Magnum

Apporiximately, how much of the summer did they run 6 last year? Between the blue side having problems, and slow attendence, what % of the season do you think they ran 6 trains?

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MF count: 23

About 4 of the 7 times I was there, CP_bound.

It depended on weather it was before or after the replacement of parts on the b-side lift. Once the parts were replaced, they could only run 2 trains without having lift shutdowns and C-setting the ride (Am I right Sabrina? Dan? Amy? Frankie?)

But when they could only run 2 on B side they still ran 3 on A side so you won't see that anymore either.

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VertiGo Rides - 82 (2001)
And looking forward to more!!!

*** This post was edited by Red Garter Rob on 1/31/2002. ***

I'm not convinced of that. When they added seat belts, remember, lots of people thought that would be the end of 6-train operation on Gemini. If they do it right, I think they can pull it off. Real estate might be a bigger problem. I saw a setup on the Corkscrew at Silverwood that might be a good starting point.....
Of course, replacing the seat belt buckles with a model that is easier to fasten would gain a few extra seconds right there...!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Gemini = 3,400 PPH. Let's keep it that way! :)

If CP uses what Talon or Power Tower use -electromagnetically latched gates - for the retrofit, they shouldn't have a problem.

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

Good call there... also don't really have to worry about all the linking of the gates to a single motor under the station or above the guests, which would really detract from the way the station looks, nice and open.
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VertiGo Rides - 82 (2001)
And looking forward to more!!!

Okay, but there isn't any space. How about a spring-loaded version of the Millennium Force gate, with a high-speed latching mechanism...it would be difficult with a double gate to put a magnetic lock on the gate itself, but if the pivot shaft extended to beneath the platform, a lever arm directly below the gate could be used, and a single magnetic lock there could serve both sides of the gate. A small buzzer on the gate support and a traffic light on the wall opposite could serve to indicate, "Okay, PUSH!" to the riders, and the result could be significantly faster than any of the mechanized gates out there. Safer, too, as there is no way the gate is going to unexpectedly close on somebody.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Hopefully CP is paying attention to some of these suggestions although I'm sure as far as what's going to happen this season, it's already set in stone. Hopefully they'll come up with a better solution than they did on Iron Dragon because Gina informs me they were a pain in the butt to deal with over there. MF's aren't bad since they're double gates and they don't completely block an op from walking up and down on that side of the train. I didn't get the chance to see how Talon's system works - could someone explain for me?

Whatever they do, my big issue is that they are on the way open as the train stops. Even a second or two delay makes it just that much more dificult for ops to hit interval.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

(Based on descriptions since I haven't actually seen Talon...)

Train stops. Gates unlock.
Gates lock.
Train goes.

Note that there is nothing in there about gates opening and closing. The gates are spring-biased to remain closed (like all of those exit doors on so many rides at CP) and riders shove them open to board the train. The nice thing about that setup is that the doors are only open when people are actually going through them, and they will open just as fast as people can push them.

The only place I've been that has push-gates is Silverwood, where they are used on the Corkscrew. On that ride, the gates don't latch at all, but they are spring-loaded to close. I noticed that people tended to be a little timid about opening them because there is no "It's time to board now..." signal given and people tend to expect them to open automagically like they do on Tremors and Timber Terror.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

That would be an excellent setup in my opinion. The only issue I could see with something like that is with the variety of types of gates in the park, people would then go to other rides (MF, Mantis, ID, etc) and try to push the (automatic) gates open. This probably isn't such a big deal since many people do this anyway. Hopefully they've thought it out well so there isn't a ton of problems with them.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

The idea of gates doesn't rattle me to much, but in a way, they would help alot with the crew by not having to say "PLEASE stay behind the yellow line!!!",

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"Its the ride, not the records"

I hate the idea of gates on Magnum! It will be a big pain in the neck for Dan or myself during our daily marathons! :)

I remember Scott making a point last fall about it. Notice how Corkscrew cut the handrails farther back. I think this would help with the "STANDING BEHIND YELLOW LINE" issue. When you think about it,most people don't purposely stand on it. It's a natural thing to walk to end of handrail.

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http://www.magnummania.com
jerry@magnummania.com

Jerry, welcome back! Yes they did add the gates. I saw them a few weeks back.

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Danny J
Magnum Count: 2166
www.spiritofthepoint.com

Haha, yea Jerry - it won't be as easy for the Magnum crew to naturally look for you running up every time there is single seat open! ;)

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Yeah true but gates do cut back on people standing on the yellow line.

"I Did It And I'm Glad,Glad Ya Hear Me GLAD."

Dammit I never thought of that Matt & Jerry, that is going to kill us when we are riding alone on marathon days looking for single riders. I just do it in the name of capacity to help the ride get its numbers as high as possitble.

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Danny J
Magnum Count: 2166
www.spiritofthepoint.com

I remember nearly getting caught a few times as a single rider on Mantis trying to cut through the line into an empty seat... Not easy.

As for Raptor, why does any traditional inverted coaster need gates? (This, of course, excludes WT for obvious reasons.) There is no track to fall into, and if someone does trip, I imagine an op could hit an e-stop button to shut the train down.

What I want to know is what kind of basis they have for doing this? Have people been falling into the track that we don't know about? I imagine that there would still be the yellow line there anyway, so they'll probably keep the 'stay behind the yellow line' part of the spiel.

I heard somewhere that, before you decide to spend money on change, you have to first evaulate one main aspect. What will this improve? Then, you ask yourself if it is worth the cost. In this case, it basically saves nothing, and for that reason, it is automatically not worth the cost.

Of course, if they decide to make it a statewide legislation, we're all pretty screwed. Maybe they'll get the point that the manufacturer's specs are supposed to be safe, and anyone with any (and I mean ANY) amount of intelligence whatsoever will be able to keep themselves from falling into anything.

Well, you must remember one simple fact, people are stupid! I hate to see the gates going in, but it will stop some of the law suit-happy people from doing anything stupid.

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-Chris Woodard
"Mean Streak would be better if they replaced the square wheels with round ones."
VertiGo: VertiGone but not forgotten.

GenuineCynic said:
As for Raptor, why does any traditional inverted coaster need gates?

Could have something to do with that 25-foot drop out of the station, I'm guessing.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Just watch! Once I get there,the gates won't work! LOL :)

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http://www.magnummania.com
jerry@magnummania.com