Top Thrill 2 train, up close

I’ve seen my fair share of objects get ejected from coaster trains over the years. Between ride crews accidentally leaving cleaning supplies in the seats or maintenance leaving tools in the train, it’s not uncommon. Luckily they’re pretty isolated to third shift and in the morning before the parks opens.

I got to watch TT2 do testing 4/7 and 4/8 for the eclipse (I could see it test from where I was staying) the ride looks incredible. I genuinely cannot wait for the ride.

TheMillenniumRider:

Aren’t LSM’s brakes by default when no power is applied?

Pretty much. The LSM stator is a group of three coils of wire connected in a short circuit. Those coils are energized in sequence using three phase power (why there are three of them...) to interact with the permanent magnets on the train. So you have a coil of copper wire, and if you run the magnet past the coil you will generate a current in that coil, and because it's wired in a short circuit it will provide the same eddy current braking effect you get with magnetic brakes. From an electromechanical perspective, a de-energized LSM stator is pretty much identical to a fixed copper brake fin as used at the end of the ride. The difference is that you CAN energize the stator coil and use it to propel the magnet down the track; you can't do that with a brake fin.

That's why Maverick doesn't have anti-rollbacks on its lift hill; if the motors are shut off, they suddenly become brake fins and will hold the train back from rolling at full speed down the lift hill.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Interesting. Out of curiosity, I wonder what the difference in efficiency is. For example, if you use an LSM stator as a motor, would the same "number" or "distance" of stators stop a train as well, or would it stop sooner or later? (i.e. is more energy created when using them as a motor than is dissipated when using them as a brake.) And like everything else in engineering, I'm sure the answer is "it depends..."

All of the same principles apply compared to static brakes. There was a vendor some years ago at IAAPA that had one of their brakes and a fin to push through it. As you would expect, you could move it pretty easily if you moved it slowly, but try to speed it through, and the resistance is crazy.

the blue train shall be my coveted cheese car