Magnum Construction Question

I know that this may sound odd (and I know Dan isn't here so I can't ask him) but when Magnum was in its final stages of construction was it true that when they went to put the final peice of track in place there was a several foot gap between the last two peices? I was just wondering if it was true and if anyone had pictures of the construction of the ride.

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long live the sky slide

There was an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer back during the contruction of Mantis that mentioned this. I don't have it here with me, but it said something along the lines of:

"The excellent Swiss engineering was noticable when crews placed the last piece of track. The gap was so small that not even a piece of paper would fit between. In contrast, the gap left between the last two pieces when constructing Magnum was over a foot."

This is, of course, paraphrased.

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James Draeger
"Make it stop!"
"There goes the body buggy"

Piece of trivia for ya gang..Magnum Dan wasn't even a fan of cp in 89 folks...He was a late bloomer!

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http://www.msu.edu/~armbrus9/cp.html
Who's Gonna Razz Dan til He Posts Again!

That still doesn't make sense though. To suggest that a gap would exist like that would be to suggest that they put down footers in order and track just behind it. That's obviously not true since the lift and the bunny hops sit on the same footers. I don't doubt that there was a more measurable gap, but give me a break.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

Seems a bit hard for me to believe as well...what, did the park just call Arrow up and have them manufacture that same last piece, only with an extra foot added on?

The one thing that should be remembered, though, is that at that point Arrow was still using a technique where they raised the supports, lowered the track, and then just welded the two together where the contact happened. Sure it was all calculated within a certain tolerance, but it sure wasn't what the companies can do today.

Take a look at a ride like Corkscrew and you'll see that the tops of the supports are just a flat, square section. The piece of track has a joint sticking out from it, but where that joint lands on the flat section of steel ranges all over from one support to the next.

A really good example of an Arrow "whoops" is the spine just after the second inversion on Corkscrew at Michigan's Adventure. It looks as though the spine was literally removed from the ties, flipped over, and welded back on.

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James Draeger
"Make it stop!"
"There goes the body buggy"

I still want to see the video of when they first fired up Magnum, and all of the people involved with its construction were in the station looking on as they hoped for the train to crest the second hill. I want to see everyone going nuts because it actually worked!

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June 28th: LocoBazooka Tour (Sevendust headlining)
July 11th: Korn, Puddle of Mudd, and Deadsy

I've heard about such a video too and I would love to see it. Supposedly Kinzel is standing there pleading for it to make it over the second hill and when it went over, there was much relief! :) That would be really interesting to see I think.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I also saw some black/white pics of Magnums construction. I wish there were more floating around.

CP's website had some pages set up for Maggie's tenth birthday back in 1999. I found the link to it and it has a few construction photos in color. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/inside_park/rides/thrill/magnum10/index.cfm

Dan was what 11 or 12 when Maggie was built? Anyway it's good to feel the Maggie love flowing over here. I was getting discouraged over on CBuzz.

;)

Well not dicouraged but you know what I mean.

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Welcome back Magnum riders how was your ride?

If you mean you just wanted to bridge cyberspace so that you could smack them for their remarks, then yes I feel the same way. :)

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June 28th: LocoBazooka Tour (Sevendust headlining)
July 11th: Korn, Puddle of Mudd, and Deadsy

Exactly Cp Bound

How can someone not love maggie? ;)

To me she is like my first car. I have some great memories with that old Oldsmobile. Great freinds, great road trips, freedom and some other stuff too ;) Maggie is the same way. My first lap in 89, i was 9 and I was so scared but Dave got me on it. I got stuck on the lift once for an hour and a half had to walk down but what a view and what an expierience. I remember Jen's first trip with me in 98. She was as scared as I was in 89, but we got on for a second time right afterwards.

Just like that Oldsmobile old, wore out, but what fun we had.
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Welcome back Magnum riders how was your ride?
*** This post was edited by Magnum Force 8/14/2002 9:58:31 PM ***

I know of at least one Arrow coaster that needed a mod at the end of construction because a piece didn't line up/fit correctly.

Oh, crud. You just made me think of what ride had that problem. Darn, I can't think of the name! Don't worry, I don't blame you for it.

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Andrew L. of Waterville, OH
So what's better; skydiving or riding in Raptor's front seat?

Is it just me, or is something wrong with this picture?

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/inside_park/rides/thrill/magnum10/images/column.jpg

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Rider
RIDE IT OUT!

MF: 5
WT: 0
MAG: Phh... After about 10 at once I stop counting. So take that as it is.

Yes, it's mirrored. That has always bothered me.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

It's not quite as bad as the mirrored image of Raptor's Cobra Roll that appeared on the cover of the borchure a few years back :o)

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James Draeger
"Make it stop!"
"There goes the body buggy"