What are they (HW/SS) up to now? (Timberliners on Voyage)

I had thought of that too, but in GG case they only have 4 coasters out there to put these on.

The Timberliner press release is worded such that it leads me to believe that they are not limiting themselves to their designs.

Especially with such phrases as, "Timberliners are designed to be compatible with existing woodencoasters, allowing a park to upgrade their roller coasters withTimberliner trains."

and

"Timberliners are available for purchase in time for the 2009 operatingseason through The Gravity Group's sister company, Gravitykraft."

The trains look very cool.

Is it just me, or does it look like the front row is sitting just in front of the first set of wheels?

I hate to sound negative, but do we need 2 threads on the same subject?

Wow, been waiting for this for months! I hope these work out well. They sure have alot of love and 'sense' built into them from the guys that can do it.

I can't imagine the Voyage any faster though... the thing is cartoon fast as it is.

crazy horse, this thread was the first. If you want to complain about two threads, do it at the other one.

Why do it at the other one when this one has a ridiculous cryptic title.

This one was started before the announcement and makes perfect sense if you consider that.

There. Smaller thread closed & the title of the older, bigger one clarified.

Everyone happy? :)

I'm happy! Yet excited! I can't wait to ride with the new trains!

Fun said:
You can color me worried about this news. Why are they changing what was already the greatest wooden coaster in the world?

Here's a hint: read the press release! ;)

Hopefully this is a good thing for those of us who like the ride exactly how it is and don't want it softened up one iota. But I'll refer to the Hershey Wildcat disappointment until I can see for myself.

I do like the look of the restraints though, as long as they don't staple of course. ;)

I hope that doesn't happen, but I figure were that the case they could speed up the lift chain to make the whole trip faster negating the lost "intensity" I too am nervous but it will save so much on repairs down the road it is a needed upgrade. They do look great.

sorry to double post but did anyone else notice they are only getting two wonder if they will order another next year since voyage can run 3 trains.

The interesting thing about this is that for the moment at least, they are only doing two trains. But one of the many cool things about the Timberliners is that I'm fairly certain that GravityKraft is opposed to using seat belts. So if the new trains are built wide open as indicated and do not have safety belts (since the lap bar design is built with the Class 5 requirements of the ASTM design standard in mind) the loading process with the Timberliners should be significantly shorter than the process with the PTCs. Which means that with the two Timberliners in place, the ride might be more realistically capable of sustained 3-train operation than it now is with the PTCs.

But hey, they have to walk before they can run. I *predict* that we will be able to figure out exactly how effective the new trains are after the first couple of years. If successful, Voyage might get a third one. If really successful, The Legend might get a set. And if *not* terribly successful, the Voyage will be running PTCs by next August.

The bottom line is, Holiday World doesn't mess around.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Acoustic Viscosity said:
But I'll refer to the Hershey Wildcat disappointment until I can see for myself.

I do like the look of the restraints though, as long as they don't staple of course. ;)

Both of these. You and I have similar taste so while I haven't been on Wildcat since the conversion I'm sure I'd prefer the PTC days.

Here's to hoping this improves or at least doesn't hurt the ride experience, and while this all looks promising I don't think there's any real way to tell until someone rides it and reports back. Should be interesting either way.

RideMan said:
The bottom line is, Holiday World doesn't mess around.

Exactly. Let's give Will (and the guys from Gravity Group) some credit -- and benefit of doubt -- before we go lamenting Voyage as a "former #1."

^^ matt, during the first two drops on Wildcat, I was thinking "hey, this is a pretty cool switch." By the end of the ride, I was wondering if they were going to change the signage to read Mildcat. Hopefully Roar East will keep the PTC trains for a while longer.

edited since Moosh snuck in... ;)

It is no coincidence that Wildcat was my #1 GCI. I will however give Holiday World the benefit of the doubt on how they handle Voyage. Hopefully Timberliners are not like their forceless look-a-likes from GCI. Guess I'll find out next year at Holiwood Nights. :)

Mamoosh said:

Fun said:
You can color me worried about this news. Why are they changing what was already the greatest wooden coaster in the world?

Here's a hint: read the press release! ;)

What is it with people using the canned response of "read the link"? I read it. I reiterate: Was Voyage broken?

They want it to be smoother. Was it ever rough?
They want it to be more accommodating. Were lots of people being turned away?
They want it to be more comfortable. Were guests commenting that it wasn't?
They want it to go faster. Wasn't it fast enough already?

The want it to be more maintenance friendly. Ok, sure, what park wouldn't want that? But investing in a brand new, un-proven design is risky. Who's to say it wouldn't bring up some other problems?

I will of course reserve final judgement until I ride it or hear what impact it has on operations and maintenance.