

http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery2214.htm?Picture=23

In this picture you see the biggest change in the layout, which isn't really that big of a change. The 90-degree turn that the train is about to make did not originally travel so close to the first lift. Basically they made it more of a wider sweeping turn.

Also in that same picture you can see that the track piece in the foreground has a different sized spine on it. The left side is fatter with the older more square ties...looking across the spine to the right you see that it transitions into a more slim spine with the newer more rounded ties.

Just goes to show that Arrow is still out there doing "something".

Is it Arrow? Or is it another company manufacturing coaster track? Since Arrow now contracts their steel fabrication to an outside company, its possible that another company designed the change and went directly to that manufacturer for the new parts.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I'm not sure if it is Arrow or not, but I would assume that they contracted that task out. I would also think that whoever owned the coaster would choose how much involvement the manufacturer had in a relocation. I'm certain that there are companies who specialize in just that sort of thing...and they must have a good working relationship with steel companies as well as all the manufacturers. I'm just throwing my guesses out there though. Maybe someone else here knows more about it.??

But isn't that a nice mental picture of, oh let's say, Ron Toomer in the field wrenching track pieces together? ; )

It would be easier to notice a change like that if there were better pictures out there of the ride while it was at Opryland. But sadly it was not that well documented...at least by the information that exists as I know it.

Fortunately for me Opryland was my homepark as well as my first job and I knew that coaster and the others at Oprland like the back of my hand. Naturally it drew my curiosity when I found out that it was to be relocated and I noticed the differences as soon as pics were on the internet. But to answer your question about why they modified it Rentzy, I would I 'guess' that the changes came because it either a) rusted out beyond repair at Old Indiana or b) the new topography required it. But again, that's just my guess.

Does anyone know if Canyon Blaster mantained it's Pop-Up friction brakes? Or were they replaced with fins? I always loved it when it flew into the station and you hit those brakes. You could feel the car lift up and drift slightly. Also, are the rotating brakes there? I would assume not since I rarely saw them working at Opryland, but curious if they were still there. Thanks in advance.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but looking at that picture, it appears to me in the bottom section with the alleged rebuilt turn, there's only a small section of the new track where it joins with the spineless track. If you look at the next section, after the bit blocked by the foreground track, you'll see it goes straight back to the old track. From a slightly different angle (see here), I can't quite make it out, but there does seem to be something happening in terms of track style. It might be a new section, but even so, I wouldn't think that it has a great (if any) effect on the radius of the turn.

Also, it's interesting to see the spineless track. Intamin aren't the only ones that do things economically around here. Of course, I suppose when Arrow do it, it's cheap and unsafe... such typical Arrow shoddiness. Meanwhile we marvel at Intamin's revolutionary Swiss engineering.

Arrow coasters I think are by far the prettiest coasters out there. All B&M's trangular supports and whatnot just don't do it for me. The curved braces look nicer to me, but you can't go past the nice squareness of the 80's and 90's track and supports (to me it's both together that makes it so nice - even Vekoma, who have noticeable differences in their support structures but identical track, isn't nearly as pleasing to the eye).
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Total Thrills Amusement Guide
Australia's Premier Source for Thrills!

Ah that's a very good eagle eye you have there Auscoasterman!

It indeed does go back and forth between new and old track in that location and in a few other places as well. Like I said before I'm not exactly sure of why it would be that they felt the need to reprofile it. Perhaps those original pieces were rusted out or they just thought it would be better? - I'm just not sure. As I remember it, the curve was somewhat sharp and therefore would, to me, seem to speed up the coaster going onto the lift whereas before the sharpness of the curve would have slowed it down. Though I would like to ride it in it's current location to see if that's the case or not.

BTW for the record, There were rotating tire brakes on that curve, which don't appear to be there now. And there were three sets of rotating tire brakes throughout the course (on the curve before the 1st lift, on the curve before the 2nd lift, and on the curvy hill going into the station) and one midcourse brake at the top right before the helix which they did use at Opryland when they ran a 3-train operation on this little thing back in the day ('70's, but not '80's or '90's).

The spineless track is used in a couple of places on that coaster and it was the same way at Opryland of course. And i'll agree with you Auscoasterman that Arrow's are pretty to look at. They certainly intrigued me so much so that I practically memorized every track section as a child. ; )