Top Hat Stall... what are the odds?

Gemini said:
That did happen, but it wasn't at the apex. If I remember correctly, it was in the pretzel.
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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

It was on the second hill, that is why CP had to get trucks from Cleveland and Toledo. If it was around the pretzel, Sandusky has firetrucks that could reach the trains.

Also, I believe while anything is possible, the likelihood is miniscule that it would happen.

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The best thing about Six Flags "Worlds of Adventure" is that Cedar Point is nearby!

Actually it was the pretzel. I was there and I had friends on it. At that time Magnum had upstop plates like Gemini. The wind was gusting so hard that when the train rounded the bend it lifted one side of the train from the track and the upstop plates began acting like a break fin against the rails.

Keep in mind the banking angle on those turns. Well eventually the train slowed enough that the center of gravity was no longer balanced over the rails and the train was complete resting on the upstops. It wasn't going anywhere then.

Shortly after this Magnum's trains were retrofitted to become the first non-looping Arrow trains to have upstop wheels.

I don't know the facts of the evacuation as we couldn't see that from the queues. I can say it was somewhat frightening to see a train in the station, one set up at the top of the lift, and have no clue where the third was. It just never came back.
*** This post was edited by Jamesb 5/1/2003 6:57:43 AM ***
*** This post was edited by Jamesb 5/1/2003 8:57:48 AM ***

not gonna stop, not gonna stop, not gonna stop. please people. PLEASE!

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"it's like eating in the kitchen of a delightful italian stereotype!"
***This post was edited by rogue kielbasa 5/4/2003 10:02:47 AM***

This is not something that the employees on here are just spitting out through the grapevine. This is something that happened in the middle of the day that lots of people saw with their own eyes.

Believe what you will Jeff... apparently the incredible odds were no match for the train's luck on that day.

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TPFKAV
WT Crew 2003

At the end of this article, Monty confirms the stop at the top.

Read it here!

i will now quietly walk away.

i still highly highly doubt the possibility of it getting stuck with people on board though.

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"it's like eating in the kitchen of a delightful italian stereotype!"
***This post was edited by rogue kielbasa 5/4/2003 10:02:47 AM***

yeah even though it has already stoped at the top once, i doubt it would happen with ppl on board. did u happen to see any video of it going over the top. it goes over at a pretty good speed 25-30 mph or so. so it would be pretty hard to stall it at that speed with ppl in it

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TTD- A TOY THAT MILLIONS CAN PLAY WITH...

"i like to post many posts just so i can see my name"

That blew my wife's mind when she read the article at breakfast this morning. I'll never get her on it now. I thought it was interesting that he said one worker went up and pushed it over the top. I wonder if he hopped on and rode it down. That would have been a rush. Do you suppose that they were adjusting the power to find out at what point it would stop at the top? Maybe they did it deliberately as part of the learning curve for operations. Here's another question - If a loaded train stops at the top and someone has to go up to get it going, which way would they push it? Forward or backward? I'd vote for backward.

Well Guys, I hope in the future when people tell you something that they saw that you do believe them and not jump all over them like a pack of dogs on a 3 legged cat. Just becuase something sounds impossable doesn't mean that it is. We all should know that its Cedar Point and, as alot of the employees know, ANYTHING is possiable!

Once again Newton was right. However unlikely the situation, every young physicist must learn to trust the equations. That is until you learn their limitations, which are far beyond what is discussed here.

Im sure if any one of us were stopped up there (except jeff becuase he still wouldn't belive it was possible) we would be doing anything we could to push it backwards ourselves. I doubt any structure up there is within reach but maybe if we leaned forward and slammed back in our seats a couple of times it would get goin. Meanwhile the GP would be questioning our sanity.
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Just can't live in that negative way... Make way for the positive Day
*** This post was edited by realmadrid311 5/2/2003 10:48:33 AM ***

HAHAHAHAHA, that was a good one Realmadrid! and to answer a question as to which way they pushed it, they pushed it backwards to the station, cause there was a pretty strong wind in the other direction so it was easier to push it backwards.
*** This post was edited by IceCreamMan 5/2/2003 10:52:15 AM ***

Yep, so I was wrong, and undoubtedly this makes some of you so happy you'll be patting yourselves on the back all day long.

I talked to People Who Know(TM) about it yesterday, and indeed there were not "normal" circumstances, so as I said from the start, it will not occur with a normal loaded train.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

I'm guessing that you would be surprised as to how easy it would be to balance the train at the top. Meaning that if you somehow stopped the train at the top, you could probably move it a couple of inches either way before it actually rolled down one side. (granted the chance of stopping it there from a launch 420' below is slim, but still...)

(and yes I'm aware of the differences between static and rolling friction... I also have experience with rolling machinery)

And based on the fact that there is sign that says there is a chance that the train might not make it over at all, there is also chance that it gets launched with exactly the right amount of power to get it stopped right at the top...

Personally, I agree with the person in the article that it would be cool to get stuck at the top.

My 2 cents.

Why would having people in the train make it less likely that the it would stop at the top? Its not like your going to have much room to move around in your seat, so the weight distribution should stay constant. Not that it is a big problem if it does stop. Just seems to me if a train can stop empty it can also stop when full of people - and hopefully one of the people would be me :)
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Bob M.

A person in a swing doesn't have much room to move and yet their motion moves the swing.. or a swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?

I think the fact that more people on it would give it more mass overall, and that would help propel it over the hill. Obviously, it is possible, but again, is it likely? No.

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Jeff Shumway

~no replacement for displacement, except for that big freakin' turbo hanging on the front...