Corkscrew Incident

More
1 of 3
2
3

Friend of mine just sent me this link:

https://twitter.com/SteveNo...6452403202

Apparently a sizable chunk of a wheel on Corkscrew flew off the ride. Nobody injured, ride immediately closed.

2003 - Wicked Twister
2004 - Wicked Twister/Top Thrill Dragster

Swing launch for corkscrew confirmed

It didn’t hurt anyone and if it reopened didn’t damage the ride. Having worked a summer at the Photo Booth in the Dinosaurs Alive area the year it opened. The number of wheels Millennium blew apart above us was uncountable. This tweet just comes across as fear mongering because of TTD.

Yeah…after clicking on the Twitter link and reading how Steve Norris tweets, he is just making a big deal about things that happen all of the time.

Was that wheel on backwards?

I heard that it was still running. Can anyone confirm this? I mean, no reason it couldn't. A lot of posts on FB smearing it and saying this is the last season for it. People won't be happy until CS, CCMR, Gemini are replaced. I personally enjoy these coasters.

Last edited by vwhoward,

Joe
Eat 'em up, Tigers, eat 'em up!

The wheel tires have a finite life, which is known by ride maintenance. It's not so accurate that you could set your watch by it. Most of the time they change them out well before something like this happens. Sometimes they fail well short of the norm. The design is such that the train can come safely back to the station where it can be switched out.

Yeah, but where's the sensationalism in that rational explanation?

Sometimes this can happen with brand new wheels as well if the compound was made improperly or they did not have long enough to cure. The wheels have stickers on them that say "do not use before" so that the maintenance staff knows when they've had long enough to cure. Not saying that's what happened here, but I've seen a run of lousy wheels before.

-Matt

Just because this didn't hurt anyone or damage the ride doesn't mean it isn't kind of concerning right? I'm an outsider on these things but 'Don't worry wheels break off mid ride all the time' isn't a reassuring message here.

But they do LOL. It was just obvious this time because it happened over a part of the ride that went over the midway. And it was just the polyurethane “tire” that the metal wheel is wrapped in. Other than a bumpy ride for that car, there was no danger to anyone onboard.

CP Alum ‘06-‘10

Considering it’s Corkscrew, it actually may have made the rest of the ride smoother.

Last edited by Jordan_Vanichek,

Ok let's take the enthusiast glasses off. CP just got through a separate incident where a part flew off a moving train (though they may still be in litigation) and it sure seems like they got lucky it didn't happen again. They can't be pleased with this.