Whats a woodies lifespan??????

The Bush Beast at Wonderland Sydney, (clone of Canada's Wonderland, Greater America and Kings Dominion) is no over 15 years old. The whole structure shakes during ride cycle and bits of wood are falling of. Already the park has installed mid-cycle brakes just prior to the second dip to slow the train, to lessen structure shake. The parks conducts bi-daily inspections and routine maitenance, so I have no doubt that it's safe, but what kind of life can you expect out of wooden rollercoasters????????

I can almost expect it to be as long as a steel rc if they keep the maintinence up and do good checks on the ride it could last for ever

Properly maintained, woodies can last a loooong time. I know there are older woodies out east but at my home park (SFGAm) the Eagle is 25yrs old this year and it has held up throught the years pretty well.

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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra

Maintenance is the key word here...

Comet (Hersheypark) = 55 years
Thunderhawk (Dorney) = 78 years
Blue Streak (Conneaught Lake) = 64 years
Cyclone (Williamsgrove) = 68 years
Jackrabbit (Kennywood) = 80 years
Racer (Kennywood) = 74 years
Thunderbolt (Kennywood) = 77 Years
Yankee Cannonball (Canobie Lake) = 65 years
Wildcat (Lake Compounce) = 74 years
Comet (The Great Escape) = 53 years
Pheonix (Knoebels) = 54 years
Cyclone (Astroland/Coney Island) = 74 years
Leap-the-Dips (Lakemont) = 99 years

Now granted Pheonix and Comet(great escape) have been moved and "rebuilt" in the past 20 years, and the Thunderbolt (Kennywood) was rebuilt in teh 1960's from sections of the old Pippin... so much of the lumber is "new". Also, Leap-the-dips stood idle for 15 years before being overhaulled. And Comet (great escape) and Cyclone (Astroland) are wood tracked, but steel supports.

But the average years of all of these is 70 years.

Again, Maintenance is the key. Some are kept in excelent shape... Comet (Hershey), Pheonix, Racer, Thunderbolt, Jack Rabbit, Leap-the-Dips. Others are just maintained enough to remain standing and
keep running... Williamsgrove Cylcone.

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"That wheel needs fixed... This thing is a piece of junk..."
- Unknown ride op on Williams Grove Cyclone

Not much longer than five minutes.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Well, the way SOB toppled over, its not supposed to be there at all. I think PKI shouldve rethought having that construction company build SOB when part of the helix fell over. Maybe now PKI is wishing for the same thing I am thinking.

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http://www.islandguide.8m.com
all about PKI
the Beasts` Den

The Beast has stood over 25 years and it's still one of the best coasters out there. Granted it might have a shorter lifespan if they took those breaks out but it would probably be an even better ride. SOB, though I think it's great, is kinda scary to think about. I don't know if it will get even more violent over the years or what, but I don't see it lasting as long as the Beast or being in as good of shape.

Wood can always be replaced, so I'm assuming that a wooden coaster can last forever if the mechanical parts are always maintained and replaced when needed.

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PKI Freak said:
"Well, the way SOB toppled over, its not supposed to be there at all. I think PKI shouldve rethought having that construction company build SOB when part of the helix fell over. Maybe now PKI is wishing for the same thing I am thinking.

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http://www.islandguide.8m.com
all about PKI
the Beasts` Den"

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LMAO. Wait a sec, could you reword that or something. What did you mean by "...its not supposed to be there at all."????

Second of all, the part that was damaged was damaged because of high winds, and the section was not permanently secrured to the rest of the structure. That incident is a non-issue.
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Don't touch the watch.

We recently had that huge american aircraft carrier come into Sydney and we had a lot of the guys come out to the Wonderland Sydney. They commented on how rough it was, one of the roughest they had been on.

It's not the smoothest coaster I've ever been on, but it's so damn fun you don't really notice the shaking. If they ever slow it down with trims and whatnot like they did to the Mean Streak, it will probably be one of the worst rides IMO. It needs to stay fast and furious, and for gods sake put some tunnels on that baby...

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I heard that a guy got his arms hacked off from the beast helix tunnels...

PKI Freak said:
"Well, the way SOB toppled over, its not supposed to be there at all. "

Sonny was struck by high winds during construction. The part that fell down was not even reinforced. Think about it. Why didn't the rest of the structure fall down?

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Scott W. Short
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

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Jeff said:
"Not much longer than five minutes.

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Am I the only one that caught that????

Maintenance is the key word. As long as it is kept up, it can last forever.

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May 5th, Gurnee, Illinois, "I'm sprinting for V2" *** This post was edited by kcies13-SFGAm on 4/20/2001. ***

Don't forget, a woodie may be listed as 75 years old, but none of the lumber is. the lumber has to be replaced every so often por the coaster would eventualy rot away.
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2001-the year of flight!

Hey SLFAKE you forgot bigdipper at SFO 75 years old.

No, kcies13-SFGAm, you weren't the only one to notice Jeff's comment. Merely the first to comment on it. And Jeff, kcies13-SFGAm is right, the key to keeping it up is maintenance. :)

WildOne, at CoasterMania '92, a Cedar Point maintenance executive was telling us that these days with pressure-treated lumber, the wood on a coaster will typically wear out before it rots. As the structure flexes, the bolt holes will egg out, for instance, or it will crack, split, or break. But you're right; the lumber is replaced as needed, and for parts of the ride may only be a few years old.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I'm with aussie op. The Bush Beast is the roughest coaster I've ever been on. Perhaps it has never been retracked in all its 15 years. Would retracking it make it smoother?

Oh my yes. Retracking would replace bad wood, and any wood that has settled, or potholed.

It also replaces the steel you run on, which helps too.

4

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the answer I give to questions I don't know the answer to. ask me a question, I give you an answer. It is your job to decide if I know what the heck I am talking about. *** This post was edited by jdancisin on 5/10/2001. ***

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RideMan said:
"No, kcies13-SFGAm, you weren't the only one to notice Jeff's comment. Merely the first to comment on it. And Jeff, kcies13-SFGAm is right, the key to keeping it up is maintenance. :)"

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Sometimes I don't know about you people... Honestly, I really don't. ;)

Now, back to your regularly scheduled thread.

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com