gemini trims

I am trying to comprehend the logistics of tightening two seatbelts per bench with six trains. I think they would have to add a tenth position--c-brake guest psycholgist. (No, you AREN'T going to die, we just set-up again...it has become part of the ride!)

And, I can assure you that there is NO possible way to run Gemini with more than six trains. RideMan gave more than adequate reasons why.

For some odd reason, an urban legend has sprung up regarding past super-efficiency. I think some past employees have a haughty memory of themselves. My first summer, a former employee started rambling ad nauseum about running eight trains. Although I might be jaded, my mom worked at the park in '78 and was 99% positive that the capacity has not changed whatsoever.

Long live the dynasty.

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I am still the Geminazi!

rawr!

Worse than that would be all the chipped teeth and whiplash claims from that sudden stop on the safety brake (is that C or D?). It's a situation where adding seat belts would result in MORE INJURIES on the ride. Makes it pretty obvious why they switched to the shared belts! I just don't see why they can't go with a more user-friendly buckle design!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

yeah, the buckles on most of the rides with individual lapbars except MF are centered so when you push the lapbar down the buckles press right into your stomach (if not lower). If they would put the buckles a little off center it would be much better I think.

Actually that's the problem I think. On Blue Streak and Mean Streak the male end of the belt is too short (OK, that sounded bad) and when you go to buckle it, it's hard for some to see and buckle because it's pinned down against the seat against the legs.

I don't understand why they don't have the "American buckle" on rides like Gemini, Blue Streak, Mean Streak. It's already found and Magnum and Mine Ride which most people don't seem to have problems with. Those aren't heavy and are close to center.

The reason the "male end" or outside belts are short on Blue Streak and Mean Streak is because bad things would happen if a seat belt would happen to get caught outside the train, say between a wheel and the rail. Minimally, the outside belt is kept short so the buckle doesn't ding and scratch the paint on the outside of the train. The seats on PTC trains sit so low that if the belts were long enough to reach, they could indeed reach the track.

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Scott W. Short, Rail Junkie
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

Indeed; I've seen Bad Things happen on Blue Streak when it had shared belts...a Beams #800 seat belt buckle is enough to stop a coaster train dead in its tracks if it gets caught between the running board and the platform.

I know that on Mine Ride they have had trouble with the pushbutton buckles because if the belt drags outside the train and bounces on the platform, it breaks. That doesn't happen with the big metal buckles. Also, the little plastic buckles can more easily slide down under the seat cushion where they can get tangled in the track if it's a back seat on a wood coaster.

But why can't they use a self-centering version of the big metal buckles...that is to say, an aircraft-style buckle, as found on the Hersheypark Wildcat and Lightning Racer? Those are still steel lift-latch buckles, but the latch plates are self-centering and it's a lot easier to tell which end of the buckle you're supposed to attach it to.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

That makes sense Scott, I have always wondered why they did that.

What type of belts does the Raven and Legend have? I thought they were similar to what Magnum had. Whatever they use on theirs I think would work better on BS and MS. Not only because they are about twice as long but I saw nobody have problems figuring out which end goes where.

The one thing I noticed is when there was an empty seat, the belts on Raven and Legend had to be attached through the lap bar. Could this be to restrict it's movment?

Holiday World uses diminutive automotive-style push-button seat belts throughout the park.

One potential problem is that the buckle is small enough to fit into the gap at the back of a seat cushion, which might be the reason for fastening the belt around the lap bar on an open seat.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.