Train coming off it's track?

Like Dave explained, stapling yields an unannounced WHAM! of the lap bar during a ride, locking you in even tighter. This prohibits movement in any direction, not to mention an uncomfortable ride. This can usually be found on Racer's 4th dip, and in Sonny's helix.

Jim, I often forget about Skyliner, though everytime I'm there it beckons me for a back seat ride! It takes a bit to recover mentally and physically from that one. And while on the subject of Lakemont, perhaps the best example of leaving the track can be found a few feet away from the 1960 John Allen Skyliner.... :)
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Brad Sherman
Don't.....look.....back! The Headless Horseman awaits you in 2002!
Model coasters and rides

Alot of Vekoma coasters...(SLC's, and even the flyers) have about an inch or two of space between the rail and the up-stop wheel. I guess to only make use of it only when it is needed...but it seems that on SLC's the cars slam around like they are not touching the rail at any of the wheels.

I think this is one of the reasons SLC's are so rough.

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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~SFWoA Rules In 2002~With SFWoA ANYTHING Is Possible!

Little tidbit on this subject: When I was working at SFOT in 1995, a film crew visited to film a segment on Texas Giant for the Discovery Channel special, Wild Rides. The crew had footage from every possible angle, including point of view from the front and rear of the train, shots of riders in the front seat, commentary from an Ace member, and shots from the ground around the ride. One of the most interesting shots involved rigging up a camera to the front of the train that focused directly on one of the front running wheels while the train was in operation. This resulted in some incredible footage of the train losing contact with the track in several places. Because it was such a tight shot on the wheel, it looked a lot more dramatic than it really was. Unfortunately, PR and maintenance folks didn't think this was something they wanted viewers to see, so it never made the final cut on the show.

"Coming off the track" is a bit deceptive. Yes, wheels DO momentarily lose contact with the track on many roller coasters. However, with guide wheels and upstops they're never in any danger of actually DERAILING, which is the image that comes to mind with the phrase "coming off the track".

Jackrabbit is a GREAT example of this, as others have noted.

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--Greg
"The collective women in your life have more baggage than a Samsonite factory..."
My page

*** This post was edited by GregLeg on 3/14/2002. ***

There is one coaster without upstops which jumps off the track briefly on really hot summer days. That is Leap The Dips. It stays well within the side boards and is perfectly safe. I was really surprise when I felt this on a hot July afternoon. I really hadn't expected airtime from this ancient side friction coaster.

Yes, Leap the Dips is great for that. REAL airtime ;) As you said, the sideboards are there to prevent a "derailing".

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--Greg
"The collective women in your life have more baggage than a Samsonite factory..."
My page