Timberliner Testing resumes on the Voyage

I can assure you that, in a stationary train at least, the restraints are very comfortable, and I'll take those to a PTC any day.

^ Fair enough!

I just can't help but think they look like those Maurer use on an X-Car and those have to be some of the most ill-conceived restraints I've ever had the misfortune to be stapled in by.

The concept is similar, but while the Maurer lap bar I have experienced is circular and very large, the Timberliner lap bar is much smaller and has a variable radius to it that is more ergonomically pleasing.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Variable radius? That's awesome.

Tekwardo said:
I wasn't aware that Wildcat was reprofiled in any way?

It wasn't re-profiled. And I found it to be an incredibly good ride when the roughness wasn't beyond my tolerance threshold. The ride now is about as interesting as Mean Streak and was actually running rougher on my last visit in September with the MF trains (Lighting Racer was actually rough too. Did Hershey's wooden coaster maintenance crew take the summer off?) than it ever did when I rode it with the original PTC's.

The thing with Wildcat is that it is a much slower paced ride (compared to The Voyage's well above average non-stop speed). The "sloppy tracking" and pivot action of the multi-bench cars exaggerated the forces on the ride. The more precise tracking of the Millennium Flyers eliminates this and what you're left with is a smoother and far less exciting ride, because the elements were designed with the limitations of the PTC's in mind and not the far superior maneuverability of the MF trains.

Although I expect The Voyage will lose its rough edge and feel a little less out of control due to the steering capability of the new trains, I don't think the airtime will be effected too much, because the train goes so fast over every hill that the PTC lever action isn't much of a factor.

Jason: You got me. Correction: varying radius. That is, the lap bar profile is not circular.

Matt: Another thing to consider is where the seats are relative to the pitch axis. The Timberliners are unusual in the way the seat is positioned and I'm eager to see how this translates for the finished ride. Will it be like the B&M coasters where because you sit on top of the wheels, your seat pitches over the hill peaks, or will it ride more like a PTC where you sit on a lever between axles?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Darn, that would have been sweet. I think. :-)

Clarification: I wasn't trying to suggest that Wildcat was reprofiled...not sure how that ended up juxtaposed. What I was trying to say was that, compared to many 'improvements' to coasters that have been made over the years and which have ended up being very detracting to the ride experience (such as track reprofilings), this is a change that the Kochs could hypothetically erase quite easily by merely going back to the old trains.

...except that two of the three old trains are gone, and Raven was hurting with only one train.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

And I can't imagine the park will revert the trains if enthusiasts don't like it as much while the general public are raving about how smooth the ride is now. The masses seem to prefer smooth and fast to aggressive and more out of control.

Dave, I hadn't noticed the seating position was different from the Millennium Flyers. Perhaps Mike knows what he's doing even more than we hoped. ;) ;) ;)

Somfin tells me that because the nose car isn't a single bench. The second row is where the airtime will be. Oh wait, It already was.

Well I definitely hope that Voyage is at best just as good as it was the last time I rode (Someone said it was rough this past season, but honestly, it was better than when I rode in 2008, and it wasn't really rough then).

I actually like a lot of GCI coasters with MILF trains. Thunderhead and Evil Kenivel are both in my top 10 coasters, but they were designed with those trains in mind.

Timberliners on Voyage could end up being either the best thing to ever happen to it, the worst thing to ever happen to it, or not make a difference (I'm speaking strictly of ride experience, here).

I'm hoping it's either the best, or makes no difference.

Amen brother Beaver.

I'm thinking it will change the ride performance - for better or not - but at least there will be more comfort involved! I still have a thing against those silly little 'crotch humps', they hurt!

Screamscape have been in touch with Paula after PTC announced they were building some new cars for Voyage at the weekend.

They had 21 PTC cars (3x7) but sold 12 last year. They have now purchased five new PTC cars so they have enough to have two 7-car trains ready for opening day should the Timberliners not be ready.

Part of me thought that this was a huge unnecessary investment if these cars are only going to be used on the off chance, however the fact that this investment is taking place at all, you have to worry if there is a lot of doubt that the Timberliners will be ready.

I guess these cars could always be used on Raven/Legend or sold (again)? I thought their plan may have been to use Raven cars again, like they did last year.

Surprising? Worrying?

A bit worrying - but in a good way. First impressions simply state to me a good business ethic to ensure uninterrupted operations -

Keep the people happy and ensure return business... I'm not sure what depreciation is on used roller-coaster trains (when they finally sell off the additional stock again) - anyone have an idea?

If I'm worried about anything it's about our friend Mike losing his job at Gravity Group. Those trains have to be ready to go on other coasters they are building for next year.

They will have the extra cars that are needed to not only run full 7 car PTC trains on the Voyage by doing this but will also have spares in place for Legend and Raven if and when the Timberliners are actually ready to go. It may be easier to get the Timberliners ready for new coaster than it is for an existing coaster.

Interesting. That means that last season they would have had nine cars available, which begs the question of why they didn't run paint one of them red and run two 7-car trains last season.

The other interesting thing is that in theory, four complete PTC trains, the first ones built with the chassis modification used on the Voyage, have just been taken out of service. Of course we don't know if they are available for sale, but I could see some arrangement being made, should it become necessary...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I didn't even think about the other GG coasters for next year that are expected to have Timberliners. I wonder if they've been advised to order backup trains?