Little Black Things at the Top of Wicked Twister

This might be a really stupid question, but here it goes:

What are the two little silver/black things at the top of each spike on the Wicked Twister? Do they have a meaning? I would post a picture showing the mysterious things in question, but I don't know how...

Just curious....

You can see them at this link
http://ripleytk.com/wickedtwisterpic.html

Correct me if I'm wrong, but are they part of the breaking system or some type of bumper? Just a guess

That was my personal guess, too.

They are a bumper in case the train over shoots.But to my knowlage, it has never happend.

So, if the system does over shoots the train, those little black things stop the train from flying off the track? That's comforting...

^Better than having NO little black things to stop the train :) Don't think I want to be on that thing if it keeps accelerating enough to hit the black things though.

^True. It's just a creepy thought of the train popping all the way up to hit those little bumpers...

^Actually, most if not all non continuous circuit launch coasters have the same if not similar same device on the ride. I think Anton Schwarzkopf was the first designer to make the shuttle launch and he integrated those bumpers on his rides.

Okay! Thanks for all the information!

I was on Surf Dog at KI, and it too has black bumpers at each end. I was a afraid a few times of actually hitting them.

Just a thought. If that ever did happen where the train hit the bumper, would that hurt? It's probably a stupid question, but just curious.

Depending on the speed I would say it could vary from a slight jarring to a severe jolt which could result in a neck injury.

I wonder if they had to test this? I would think they would just to insure that it would actually be effective. I'd like to see that video.

ja ha ja ha ha ha neck injury sounds funny ja ha!

Well, could the machines that blast the train ever malfunction and blast the train any faster than 72 MPH? I mean, that could be scary to be trapped on Wicked Twister, constantly getting launched at 90-something MPH, and constantly hitting those bumpers, possibly breaking bones or sustaining other injuries...

The way I picture it in my mind is if a train hit one of the bumpers at a good speed it could snap part of the track/spike. Thats probably not how it would actually happen, but thats how I see it.

If the bumpers are hit, it E-stops the ride. So no getting "trapped" in an endless doom of whiplash lol

There is nothing little about the stoppers. They have several feet of travel, so it's not just an abrupt stop.

Considering that the train should theoretically never hit those bumpers at a high speed, the system pictured in Jeff's post seems like it would be very effective. The train would be e-stopped either automatically by those bumpers, or if that didn't do it I'm sure the ride op would e-stop. I can't think of any mechanical malfunction that would cause the train to do anything but bump those, even though they look like they were designed to absorb quite a lot of force.

Nickster said:
I mean, that could be scary to be trapped on Wicked Twister, constantly getting launched at 90-something MPH, and constantly hitting those bumpers, possibly breaking bones or sustaining other injuries...

Maybe that's the new ride, be like being stuck in a pinball machine :) At the end of the ride, everyone gets tickets to redeem at the arcade.