Transfer tracks questions

P> am writing a sort of article and will have many questions for you guys. The first is on transfer tracks. Here is a copy of a part ot it. What corrections do need to make?/P>
P>Thank you so much!/P>
P>Kirby/P>
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P>A transfer track is a sliding piece of track that usually consists of two or more tracks that run parallel to a straight portion of the circuit. These tracks all move as one and replace the existing track on the circuit. These tracks are moved by gears and motors locations below a set of wheels on which the track moves on. All trains are usually moved on the track for overnight storage. Say now it’s morning, the ride is ready to open, and the park will be using both trains(we’re using a large wood coaster for a example) The first train (already kept on the station track) will be moved out of clearance of the transfer track and stopped. Then the track will shift and align with the station track. The first train will then be sent on it’s way. After it clears all the blocks, the second train will be dispatched as normal. The testing continues as normal and the transfer track functions as the standard station track. /P>
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Crap. Sorry about the formatting guys :(
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How about this:

A transfer track is a movable section of track that allows operators to move a coaster train to and from the main circuit for maintinence or storage.
To remove a train:
Operators stop and secure a coaster train on the transfer track. The transfer track is then moved using small motors until it lines up with a piece of storage track. From there, the coaster train can be moved onto the storage track.

To add a train:
The empty transfer track is lined up with a piece of storage track on which a coaster train is stored. The train is pushed onto the storage track and secured. The transfer track is then moved to line up with the main circuit of the coaster.
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You might want to reformat this. You can make it specific by using numbers for the directions, or include the "To add/ a train..." parts within the sentences. Yer call.

*** This post was edited by janfrederick on 12/3/2001. ***

There are some coasters that use a "switch" similar in function to a railroad switch to transfer rolling stock to the main circuit. The Thunderbolt at Kennywood utilizes one of these.

the Beast uses one of those switches
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Thunder Mountain has an interesting switch to allow for two-sided loading/unloading.
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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

janfrederick, I hope you get a mention in the credits of that paper, LOL. Hope to meet up w/ you at CoasterCon XXV, as I have noticed we have agreed on topics of fun stuff not alwas related specifically to coasters...;~)!
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S:RoS at SFNE has an "S" shaped piece that interchanges with the regular short section of track to line up w/ the main track and the track on which the train is stored. It is then rolled out by friction wheels into the station and the track goes back to normal.

But, I have no idea how the train is put on and off of the Mind Eraser (SLC). Could anyone tell me?

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That reminds me. How come some coasters have train shacks and some don't? There's transfer track, but no shed. Is there a reason for this or coaster trains like getting wet?

A few of those flying coasters have a transfer track that flips in 180's back and forth so two stations can be loading/unloading simultaneously. Whoaaa Yeahhhhh!!!!!

Those would be Batwing at SFA and X-Flight at SFO.
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rollergator said:
janfrederick, I hope you get a mention in the credits of that paper, LOL. Hope to meet up w/ you at CoasterCon XXV, as I have noticed we have agreed on topics of fun stuff not alwas related specifically to coasters...;~)!
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Thanks RG! Likewise. In fact, I'm rejoining ACE after an 11 year hiatus. Make sure you wear your CB shirt so I can find you. Also, check the meeting calendar here come CON time. -e
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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

Not all transfer tracks are driven by gears or motors. At Kennywood, for example, only the Phantom is. Exterminator , Jack Rabbit, and Racer are manual. Thunderbolt is pneumatic.

Don't know how technical you wanna be, but I thought this'd help.

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"Reality" is the only word in the language which should always be used in quotes.

Really? I thought T-Bolt had a manual switch as well. Shows what I know! :)

Anyway, there are lots of ways for getting trains on and off. Most of Cedar Point's coasters, for instance, use a sliding transfer table, the same length as the train...put the train on the transfer table, slide it over, roll the train onto the storage track. Mean Streak is like that. In some cases, the transfer table is the same sort of track as the normal track. On Magnum XL-200, for instance, either side of the transfer table can be used as running track. If three trains are running, you're probably going to ride on the left-hand side of the transfer table; if two are running then the third will be parked on the left-hand side of the transfer table and trains will run on the right. If only one is running, then one train has to be pulled off and then winched off the transfer table and onto the storage track.

On Mean Streak, it's a little different in that the transfer track is not the same kind of track as the running track. On the transfer track, the train runs on its up-stop wheels instead of on its road wheels, so the transfer and storage tracks provide a means for servicing the road wheels.

Raptor and Mantis are similar, with Mantis the really strange one. The Raptor storage tracks use angle-iron rails that hold the train by the small wheels under the wheel covers, thus leaving the wheel assemblies completely open. The Mantis storage track consists of a center beam with lots of wheels on it; the train rolls off the transfer track rails and balances on its center beam with no rails supporting it at all.

Wildcat is the oddball...it has a short track section between the stations where a car can be stopped, the track rotated 90 degrees, and the car rolled off on to the storage track, perpendicular to the station track.

Millennium Force has a sliding track-replacement switch, where a straight track section is replaced with an S-shaped section leading from the storage track to the load station.

Someone asked about the Vekoma SLC...Those use rotary switches uptrack of the station. On one side of the switch is straight track, on the other side is an S-shaped transition track. With the train in the station, the switch is flipped over, then the train is propelled backward by the advancing wheels onto the storage track, and the switch is reset. Then the storage track brakes are released and the train rolls forward, off the end of the storage track, and falls into the muck below. Oh, sorry...it's just that it's supposedly happened on two different SLC's, so I thought I should mention it. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Oops, forgot to mention...

I'm told that The Big One at Blackpool has two storage tracks, and that the two storage tracks and single running track are all attached to a single assembly which moves vertically in the station. So the bottom two tracks are storage tracks, and the top track is the running track, the whole thing set up a little like an elevator.

Sounds like a neat idea to me!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Thanks guys!

Dave, you're huge posts are ledgendary :)

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My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
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Hey, Breakdown, I'm curious: If FOF's transfer table is the ready brake, wouldn't it be simpler to stop the train there, then slide it over, rather than reversing it from unload?

Just curious...!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

(It's easier to type and...well, you know the rest...)

That makes sense. If I remember correctly there is a pair of motors on the transfer, but I'm guessing there isn't enough resolution on the track switches to reliably detect the train position and make sure the lead car or tail car doesn't cross the joint....I'm guessing there is a check-in switch at the uptrack end that the transfer that has to be in contact with the last car for the transfer to open. Trouble is, if the train goes forward through the switch, there's no way to know for certain that the car there is the last car. It does kind of make sense... :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Wow...the transfer track for Pepsi Max Big One sounds very unique and interesting...are there any sites that would possibly have pictures of this transfer?
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Space Mountain ( DLP ) got 2 transfer tracks: each are 2 trains long. They are hidden by black curtains and each is behind one of the station. When we move a train in and out, a cast member runs in the "staging" ( name that Disney gives to transfer tracks ), cast member in the tower change the station mode to "park" and the cast member at the staging console can move the train. There is a track piece that can rotate. The maintenance can easily dismantle and assemble a train, using the staging on the Honey, I shrunk the Audience side.