Holes in the front cars of Force.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't MF have silver "disks" that opened and closed in the holes in the front car. The last time I rode it, the holes were empty. If I am right, what were the disks for?

Millennium has never had any disks or type of cover over those holes. Check out the pics in the galleries.

I hate my typos. *** Edited 6/23/2004 1:52:42 AM UTC by Rihard 2000***

The holes in the nose are there because the front axle rolls independently of the rest of the car. You can see tops of the wheel assemblies pivot into or near the holes in turns. For a more vivid picture, look at Wicked Twister's last axle (back of the train), and imagine a hood over it.

was this before or after the metal plates on the front car were taken off?

What metal plates?

There's always been holes in the front.

http://pointbuzz.com/Gallery.aspx?i=1172

The reasone it looks like there are meal plates is because of the wheel assembly. Ride front seat and you will be able to tell for yourself.

Meal plates, YUMMY! :)

no when the ride opened on the front car there were metal plates and I think the next operating year they were replaced by plastic covers. If you were at the point when they still had the metal covers you could hear the front two people banging on them all the way up the lift and threw the ride.

Qaz- your talking about the stainless steal that the nose of the train was made out of. In the original post, monster asked if the holes in the front car had metal covers over them. The answer is no.

I can understand the part about the front axle being independent from the rest of the train but why the holes? Is it for maintenance reasons?

According to the lemon chill guy, gophers made the holes. They had to call in Bill Murray and some dynamite. He accidentally misplaced one and blew some parts to TTD and one of the towers of Vertigo . ;)

The holes are for clearance. If they weren't there, the wheel assembly would hit the underside of the train's nosepiece.

It's probably not something you pay attention to while riding, but if you look at those holes while the train is negotiating a rapid change in banking, the tops of the wheel assembly come awfully close to those holes if not slightly through those holes.

Top Thrill Dragster has the same setup, only that it is fully exposed.

Here's TTD

Here's MF

(They're not my pictures so don't look at me for taking POV shots) *** Edited 12/13/2004 9:05:20 PM UTC by Gomez***