Quick Question, Oil

I know that my home park KW, Oils the Jackrabbit's, Racer's, and Thunderbolt's tracks each morning before opening. Is there any reason that CP dosin't oil there woodies tracks?

Thanks

Who said they don't? I don't know if they use oil on Mean Streak, but I'm fairly certain they use some kind of graphite material.

The CF parks use grease on the bearings and a powdered graphite lubricant on the rails. You'll be hardpressed to find too many parks that still use grease on the tracks due to cost, ease of use, and environmental concerns.

I don't think it happens *every* morning at CP, but it does have to happen periodically.

Lubricating the track every morning seems like a lot to mee.

I have not been there this year but from previous years CP doesn't do very well in oiling department for woodies. Sorry but it's true. Blue Streak has been screaming for grease for two years now, the Mean Streak for even longer, it's so bad that I want to volunteer to do it myself! PLEASE grease your woodies. It's so much easier on the wheels and track. They will sound better too. The grease is good for the wood too.

If what is on there is the graphite lubricant, they either need to put more on, more often, or switch products. I can see hard puddles of it on the station track and I know it heats up as the day progresses, but it still doesn't smear around enough to do anything for them. Woodies are work to maintain, but well worth it in the long run. Maybe I am wrong and they do put a lot of it on, but they just don't seem to be right.

Several people have told me that CP has switched to a different track lubricant at least on Mean Streak.

That may well be. Mean Streak is running better this season than it has in years, and a front-seat examination reveals very little new wood on the track. In any case, they are doing something different on Mean Streak, and it has made a huge difference.

Oh, and they have removed one of the brake calipers from Mean Streak's first drop. Now if we could just get them to remove the other two, that might be a decent ride...!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I thought Mean Streak felt different this year. It seemed to maintain more speed than in previous years... There were some pretty good laterals on a few turns... I was impressed... but not overly excited...

I agree with you Dave... just remove those other 2 calipers, and we may have a good ride on our hand. From what I hear PKI did quite the overhaul on SOB... Maybe CP will follow suit with Mean Streak.... wishful thinking....

I'll have to agree with Phantom, KW does a much nicer job maintaining their wooden coasters. All three there are in terrific shape as far as ride quality goes.

I will never ride Big Dipper again at GL after opening day. I also couldn't believe how awful Villain was too. I would venture a guess to say Mean Streak falls somewhere in between those two.

Just my $.02.

Ok, I have questions about this powdered graphite lubricant... from what information I found on it, it washes off with water, costs more then traditional grease and does not protect from moisture. Am I looking at the same stuff and everyone else seems to be? Powdered graphite itself would be more environmentally friendly, but the costs outweigh the benefits.

I see nothing like oil on the track so they must not be mixing it with light oil or anything else. All I see is rust. The specs on this lubricant say you can mix it 50/50 with water but most of the time it's used in an enclosed area like for locks, bearings, and screws. If it dissolves with water that easily then what good is it outdoors? A few sources say it draws moisture out of the air to lubricate, isn't that bad news for the tracks? I personally prefer to keep my rails and wood soaked with grease. The steel runners tend to last a lot longer that way.

Every lubricant has an appropriate application and I just don't think this is the appropriate lubricant for the job.