Steel Vengeance

So setting all the drama of opening weekend aside,

lets play pretend....

IF they where able to get three train operation by midday Saturday or Sunday. what would the standby-line wait time have been? Havn't seen much info on this subject?

also, are they assigning seats?

Jeff, you're probably correct. I still would think that the design including number of sensors, motors, brakes, trains, etc and what was being installed where along with the "code," "ladder logic program," or whatever the proper term is to operate these devices and a plan of what device is wired to what I/O port of the controller would have been done a while ahead of time and just loaded onto the equipment and wired up accordingly onsite. I can't imagine they show up with some brakes, sensors, motors, wiring, and a laptop and just wing it from scratch on every ride. And then to go and modify the program after weeks of testing to work with three trains instead of two during the operating season seems like it would be a challenge to thoroughly test, shake down, etc without a whole lot of time to do it.

It's interesting stuff to me. I wish I knew more about the process that is followed.

Where's Rideman these days? :)

Last I saw him, he was sitting on a bench outside of Town Hall, and we had a little chat about this exact thing.

^^^ Probably around four hours.

I wonder if they have a program for each set of trains, ie: one for 1 Train ops, one for 2 Train, and one for 3 Train. In this case it could be that the "code" they came with, what had been developed based on the schematic of the rollercoaster didn't quite line up with the results from the live action testing. Therefore some tweaking is needed based on this new data. Probably with a rush to get the 2 Train code completed so that it could be run opening day, knowing the 3 Train could have a little more time as it could wait until summer.

That didn't quite work out as planned it seems though.

I wouldn't think so. I would think your software logic should work for any and all configurations, regardless of the number of trains operating at a given time.

So I had a control systems internship last summer and am going into PLC control systems full-time. I also had the chance to meet Brian and Anne last summer at an ACE event in Michigan.

First thing I can clarify is the entire set of instructions is still called a program. Usually the program is created in ladder-logic which is basically a visual programming language. There are other languages available, but ladder is the easiest to read when testing.

The biggest difference from traditional computers is a PLC program meant for one machine will NOT work on another machine; unless the second machine is a perfect copy of the original. This comes from the fact that the plans for the system hardware determine the number of inputs and outputs needed, and then the program is built based on the planned I/O list. The PLC itself usually does not have these input and output points on it, instead they are connected as separate components.

Hopefully that helps with some basic understanding.

Wow, very different from what I'm used to but very interesting. Ladder logic was originally a written method to document construction of relay racks. Very interesting Wiki article here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladder_logic

Yep. And the reason they originally used it for PLC programming was so the electricians, technicians and engineers didn't have a hard time understanding what the PLC was doing. The first PLCs in the 60's were basically a unit housing lots of virtual "relays".

Now PLCs are much more complex and can do a lot more than discrete logic. IEC 61131-3 defines the main language types and structures for PLCs. Industrial Ethernet protocols also have radically changed the way systems are laid out. No longer does everything need individual wires run all over. Just run (preferably redundant) Ethernet cables and power to a location, and you can control it from the main panel.

Emergency functions usually have some form of additional redundancy (hard-wired E-Stop buttons for example).

Just curious if they gave out SV first rider shirts or pins last weekend or are parks getting away from that. I know there was nothing for Valravn.

They didn't give out anything.

I thought they got commemorative old chunks of wood from Mean Streak?

We did get commemorative pieces of wood from Mean Streak. But there was nothing that said First Rider other than your pass.

Yeah, chunks of wood went out to Media Day and to those at the First Rider Auction. I was amazed when I opened mine on media day - what a thoughtful and awesome gift. I have it displayed on my desk, in front of my monitors, on my cubicle wall.

Does it *really* matter if you got something that says "first rider" or not, either?

Right? You can just have a T-shirt made and wear it every day to the park.

Having that done also grants me rights to run from exit to entrance, throwing elbows, too, right?

Not sure, but when wearing said shirt and milling around the ride entrance near closing time, it will give you more rights to get last ride of the night than a guy wearing an simple ACE shirt.

^^I'm given to understand that, yes. Also I think you're supposed to yell at the ops when they're not working to your liking.

Make sure it is just one shirt, and wear it multiple days between washings.

Steel Vengeance is no longer a FL+ ride. Interesting.