Transition

I know we have talked about the movement of the launch side track before. However, Last night when I was on my late night front seat ride of TTD I was in the second train in line to launch and when the train in front of mine went up the transition I noticed just how much the track on the transition "Sways" back and forth .. enough to make lights in the background dissappear and reappear for at least 20 seconds or so. Does anyone think this will ever have to be addressed with supports like WT? Just curious on your thoughts about it.

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TTD rides =25
Time spent waiting for those rides= 46.5 hours.
MF=84

Its been discussed before, and just about every piece is designed to have some give to it. I know personally it looks like a lot, but I fully trust that that will not break.

Something to just sit and think about, or look at I guess, but definitely not something to worry about. :)

Here is the saying for people who build the rides,"If it don't shake it will brake". I got that saying off of the 1999 extrem rides.

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"Welcome back riders, how was your ride?"

Excessive viberation can cause serious damage. Wicked Twister and Vertigo are prime examples.

In TTD's case, it doesn't appear that damage has been done. In any case it's not a concern since any problem will be addressed and fixed.

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Eddy the retard is awesome.

I know stuff has to move a little. You can see it happen on Raptor and Mantis and I can totally accept that as normal.

Dragster has a ton of lateral shimmy in the pull-outs, up and down, and there's so much of it that I don't know that I'd be comfortable with it. I'm not a structural engineer, but it obviously isn't good for Impulses or they wouldn't have reinforced WT. And just think... Dragster is already supported!

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

Personally, I'd call it a bit more than a "shimmy." If you've ever sat on one of the benches near Magnum's entrance and just watched TTD's tower you'll see it start to rotate about the vertical axis. It never stops moving.

Given Intamin's track record for over supporting their rides [/sarcasm] it does make me a little concerned. But, really, what are they going to do? Anchor it to Magnum and Gemini?

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- John
I Snap Flyers

The tower itself receives far more inspection than I think most people realize. The entire structure from top to bottom has been thoroughly inspected at least once this summer. If there is anything for the park to be worried about in terms of movement, my guess is that they are already well aware of it.

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James Draeger

Oh, I don't doubt that they're aware of the shimmy. It's just a little unnerving to look at such a solid looking structure (lots of triangles) and see it go "womba, womba, womba" with every train.

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- John
I Snap Flyers

Yeah I have noticed a lot of "shimmy" on the pull up's and downs and even when the tower sways. I didnt think the tower would sway as much as it does. I would really like to be one to inspect the tower though, the view must be great :)

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2003 Stats: Top Thrill Dragster: 12
Magnum XL-200: 55
32 trips to the Point

you said the transition sways, what is the transition??
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Cedar Point, The Roller Coast!!

The curve, or 'transition' from horizontal to vertical.
*** This post was edited by bholcomb 10/2/2003 5:27:45 PM ***

The tower sways? I've only seen the track and the supports sway following the building on the launch going vertical, but does the tower really sway or what?

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TTD: 6 (Rollbacks seen: 24)
MF: 20
WT: 9

*** This post was edited by MrFat699 10/2/2003 9:39:40 PM ***

I have reason to believe we will see some diagonal supports put into place over the off season. The swaying, on the transision(s), are contributing to rollbacks. It's actually creating an alternating friction plane. Throw a ball straight down the hallway, then, throw it against the wall at an angle. Which method gets it down the hallway faster? There is no concern with the towers minimal deflection, though. It's within acceptable limits.

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Dead end job? Living in circles? Copy/paste http://www.referralware.com/home.jsp/844769856 into your browser to get to early retirement, now.

There are diagonal supports in-line with the brake track, so why not a similar, lateral support for the pull-up. Sure, it means digging a few new footings, but that's not all that difficult.

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--Seth