Another scary thing at CedarPoint

While attending the glorious park mentioned above, on sunday the 19th, I was next in line for raptor and the train was leaving the station. Everyhing going according to plan; harness check, floor drop, all clear, dispatch, then "WWWHOOOOOAAAA!" "STOP!" "STOP"! Some moron decided it would be cool to un-buckle his seat-belt before he got out of the station! C'mon, if you're going to do something dumb, at least have the sense not to do it in front of a ride-op. It turned out just to take a minute or so, but it scared me when all the ride-ops (good-job their doing, too) started screaming at the booth to stop the train.

P.S. - Vertigo is incredible, insane, and worth every penny.

mrinkspot@aol.com

Are you sure the word you heard wasn't "hold?" I had to call my own "hold" last year when I noticed an undone seat belt (woman's purse hit it, I even saw it happen cause I was on controls)
They're lucky it was called before the train was completely out of the station because on those "delays" on the lift hill that many of us have seen-those are caused when a "hold" is called after the train is at a certain point. That is why it stops on the hill and one of us lucky duckies have to run up the hill and ask the rider to fix/redo their seat belt
Yea some people are just plain stupid
Lucky its only like 1-1000

Jo
2000 Raptor Crew
2001 Raptor Crew
Gemini 100 "Survivor"
Po!nter Girl-FOREVER! :)
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Welcome back Raptor riders-how was your flight??

*** This post was edited by LuvRaptor on 8/21/2001. ***

...but that's still about 30 a day, right? :)

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MF count: 20

Are you sure the word you heard wasn't "hold?"

Actually I noticed that it didn't sound "proper" when they all shouted "WHOA!". At least two of them said "WHOA!".

Not to nit-pick... just answereing a question...

adios,

mrinkspot@hotmail.com

At Magnum we were supposed to yell "STOP" at the top of our lungs while making the "X" with our arms. The person on spiels then slams an "X" up against the window and yells "STOP" again. I do believe that most of the other coasters use "HOLD" though and basically either one yelled loudly was enough to get my thumb off the dispatch button (just ask Frank). Not to belittle this topic, but stopping or holding a train really isn't all that uncommon. It happens probably at least a couple times a day on each coaster if I were to guess. As Jo said though, it is best if the train can be stopped in the station so that running out to the lift and causing a minute or two of downtime is not necessary.
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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I belive(not 100% sure, someone help me out) most of the newer coasters have a advance dispatch button located at the end(or middle) of the station. I belive if someone takes there finger off that button the train in the station will stop. Some coaster I think have a e-stop button under the advance dispatch button. Like I said I am not 100% sure...

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Andrew Hyde
http://www.experiencethepoint.com
Author- Experience The Point: The Unofficial Guidebook To Cedar Point.

I've seen a Magnum ride op slam his arms making an X against the window and yell stop before.

When I was at Cedar Point in July, watched a friend get stopped on the lift hill because a guy on his train had a seat belt unbuckled...

Yea Andrew, most newer coasters have the co-dispatch button at the back of the platform. At Magnum to stop the train, all that had to be done was for the controls person to take their thumb off of dispatch. Unfortunately, if the train is 3/4 out of the station, its not going to stop (too much momentum and only one set of brakes left). It's going to slip through and it will have to be stopped at the bottom of the lift. As a side note, I know there was some fairly serious discussion about installing a co-dispatch button at Magnum for next season. Honestly, it has worked fine for 13 seasons this way, what is the need to change things now?

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Having a co-dispatch button allows for more than one person to quickly stop the train. Someone standing at the co-dispatch area in the rear of the station may be able to see a problem the main operator does not. And if it is something requiring the train to stop immediately, that person has the controls to do so. Arguably then that setup would be safer than just having controls limited to the main operator alone.

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-Brian
I really should be working...

I would actually maintain that on Magnum, a co-dispatch button might do just the opposite. When fully staffed, the two people checking the back of the train usually come back up to the middle of the train and look down at the lapbars and seatbelts in the back half of the train as it goes out (along with the two in the front and the person on spiels doing the same thing). Having one person stand all the way in the back of the station holding a button would take away one of those people that watches the train as it dispatches. The only thing this person is going to have any kind of view of is the very back car. I don't think the stopping of the train would necessarily be any faster than it is now. As it is now, if a train needs to be stopped, it gets stopped. Basically, the key thing is that if something is wrong it gets caught. If the train slips through the station and has to be stopped on the lift then so be it, but I'd rather have that extra person watching the train as it goes out then holding a silly button. As it is now, the person on spiels basically IS the co-dispatch button as he/she looks for all the thumbs, gives the two knocks and the clear. I supposed if they put the button in the middle of the platform, it would be better, but honestly, I don't think I've ever seen this done - there has to be some kind of reason that I'm just not thinking of.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I agree Matt. As safe as a computer can be humans do it best. The operator on Magnum can see everything on the platform pretty well when on Raptor for example the operator can't see so well do to the trains(which is a good reason to have a co-dispatch, just to help the main controls person out). On Mine Ride I belive there is a co-dispatch button in the middle. Magnum could have one on the loading side on one of the columns but I don't think it is needed. Once someone notices something wrong it is almost to late to stop the train. If I remember right... the brakes on Magnum are like this:

Unloading
_________________________
..--- ...... --- ....... ---
_________________________

The dotted lines is the brakes and the regular lines in the track. The dots don't mean anything I used them to get the computer to space out the dotted lines. Since there is nowhere to mount a co-dispatch button in the middle of load side(the two columns are off center) it would have to be mounted between the first and second set of brakes. But by the time car 5 comes between the first set and the second set it would be almost impossible to stop defeating the purpose of the button.

Its been over 2 weeks since I rode Magnum and I never worked any ride/roller coasters, so Matt(and anyone else) please correct me if I am wrong...

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Andrew Hyde
http://www.experiencethepoint.com
Author- Experience The Point: The Unofficial Guidebook To The Point

*** This post was edited by Andrew on 8/30/2001. ***

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