Cable shavings hit 4 riders

Browntggrr said:

What wheels?

The old theming

I don't think the snapping of the return cable would cause launch problems unless it trips some sensors that cause the launch drum to shut down. Also, one of the posts on here, or one of the news reports, don't remember which, said that the people sat at the unload station for like 20 minutes before they were let out.

The cable would only rust if it was an untreated steel cable. I would imagine they are using some kind of steel alloy cable so that rust won't be a problem.

Goodbye MrScott

John

"I'm not riding Top Thrill Dragster, it's not safe!" ;)

Well I guess you can say one thing, it's gonna be a while 'til Intamin builds another ride for Cedar Point, or Cedar Fair for that matter.

I thought the train made it all the way over. If there was a rollback, then that explains the six minute wait until they could release the lapbars.

Scott W. Short
- Proud member of the Out-Of-Town Coaster Weirdos

Topthrill420 said:
I don't seem to see what happened.
Did the train actually launch all the way through? Since reading Dave's post, I would have thought that the train launched, then before the train hit the slope some cable, return or launch, snapped. If that was the case, then it probably would have rolled back. (Just like a normal rollback) But if the cable snapped sooner or later, the train might have made it all of the way over or it would have barely gone up the slope, maybe launching at... say 40-50 mph? That would have been the only launch that would have caused some concern to spectators.
This is pretty much a question for anyone who was there.

None of the reports has indicated a cable separation, only that there were flying bits of debris that apparently came from the cable.

This suggests that the cable didn't snap, that it functioned perfectly, but that something is *abrading* the rope, causing pieces of metal to come flying off the sides. It's also possible that the shards aren't coming from the rope, but rather are coming from whatever the rope is rubbing against. Either way, the ride would function perfectly (in a mechanical sense) until the damage to the rope is severe enough to cause a rope failure.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The train did make it all the way over. In checking the news accounts this morning, the kids are saying that they waited several minutes to be released from the train, which would not be 20. I am thinking that they said they were sitting in the front two rows, with a fifth person sitting further back.

And when the news showed the cable last night during the 5pm newscast, it looked like one of the cables that pulls the catch car to launch was hanging down at about a 90 degree angle from the path that it should be taking, which would indicate a broken cable.

Laura

On page 4, TopThrill420120 said, "I think that Cedar Point should just refrain from building new rides next year, and just take the entire off season to just try to completely get it running consistently(not that they aren't trying now) I think that a good number of people would prefer TTD to operate without constant breakdowns over a new coaster. I know I would. "

They already claimed to have done this between last year and this. Apparently, like an engineer said on another page, they need a cable made of other material. The ones they are using just aren't getting it. I can understand using the same cable twice as the first break could have been a fluke. But, after that, a red flag should go up somewhere, shouldn't it?

raptorgrl said:
The train did make it all the way over. In checking the news accounts this morning, the kids are saying that they waited several minutes to be released from the train, which would not be 20. I am thinking that they said they were sitting in the front two rows, with a fifth person sitting further back.
And when the news showed the cable last night during the 5pm newscast, it looked like one of the cables that pulls the catch car to launch was hanging down at about a 90 degree angle from the path that it should be taking, which would indicate a broken cable.
Laura

So i guess, One of the pulling cords snapped and It managed to launch it to speed on only one of the cables without snapping too. Although if one of the cords would have snapped, I would think that would cause an E-stop and release of the launch.

- Dennis
http://xtremecoasters.com/

raptorgrl,
Your signature is quite amusing considering the current situation of Dragster.
I still haven't seen any video of what it looked like from any news. Does someone know if one of the Sandusky stations has a video linked on their website?
John

Goodbye MrScott

John

I found another story from a site (which wont be mentioned)
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/3527570/detail.html

They are all thinking about taking action against cedar point but in the article one person says:
“We all had our arms up" which then completely puts all of them (at least the ones that got their arms hurt) at fault"
*** Edited 7/14/2004 3:57:19 PM UTC by Gerg***

Your signature is quite amusing considering the current situation of Dragster.

I know, but I can't help that I made that my signiature long before this happened. :) It's still my favorite toy in the park...broken, injury inflicting, or not...

Laura

(edited for grammar and spelling errors) *** Edited 7/14/2004 4:03:21 PM UTC by raptorgrl*** *** Edited 7/14/2004 4:13:43 PM UTC by raptorgrl***

There is nothing to see, as the ride didn't look any different.

In this morning's Plain Dealer, they stated that a spokeswoman for the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture said this is a minor incident, and the department is not investigating. So, as I said before, this really isn't a big deal. Any video of the ride would just show Dragster without any differences.

I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.

Browntggrr said:
Betty said:
Does it bother anyone else that the quickest they can get people off the ride in an emergency is 6 minutes?
Why, is the frame for TTD flammable now?

Browntggrr,

No, but I wouldn't want to wait 6 minutes to be released from my lap bar in the case of a tornado, cardiac arrest, or terrorist attack...

Hey, at least Fox 8 wasn't first to report it.

"I'm not riding Top Thrill Dragster, it's not safe!"

Thats Slick. Roller Coaster Tycoon! I have a good Idea why it took 6 minutes to unload. The coaster operates on block sensors correct? So, if a cable snapped I'm sure the computer would see it, and it would stop the system, which ment the next Train, wouldn't advance, and so on and so on, leaving a train occuping a unload spot.

Correct me if I'm alittle too wrong in my hypothesis.

TTD: 7 (Rollbacks seen: 32)
MF: 22
WT: 10

As far as i know, the cable didnt snap.

Is it just me, or is it wrong after all of this to have TTD the main photo on cedarpoint.com?

Well my first point to reply on this subject is that TTD is over what a 12 milion dollar project ? I dont think that they will remove it. When TTD launches the cable burns at the end of the track because it is moving so fast down the track, so coating the cable wouldnt help. I have a question does replacing a cable take that long ? I am going up friday and wanted to know if she will be up.

actually, 25 big ones.

And no it isn't wrong for them to put the pic of TTD on their website after all this ride is their baby, and they're pride and joy.