Top Thrill Dragster n' metal

[bctrainers]

Check this out: http://www.newsnet5.com/entertainment/3523436/detail.html

By how it appears, there was a huge break in something... :eek:

[IEATPASTE001]

I love this line


Terry Downey said his 20-year-old son, Joel, was on the ride with friends when he told him that something snapped. The ride reaches 120 mph.

Really? 120? No way!

[RCT2head]

hey, this link and subject are also on the 'anybody from sandusky' thread.

[Tohot2se]

I was there the day this happend...First of..this same cable that *Freyed* was just loose a month ago. Second of all Cedar Point refused to pay for a hospital visit and would not call an ambulance. They were given tetnus shots at Cedar Point. One kid has metal in his chest and went to the hospital on his own, along with one other person.

Now here is the part that ticks me off!! Cedar Point gives these 4 people *coupons* that say....* sorry for your inconvience, use these to get to the front of the line on your next ride on Top Thrill* To me that is a huge slap in the face. They should of got, their money back for the day, or even free season passes for the next year. I am so disappointed in how my home park treats people.

Cedar Point is well aware of all the problems they have had with this thing. I know its a prototype, but keep in mind...they have already had two cables that went bad. Think about this...the cables keep going bad and this coaster barely runs 3 hours a day? There is not much wear and tear!! Second of all, they big decoration wheels fell off and flew into another coaster..it constantly has roll backs, and they had to take all the decorations off that made it look like dragster cars...and now they run the trains with the back 6 seats empty...in my opinion, this coaster and Mean Streak should both join a big huge bon fire!

[iAMpaste001]

One wheel came off last summer, but did not hit another coaster. They took all the theming off just to be on the safe side.
Rollbacks are not a problem with the ride, they are simply bound to happen sometimes due to various factors like weight, temperature, ride speed and wind speed. Not only that, I have never heard a single person who experienced a rollback complain about it. They feel it's like an extra element to ride and frankly, I'd like to experience one myself.
I have only heard of one cable that "went bad", that was the one that snapped last summer. It's not that surprising, considering it's a 10,000 Hp ride, going over 120 m.p.h. and pulling something weighing several dozen tons. Since the cable snapped, they reduced launch speed slightly to save some wear and tear.
It's not a routine practice to run the trains with the last 6 seats empty, it's something I've never seen and I've been to park roughly 30 times since Dragster opened. They fill every seat on the trains, not even allowing any single riders.
Lastly, Mean Streak is one of my favorite rides of all time. Just because it doesn't have the fantastic speed or smoothness of other rides doesn't make it worthy of being destroyed. There's a lot to appreciate about it.

[Tohot2se]

Yes, they took off all the other *decorations* for safety reasons but the wheel DID roll up hit the pillar of Iron Dragon....(I'm not saying it slammed into the coaster, but just showing how far it went. Thank goodness it did not go out into the midway.

I didn't really mean rollbacks are a *problem* so to speak, but you don't build a coaster to *have* rollbacks....Yes its fun to have a rollback, I liked it myself but...the ride was not designed to have rollbacks, it has a system in place incase it does have them, but the fact remains its not part of the ride. And with all the rollbacks it's going to cause unnecessary *wear and tear* to the cable, and then what? (not to mention it makes the line move slower) Thats why I think the *rollbacks* are a problem.


Yes a cable snapped last summer, but it also came loose a month ago, in June of this year...it was even on Toledo News...

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2033374&nav=5UaiOkfv

WTOL NEWS Quote (dated July 13th 2004)..."The cable came loose in June, forcing the ride to close for a few days. A year ago, the coaster was grounded for several weeks by a blown valve in the hydraulic propulsion system. Intermittent delays followed"

I go to Cedar Point at least two times a week, sometimes three days a week, but never on weekends and have seen myself personally at least two times where they ran the trains with some seats empty. One time with 4 empty seats and another time 6 seats empty, this Monday being one of them...When its having trouble getting over the hills due to conditions, and has to many roll backs, they will reduce the weight by leaving seats empty. Ask anyone that was there Monday...around 11am to 1pm.


You stated "Since the cable snapped, they reduced launch speed slightly to save some wear and tear."

I say thats the problem...this thing hardly ever runs and it gets that much wear and tear? What the heck problems would they have with it, if it ran all the time, like every other coaster?

Being its a hydraulic launch sysytem, they DID NOT *reduce* power for speed, it launches all the time at the full speed..120mph....Wind, weight, etc just determines whether or not it reaches it full speed. Last year, Intamin came in to replace a faulty valve, but they did not reduce anything. Do you have any link from reputable site, like a newspaper, or Tv station that says they reduced the speed? Cause I have yet to see it. I know Intamin reduced the speed on Wicked Twister, last year, you could even tell, it doesnt make it up the spikes as high as it use too...is that what you were maybe thinking of?

As far as Mean Streak, It use to be one of my fav rides, but it has lost so much since it debut... the most disappointing part for me is how the brake you so much doing down the hill... Curtis Summers had a great idea building this, but with a wooden coaster this tall, its bound to go bad. Although, it is never as rough as S.O.B...lol Its a beautiful coaster, but in my honest opinion, *tube it* and it will be so much better!!

As far as the riders and their conditions after they got hurt, I have read so many conflicting stories...So I am sure we have all heard different things..

[Harpo]

I think I can clear up one thing... When Dragster is being warmed up, they'll leave the rear of the train empty, and slowly add people into the back seats as the warmup process continues. They'll often start with 4 empty rows, then 3, then 2... well, you get the idea.

I'm surprised about the reports of how Cedar Point has handled the situation. Having worked at the park for 4 summers while in college, I know that they have done an excellent job handling any incidents in the past. It sounds like they may have goofed a bit this time, but, of course, without having witnessed it personally, it's hard to say exactly what happened. I would think that the First Aid staff did what they believed was right. As I understand it, the wounds were comparable in severity to bee stings, so they probably were handled in a similar fashion.

I am hoping that they learn from this incident and improve their future handling. I suspect they will, but it's unfortunate that they appear to be handling this instance a bit clumsily.

[IEATPASTE001]

Originally posted by Tohot2se
Being its a hydraulic launch sysytem, they DID NOT *reduce* power for speed, it launches all the time at the full speed..120mph....Wind, weight, etc just determines whether or not it reaches it full speed. Last year, Intamin came in to replace a faulty valve, but they did not reduce anything. Do you have any link from reputable site, like a newspaper, or Tv station that says they reduced the speed? Cause I have yet to see it. I know Intamin reduced the speed on Wicked Twister, last year, you could even tell, it doesnt make it up the spikes as high as it use too...is that what you were maybe thinking of?

Maybe reduced power wasn't the correct term, but the launch has been changed since the cable snap of last year. I was lucky enough to get a ride on it before it snapped. I have been on many a train that went over 121 MPH. Infact if it only reaches 120 MPH with a loaded train, it won't make it over the hill. I don't need a newspaper or link to prove it, just physics. Last year they replaced a fauly valve that was sending metal shavings into the hydrolic fluid. Where is your proof that Intamin reduced the speed of WT? They added supports to the spikes. They didn't do that so it can be under powered. Look to the power company for keeping WT at the pace it is now.

[holy_reality]

i hope that CP is not like Disney w ho will refuse to call an ambulance NO MATTER WHAT and you know, risk you lying there dying because they dont' want people to know accidents have happened.

I've heard many bad things about them.......

as far as these injuries i'm not sure whether or not an ambulance would have been necessary though, it didn't really sound like it.......

that's just scary about the decorative wheel flying off though, I mean, they had their damn thrill shot towers collapse too, they are extremely lucky those two events didn't kill people.

[Tohot2se]

Originally posted by holy_reality
that's just scary about the decorative wheel flying off though, I mean, they had their damn thrill shot towers collapse too, they are extremely lucky those two events didn't kill people.

The tower that fell was Virtigo, not power tower, and Virtigo cracked and fell over the winter..thank goodness.

As far as not needing the ambulance, I dont know for sure, I know the one boy who went to the hospital, news says he had a pretty good size of metal in his chest and some burn marks from the oil. Now what *good size* of metal means, is anyones guess. But any lil amount of metal in your blood system can kill you. I still havent heard anything yet on his condition though.

[IEATPASTE001]

What oil?

[Tohot2se]

Toledo News said..some oil...no idea what they meant but thats what they said, something about "oil from the cable on his shirt..."

[holy_reality]

Originally posted by Tohot2se
The tower that fell was Virtigo, not power tower, and Virtigo cracked and fell over the winter..thank goodness.

thrill shot, as in, those bungee things that do the flips... i think they are called thrill shots, magic mountain has one but it hasn't opened since CPs accident at all, that i know of, it might have reopened late last season maybe, or it might have been taken down.


But any lil amount of metal in your blood system can kill you. I still havent heard anything yet on his condition though.

i guess this should be a common sense thing but how does that work, something akin to lead poisoning (this is steel though obviously)? Blood poisoning? Wouldn't you be okay if you got shots fairly quick, or what, how often would an accident involving metal in the blood kill someone...

I haven't really heard too much about that.

[IEATPASTE001]

Originally posted by Tohot2se
Toledo News said..some oil...no idea what they meant but thats what they said, something about "oil from the cable on his shirt..."

I know there is water in the area where the lauch dog is. It might be dirty and make it look like "oil" on a shirt. It might even have oil in there from something. I am just wondering where this myster "oil" came from?

[RCT2head]

i have never seen the ride, but isn't it a hydraulic launch?
if it is, then that means that maybe one of those lines busted from the steel snapping, and the resulting hydraulic fluid looked kind of like oil, so everyone thought it was. but let's see if Harpo know more about stuff like that.

[Tohot2se]

Yes it is hydraulic...I went back and watched the TV News cast for this on the computer. One of the girls that was *hurt* on the ride the day it happened said.."His shirt was dirty and looked like oil on it and he had some lil burns on his arms" So that was from one of the witnesses..I have yet to hear anything from the boy that was hurt the most, that had *a good piece* of metal stuck in his chest..anyone hear anything? CP also gave them tetnus shots at CP...from what I heard. Yes metal in the blood stream can kill ya, blood poisioning etc..

Then there is this from screamscape..

"Top Thrill Dragster has been shut down indefinitely after four riders were struck by shards of metal possibly sheered off the launch cable while others reported feeling “burned” by an “oily” substance. While all were treated and released by the park’s health services department two riders later took themselves to a nearby hospital for further treatment, where there was one report of a rider being struck by a large piece of metal in the chest."

[IEATPASTE001]

Originally posted by RCT2head
i have never seen the ride, but isn't it a hydraulic launch?
if it is, then that means that maybe one of those lines busted from the steel snapping, and the resulting hydraulic fluid looked kind of like oil, so everyone thought it was. but let's see if Harpo know more about stuff like that.

The hydrolic fluid is safely confined in a building. There is no way, well almost no way that is was anything to do with hydrolic fluid. I am sure it was just the water. It probably gets rather hot in the sun on a metal track. And probably dirty.

[Harpo]

Paste is right about the hydraulics all being contained in a building. Also, water is sprayed on the cable for cooling purposes, so it is possible it was dirty hot water. It's also possible that some lubricating grease was mixed in.

As for VertiGo, which has now VertiGone...

It's highly unlikely that the tower would have collapsed during the season. The problem was with winds generating a harmonic resonance within the tower, causing the structural failure. If you've ever seen the old video of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge, it was the same type of thing. During the season, the towers had cables on them, attached to the ride vehicle. For the off-season storage and maintenance, those cables were removed. It is likely that the cables would have prevented the harmonic resonance from happening. Even if they didn't, the operation of the ride would have disrupted the harmonic resonance, hence making such a structural failure HIGHLY unlikely during the operating season.

By the way, Magic Mountain's version was running when I was there in June. Last year, however, I went on one at Frontier City, and found it to be shockingly, remarkably, insanely BORING! (It was included with admission at Frontier City.) So, after that experience, there's absolutely no way I'd pay extra to ride it. I could easily have taken a nap during that ride. So, I really don't think Cedar Point or Knott's lost anything worthwhile when the rides were taken down.

[holy_reality]

hahahaha that's Frontier City for you

damn they suck, and considering they are Premier's birthplace, and I think, Six Flags = Premier, it's sad they don't put a small invert in there or something.

preferrably not a clone.

man I hate Frontier City though....... in fairness I've never been on Nightmare (SBNO right now) or Wildcat (it was closed) but I mean, gahh, I have more fun at Bells..... maybe because the crowds are smalelr.

are you an Oklahoman?


oh and that is very interesting about Vertigo, I had on idea it had to do with harmonic resonance, or whatever, I thought it was just built poorly.

[Harpo]

No, I grew up as a Michigossling, from a pair of Michigeese, hence I've grown up to be a full, adult Michigander. (One local newspaper chooses to use the term Michiganian instead, but it's just not possible to have as much fun with that nickname!)

What amazed me at Frontier City was that, at the headquarters of Six Flags, it's the only Six Flags park that won't take the Six Flags season pass. It struck me as a park with a great deal of potential, but that wasn't even coming close to living up to that potential.

I wanted to get a picture of one ride operator who was asleep at his ride. But, as I was lining up to take the picture, his phone rang, waking him up. I suspect someone else saw me lining up for the picture and quickly called him to avoid embarrasment.

On the same trip, I also visited Bell's. I really liked Zingo. Overall, the park could use some paint, and the staff should be friendlier, but they generally acted very professionally, and appeared to be attentive, so I was generally pleased with Bell's. However, they could really use a souvenier stand -- I wanted to buy a t-shirt for Zingo, but I couldn't find anyplace to buy anything! Oh well!

[holy_reality]

"What amazed me at Frontier City was that, at the headquarters of Six Flags, it's the only Six Flags park that won't take the Six Flags season pass. It struck me as a park with a great deal of potential, but that wasn't even coming close to living up to that potential. "

Really?

I have a six flags season pass (what use it does me I don't know, but renewing it should be c heaper than paying for annual tickets, and I might go to SFOT in the fall?)

so..... I was highly under the impression the season passes worked there.... in fact I thought it was listed as one of the parks that it worked at, on some sort of official documentation....

when I was going on the tilt-a-whirl there some years ago the ride op was openly talking about how hated his job.....

[Harpo]

Well, let's see... I just pulled out my 2004 season pass from Kraptacular Kingdom. It says:

"...your season pass may now be used at any Six Flags Theme Park, Enchanted Village/Wild Waves, The Great Escape, La Ronde and Wyandot Lake on regular operating days (not valid at waterparks or Frontier City/White Water Bay)."

Apparently, it's also not valid during the Kentucky State Fair, whenever that is.

Doesn't make sense to me why it wouldn't be valid at Frontier City, but that's what the pass says.

[holy_reality]

hmm well mine says that too

weird.

[Harpo]

The only thing I can figure is that Six Flags is too embarrassed to admit that Frontier City is the location of their headquarters, hence they discourage visitors by blocking the Six Flags season pass usage at the park!

As far as the headquarters, however, that's also a bit odd. Everything I can find indicates that Oklahoma City is the world headquarters for Six Flags. And yet, from what I understand, some of the top staff (I believe the CEO is among them) have offices in New York City, but I've never been able to locate a Six Flags corporate address in NYC.

(I looked quite hard due to a need to send letters of complaint -- in my opinion, the parks had, and still have, very serious safety issues that can be fixed via training. Being widespread throughout the company, I felt it had to go to the upper management, rather than trying to deal with each park individually.)

[topthrillmaniac]

u know, its kinda sad that they spend $25 million on this coaster and can never get it running. they always have problems even though they announced that all the problems were fixes for the 2004 season. i went on it at about 10:05 at night (after the park had closed). it was still running at 12:00

[IEATPASTE001]

If they can never get it running, how did you ride it?

[Tohot2se]

You hope you get lucky and its open when you get there, or when you're standing in line. I go to CP at least 3 times a week, and usually its only running half the time I am there. Or when I am in line, it goes down. You have two choices then..leave the line and try again later, or wait till it reopens. If you get to the park before 5, I think, you can get a fast pass....but I usually go at night and they dont offer the fast passes then.

[IEATPASTE001]

2 pm is when they distribute the Freeway stamps.

[Tohot2se]

LOL thats funny I didn't know that. But, I always go to the park after 5pm...so that would probably be why.

[IEATPASTE001]

Dragster is running great. It is awesome. Well it always has been awesome. Yay for Cedar Point and Dragsters awesomeness. Please don't hurt anyone else TTD, please. Thanks. :P