magnum modifications

i was reading a time line here on pointbuzz and in 1990 it said "Modifications made to Magnum XL-200" i was just wondering if anyone knows what these modifications were, if anyone knows what it was, please post it here, it will be greatly appreciated

thanks, vince

The pretzel was made safer and so were some supports down there.

Hi Vince!

From what I've heared, they made some changes to the bottom of a hill (the 2nd?). They were major and a year or 2 after the ride became operational. Many here can give you more info than that basic stuff.

Did you know that CP Maintence walks Maggies trail every operational day? I had a lot of fun talking to one of them out by the pretzel turn on a cool June morning. There is much more that goes into runnig that place than anyone of us knows.

MrScott

yea they do do a great job maintaining rides, i saw a how on the discovery channel and it said that they inspect the all of the bolts on dragster very often, i dont remember how often though.

i cant imagine walking the whole track of a roller coaster, that would be awesome. park maintenance does a spectacular job at keeping the park running, without them the rides would not be able to operate. all of the staff at cedar point deserves to be thanked by everyone to keep the park functioning well.

Man, riding a rollercoaster is one thing, but walking the track would just be awesome.

I can just imagine walking down a hill with my hands up;).

-S. Eagle

One of, if not the only, modifications made was they replaced the upstop pads with wheels. Yes, it had pads at first, not wheels.

in english?

They also, if I remember correctly, re-profiled the third hill. If you look closely, you can see where the old portions of track used to connect to the supports.

I may be wrong but weren't the trims located at the top of the third hill at one time?

I thought, originally, there were no trims on Magnum. They were part of the modifications made during that first winter.

At one point, the entire turnaround was replaced, as well...I think that was during the '96 season. Well, it was replaced before the '96 season, but there were problems with the transitions into and out of the new track, so additional sections had to be replaced mid-season.

At some point, presumably during the first winter, the third hill was reprofiled, and the brakes were moved to the bottom of the hill where they are now.

During the '89 season, there was an extended shut-down in which the seat padding was changed, the upstop wheels were added, and other stuff was done...that may be when the trims were added at the top of the third hill.

Pete or Walt, you probably know this timeline better than I do...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

WHAT??! Rideman needing back-up on a ride related topic? (don't worry, happens to the best of us)

*Phone rings*

Hello?

Oh hi Satan. What's that? Its getting really cold down there? Its starting to freeze? Well, can't say that I'm really suprised, I had some forewarning. Alright, I'll pass the news on.

*Hangs up phone*

RideMan / Dave is correct about the reprofiling done after the first season - the bottom of the third hill was raised significantly.

During the first season the positive G's at the bottom of the third hill were so intense it was very difficult to keep your arms up - but that didn't stop me from trying. I vividly recall attending the first CoasterMania event (called Magnum Mania), riding 13 times and leaving with bruises on my elbows from my arms slamming down. (There were also reports / rumors of people being injured when they leaned forward and their heads hit the car.) During the season a trim was added at the top of the third hill to slow the trains, and I believe some padding as well.

If you used the search feature you'd already know this.

I have an image that I can't locate right this minute, but if you look at the support around the trims, you can see the horizontal I-beams where the track used to connect. It went a lot lower that year.

Walking the track is cool because not many people get to go out under the ride by the beach and turnaround, but walking the tunnels is pretty sweet.

The third tunnel's hill looks A LOT steeper when you're wtalking down the ramp than when you are on the ride. The 2nd and 3rd tunnels are pretty eerie, especially walking in them the opposite direction of the way the trains travel. It looks like a completely different ride.

The extended shutdown occurred in conjunction with a lift chain break. They fixed the chain and put a trim brake on the top of the third hill. Before the brake, you really slammed back into the seat at the bottom of the third hill. This was probably too much for some people.

The reprofiling of the third hill came the first winter, as did the upstop wheels. Magnum ran the entire first year with the upstop pads.

The angle/bank of the pretzel was replaced. The bank used to be over move. Merry X-mas

I'm not sure how many enthusiasts know this, but the Discovery Channel web site has a video from before the reprofilings. The trims are still at the top of the third hill, and the third hill hasn't been modified yet. The video gives a pretty good idea of what that section of the coaster was like before it was reprofiled. When I find it, I'll post a link.
*** Edited 12/25/2004 10:19:45 PM UTC by jmicha***