This year's Hersheypark In The Dark

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dannerman said:
Well, there is a retractable fin break right before the switch track entering the station that you could stop a train on. So I guess it'd be possible. Although one would question if it's feasible (can you say "stacking"?)

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Pretty sure that retractable brake is magnetic and hence, can't stop a train entirely. You probably could run three trains and shave a couple of extra seconds off each dispatch without too much stackage. There are two stations after all.

It would probably have to be.. launch a train, move the next train to launch area after the first train clears the top hat, set station track mechanism, bring train back to other side of station while third train is loaded and checked. Problem I see then is loose articles must go in a locker or such which would have to be added somewhere.

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dannerman said:
Umm.. Storm Runner only has 2 trains.

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LOL. Oops! I was having too much fun to pay attention to the mechanics. I thought that it would operate with 3 or 4 trains like it's bigger sibblings. I'm so used to other parks taking trains off the circuit in the fall, I just assumed Hersheypark had done the same.

Seriously, if they had more brake blocks before the station, they could easily add a third or fourth train and really boost their capacity -- keep the platforms busy loading and unloading with one train on the course and (maybe a fourth stacked behind the station).

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SLFAKE said:
A real scary Halloween event would be if they tried running two trains on Sidewinder.

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:) I knew someone would say it. I was just too lazy to figure out what Hershey called their boomerang.

They could add 6 trains and it wouldn't increase capacity all that much. What it seems to me takes the longest in dispatching trains is the "divestment of property" before loading the trains and then checking the restraints. From what I've seen, the ops usually have to buckle at least one or two people in per train.

ApolloAndy, The retractable fin brake is the same type used on the launch track on the accelerator coasters, and although I've never seen one on Storm Runner, on TTD the train does indeed come to a stop, and the brakes have to drop out for the train to continue moving back to the station. I know it uses magnetics, and thus the braking power is proportional to the speed of the train. However, my question is this: Since the train is already slowed significantly by the permanent brakes right before that, would it be going at a slow enough speed that that single fin could hold it? (And now that I think about it, I think there are 2 motorized wheels there, too).

I know it doesn't matter much, but I'm curious if it'd be possible.

I'll probably be there Sunday. Hopefully it won't rain too much. Even though the park insn't transformed into haunted attractions, it will still be nice to visit a fun place I haven't been to in years.