New Coaster Track

My sincerest apologies if this has been brought up, and please just ignore this if it has (Everyone tends to be rough on the new guy!), but it looks like the new track in the project area shows signs of being used?

The reason I ask is because I've watched many specials regarding coaster technology and know that they are all built to exacting specs and somewhat assembled to ensure everything is perfect. However, I've never known a manufacturer that has built the entire coaster and tested it before shipping.

Is this possible, and if so, was it due to the extreme nature of this new design or the history of problems with new Intamin technology at CP?

Do you have a link to a picture of the piece of track in question?

I may just be nuts, but it looks like wheels have already ridden over this track!

http://www.pointbuzz.com/Gallery.aspx?a=499

I think know what he is talking about.

If you look at the staging area you will see that some of the supports and tracks show some nicks and a little rust. Although I doubt that the track is old it has just been beat up on its way to CP.

EDIT: Wording. *** Edited 7/28/2006 2:18:57 PM UTC by CP4eva'04***

I understand that pieces get a little beat up after they are manufactured and shipped, but the track sections show wear on the surfaces like trains have already been on them.

If you look here, here and here, you will see that its a feature of Intamin track.

I'm not sure what it is, but the wheel tracks (where the wheels will run) is either not painted, or primer only or some high-wear protective paint (I don't remember which exactly). So its not that the coaster has been set up and run then disassembled and shipped its the way the track is designed.

(TTD has the same thing)

I'm guessing he's saying it looks "used" because the paint is worn off where the wheels ride. But, the track comes from the factory that way. I'm really not sure if there's a reason for that or not, but that's how they come.

They also get shipped in big containers and bounce around. This will chip paint off and make them look "used". But, in fact, they are all brand new. You can tell at the joints and flanges because the paint isn't worn off where a bolt head or nut would be. This coaster definitely hasn't been installed anywhere else yet.

oops - i started this reply and left it sit for a couple minutes before submitting. then others replied before me with the same answer. LOL!! sorry guys. *** Edited 7/28/2006 2:26:52 PM UTC by halltd***

Intamin builds their rides with spots for the wheels to run already on the track. For example:

MillenNium Force:

http://www.pointbuzz.com/Gallery.aspx?i=1266

Wicked Twister:

http://www.pointbuzz.com/Gallery.aspx?i=1285

Top Thrill Dragster:

http://www.pointbuzz.com/Gallery.aspx?i=1998

It just seems that this time, Intamin decided to not make the wheel paths white.

Edit: Jugga, I swear I didn't see your post first. It would have been funny if we'd linked to exactly the same pictures. :) *** Edited 7/28/2006 2:28:04 PM UTC by Jeff Young***

Thanks to all for your input! The links that John posted clearly show that other coasters have arrived with the same look.

Sorry for any new conspiracy!

Regards...

I posted to say what all of you just said, and none of you had said yet. I hate Dial-Up;)

At least you didnt get the "natives restless" like the 20 useless threads yesterday. Great Questions!:).

Suppose the track is painted that way to possibly avoid some of the "break-in" time when track that is completely painted is used? Maybe it has to do with the wheels used on the trains and/or speeds of the coasters. Maybe it keeps the ride more smooth by avoiding build-up of paint chips on the wheels? Perhaps it helps avoid excessive downtime on the new coasters (such as WT, MF and TTD...I mean, they're hardly ever down, right? HAHAHAHA).

There's obviously a reason for it, but what that reason is, who knows.

The real question is how they can get the lines exactly where the wheels ride?

i'm thinking the bigger question is how do they line up all those bolts, footings support columns and track pieces so it all makes one nice coaster. that's always amazed me. :)

Ok weird question here. But does Intamin do that on all of their coasters? Either I'm not looking hard enough or they don't but I don't recall seeing the white striped on the uhhh... I refuse to say the abominable name! Let's just say the tallest and fastest coaster in the world.

I think that they do it in some form or another on their coasters. Sometimes it's white, and other times it's just a different tone of the track color.

Yes I do believe Intamin does it with all of their coasters. I think the white line fades just as the rest of the paint does, making it a little harder to see after a few years of operation.

Yeah I'm pretty sure they do that with all their coasters:

http://www.rcdb.com/ig2832.htm?picture=14

I'm sure Dave knows the real answer, but I'm wondering if it's there to make lining up the parts easier.

Well with as fast as the coasters that Intamin goes, it makes sence to have the white lines on the track sections. Overtime the trains would probably create the lines anyway.