Xcelerator structure problems?

Go Intamin! :oP

I still don't understand why everyone praises this company for its work. I mean, yes...they do produce some great rides. But am I the only one who has been a little worried about the quality of this company's products?

So far Intamin has been able to:

1) Throw multiple people from multiple varieties of rides

2) Find a way to make a magnetic braking system fail

3) Go back and have to retrofit multiple rides with a stronger support system before those rides tore themselves apart

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James Draeger
-Captain Sarcasm (aka Sour Boy)

J.D. - while I, too, love many of the Intamin rides I've ridden I have had those same concerns as well.

As for when Xcelerator will go down to make the "improvements" it will be after Winter Solace, which is next weekend.

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Humor Ingredients: all natural flavors, some artificial additives. Sold by weight, not volume. 100% satisfaction not guaranteed. Void in Texas and Puerto Rico.

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Draegs said:

2) Find a way to make a magnetic braking system fail

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Leave my Superman alone! =P

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SFNE Central v4- Online Six Flags New England Resource
CBuzzer since September 2001 with a few bumps along the way. :)

I just thought I would add a bit of engineering insight as I am an engineering student. The impulse coaster towers are designed to sway, as are all large structures. If the towers are too stiff they will fracture from the stress. The extra crossmembers had to be added to WT because the spirals are tighter then any other impulse. Also It has a longer (heavier train) then any other. The ride is also built right on lake Erie.

Xcelerator on the other hand probably needs extra supports because it is built in an area known for sysmec activity. Think Ghostrider. Yes Intamin should have thought of this sooner but give them credit for spotting it sooner.

Thanks, c-guy! I've overheard people in line comment about Xcelerator's towers or SUE's spikes looking unsafe and have told them exactly what you've said, but it doesn't seem to make much difference...they still ride and they still think the towers should not be swaying.

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Humor Ingredients: all natural flavors, some artificial additives. Sold by weight, not volume. 100% satisfaction not guaranteed. Void in Texas and Puerto Rico.

hey im new here,

Everyone trashing intamin should look at the diff. There were no legal battles, they seemed to have spotted the failures quickly, and it looks like they are footing the bill(considering there is no legal battle) Most of their designs are prototypes, and compared to others i think they have done quite well!

I don't think a seismic retrofit is what we're seeing here. Before any structure is built, the State of California requires a full seismic analysis to be completed and submitted to the state building department. The state examines their [Intamins's] analysis and either approves or denies their work. Obviously, if it gets denied, then it needs to be stronger. With this system in place, I find it hard to beleive that Intamin didn't think of seismic activity beforehand.

While I don't know what really happened, I suspect the soil bearinc capacity isn't as high as expected causing extra lateral movement in the footings.

-Seth

danh - speaking for myself I'm not trashing Intamin, however their prototypes have proven to be quite problematic. The *other* Swiss company, B&M, seems to have few problems with their prototypes.

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Humor Ingredients: all natural flavors, some artificial additives. Sold by weight, not volume. 100% satisfaction not guaranteed. Void in Texas and Puerto Rico.

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Draegs said:
2) Find a way to make a magnetic braking system fail

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Hate to bring it a bit off topic, but how'd Intamin manage to do that?

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Tommy Penner - YoYoBaybeeMan
What is The Animatrix?

Prototypes?!

There's nothing prototype about the support structure they are using on their rides. The way in which companies hold up the track hasn't changed in decades.

As for the braking issue, here is a detailed explaination of what exactly happened:

http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/dalthoff/sros.html

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James Draeger
-Captain Sarcasm (aka Sour Boy)

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JD said:

goliathkills: i'm pretty sure if a train got stuck up there the whole thing woulda come down. think about it.... a multi-ton train sitting on several hundred feet of unsupported track.... a gust of wind and the whole structure would suffer massive stress fractures if it even survived at all with that much weight being blown around on top of it. its only designed to handle the train for a few seconds during each crest and descent.

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Riiiight! I suppose you talked to Intamin engineering and they let you in on some little known secrets? When the ride was built, they did a slow pull-through with one of the trains, and the train was on the unsupported part for a long time. Something as flimsy as you are describing would never be built!
*** This post was edited by Pete 2/20/2003 3:59:58 PM ***