Dates on Track

When I was In line, if you look to your right, up by the station, some of the peices of track have dates written on them. Something like 3/10/06. What does that mean?

I believe that is the date that the bolts on that piece of track were checked with the torque wrench. Its a way of marking off the pre-season inspection.

I believe John is correct. That way they can check if a bolt is 'loose' throughout the season without actually torquing it.

Yes, I believe the put the date is was checked for inspection along with a line on the bolt and flange. If these lines are ever offset, the bolt needs to be re-checked.

When your in line for Wicked Twister they even put what they torqued the main bolts of the the tower too 1650 ft lbs of torque. That sure is a lot , I wonder what the setting is for dragster?

in line for Wicked Twister they even put what they torqued the main bolts of the the tower too 1650 ft

Wow, I've always wondered what that meant...Kinda strange that I was always there and didn't know what it was...that makes a lot of sense now.

I've seen the lines and dates on all three "new" Intamins. There were a couple on TTD and WT that were all rusted and beat up meaning they must have to tighten them a lot. LOL!! Not sure if that makes me feel good or not. :)

Come to think of it, I think I've only seen it on MF, WT, & TTD... Is that one of those "Intamin rules?"

Maybe after the "bolt issue" on Kingda Ka, Intamin mandated bolt checks on their rides. Its on EVERY bolt that I saw on MF, TTD and WT. Or, maybe CP decided it would just be a good idea.

They did this on MF long before KK was even thought of.

They have this on all the coasters there, just not on every bolt. You just have to know where to look. And the date is when the bolt was last changed and/or checked. A lot get changed on dragster and raptor since they break more often than you would think.

So, when I bring my girlfriend to Cedar Point, is that considered one of those "Dates on Track"?

*buh-dum-bum*

Nice one. Anyways, you can see a lot of them while waiting in line for TTD. Almost every bolt has multiple lines and dates. Possibly this is due to the stress that the break run endures...you know, with the whole 120 mph train every minute or so all summer long...

Exactly :-D

everybody is wrong, the dates are for when they the steel was ultrasound tested.

so they can tell what kinda baby its having?? LOL!! you're on crack dude.

btw, yes i know they use ultrasound to test the steel for cracks during the fabrication process. but, that's not what the dates are for that we're talking about. does CP even USE ultrasound testing on their rides after they're constructed??

Trust me after working at Wicked Twister most of the summer this year, there is a lot of things that go into checking Wicked Twister every morning.

I don't mean that in any mean way at all just making conversation.

CP uses all the major forms of NDT as specified by the manufacturer or the NDT specialist who developed the program. They do dye penetrant, they do radiography (oddly enough), they do mag particle, and yes, they do ultrasound.

It's interesting; a lot of parks don't do their own radiography. CP does.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Actually, it only takes about 3 hours for maintenance to check WT at night, and sorry to say, that does not include checking the track. The tracks and supports are checked on the metal coasters just a couple times a year.

Let me rephrase what i said earlier, the LINES are when they were last checked/replaced, and the DATES were for when the lines were drawn :-D