Vortex broke it's chain!

I was at PKI today from 5-8 PM, and Vortex was down, with an empty train stopped 1/3 up the lift. I heard reports of it closing earlier in the day with a loud "KER-CHUNG!"

Closer inspection from The Beast showed that it was indeed missing the lift chain.

This is the third place I have read this post. They store the trains with on the lift, one in the station, and one in the brake right before the station. This is the way it is when they close the ride for maintenance or whatever. While possible I doubt that the chain broke, and that you could see it from the Beast.

Chains break, dogs catch. No problem... Should be up tomorrow.

The chain was MISSING form the lift, and parts of the guide were removed. It'l need a new chain.

I highly doubt the whole chain will need replaceing. The same laws apply to the chain as do the train, when it breaks, gravity takes over, the chain can and will fall down the lift to the bottom.

*EDIT* Fixed train/chain mix up... stupid "ain" words. *** Edited 8/4/2004 2:19:15 AM UTC by CoasterCameron***

OK, I sit corrected.

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CoasterCameron said:
The same laws apply to the chain as do the train, when it breaks, gravity takes over, the train can and will fall down the lift to the bottom.

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Err. No. That's what anti-rollbacks are for.

Like I said... Chains break, dogs catch....

Actually, the Vortex has a chain dog on the lift hill about halfway up. So if the chain breaks above that dog, the chain won't slide back down the hill. At least that's the idea. This is in the bottom of the chain guide and has nothing to do with the train. You can hear it clanking away as you go over it on the lift.

I suppose it is there to keep the *entire* chain from landing at the bottom of the hill in a big, messy pile.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I cannon't say anything more but the chain did not break. And that it has been fixed and will reusme normal operation tomarrow at 10.

Only Dane and Tom Island (Duke of PKI) know what *really* happened.

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john peck said:
Like I said... Chains break, dogs catch....

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I thought Dogs fetch?

Im confused :)

it's = it is
its = possessive (hers, his, theirs, its)

/pet peeve

I was at the park yesterday and actually rode Vortex. From what I understand, Vortex closed but re-opened later in the day. I personally cannot imgaine a broken chain being fixed that quickly.

Is all this just confusion above possibly just over terminology?

The way I always understood it...

Each coaster car on Vortex has a chain dog that is on the underside. This is what catches the chain and pulls the train to the top.

Second, each train has a set of anti-rollback latches on the underside of the cars. These antirollbacks act independant of the chain dog and will lock the train into place should the chain stop moving or it dis-engage etc. The clanking you hear on a coaster's lift is produced from the anti-rollbacks springing into action.

Third, on the lift, there is a chain, a chain trough, and a set of anti-rollback "teeth." In addition, the chain "trough" has special devices (not sure if they would be called chain dogs...) that will catch the chain should it break. There is at least one that lies about 1/2 way up. That way the chain will not fall all the way to the ground.

It was my understanding that ARROW emplyed these special chain catches when they began desigining very large lifts. Smaller, original Arrow creations do not have them AFAIK.... i.e. Corckscrew at CP. I have heard several stories of it's chain breaking and falling all the way to the bottom of the lift.

Shaggy

*** Edited 8/4/2004 3:30:09 PM UTC by Shaggy***

While I know you were excited as you thought you had breaking news about one of PKI's rides breaking down, there's no need to post it on four different sites; when you have nothing to back it up. Ride ops aren't allowed to tell you what happened and how would an operator at the Beast know?

For someone to own a PKI website it would be smart to not go around posting topics where you don't know the facts; and don't know how the ride is operated. They do store the trains one on the lift, one in the station, and one in the brake for the evening which is also what they do when performing maintenance on the ride. A ride that is down for three hours during a day is not something to post a topic on a site, let alone four.

Just thought I would add that you say you said there was no chain when you looked from the Beast, going up and down the hill the chain is in I guess you would call it an open topped box or trough as Shaggy put it. *** Edited 8/4/2004 3:34:52 PM UTC by Tanner_J***

I'm still trying to figure out how you can see Vortexs chain is off from the Beast. That is unless, you didn't have zoom.

From Beast's first lift, if you look backward, and from the ride exit, you can see the cogwheel at the top, and the end of the chain guide is to the right of it. There is a decent gap between the two, and I could see very clearly that the chain was missing, it usually bridges the gap between guide and wheel.

And I am very aware of how a coaster operates. I know all about rollback dogs, chain dogs, and the like. The position the train was in seemed a little higher than it would be if it were to be stored there, the front car's nose was at the level of the midcourse brake.

I'm just saying what I know, it seemed to be a chain break. I don't know how the Beast crewmember would know, I jsut said what he told me. I also heard several people saying the ride had made a big "KER-CHUNG" right before it was shut down. To me, Ker-Chung sounds like a chain or cable snapping.

I'm sorry if I am wrong, I am just saying what I know

And now, a day in the life of our fearless reporter.

*Ring*

You:...Doctor Donald, Psychic Ride Engineer.
Them:..Yes Doctor Donald, my coaster is broken.
You:...What does it sound like?
Them:..Ker-CHUNG.
You:...Wait, wait. Was it a Ker-CHUNG with a big CHUNG or kinda like an even emphasis throughout the Ker-Chunging? Are you sure there was a Ker before the Chung?
Them:..Huh?
You:...Hand the phone to the next person in line.
Them:..Hello?
You:...Yeah, what did you hear when the Vortex broke?
Them:..The sound of me and my girlfriend sucking face, dude.
You:...*sighs* Peasant. Hand the phone down the line.
Them:..Hello?
You:...Did you hear a big Ker-CHUNG?
Them:..Sure. Yeah. Whatever.
You:..Sounds like a broken chain. I'll ride another coaster and crane my neck on the lift hill for a better look.

-CO
*** Edited 8/4/2004 11:24:52 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

I thought we established years ago that when a coaster lift chain breaks, the sound it makes is, "Chang!"

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

No. That's the sound of a coater sucking.