Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

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Only if it results in an erection lasting more than four hours.

Lets try and keep it family friendly

Oh no he didn’t

RMC still trolling. A video on their TikTok about finding a T Rex. And then ending it with #RMCit. Which sounds like they might be using T Rex track on some existing ride.

Maybe TTD. Seems like a long shot though.

Heres a YouTube clip of the large pulley in the rear of the launch while in use. Its an up close shot. It shows that after each launch cycle the cable is sprayed with water to cool it.

The brakes are clearly pneumatic, I believe someone else up above said it perfect. The standard position for the brake fins is up, with sorings holding them in that state. For launch air is pumped into a cylinders pushing them down. Air is released after the launch to pop the brakes up, you can hear that in the video too.

The rope is NOT sprayed with water to cool it. Water is flooded into the guide channel and the ropes actually carry that water. More water sprays off of the haul ropes going over the sheaves at the top of the launch because those ropes are literally dragging the water out of the guide channel and throwing it off as they go over the sheaves. The return rope lays in the water after each launch and soaks in a certain quantity of it. The wettest part come launch time is the part that lays in the guide channel when the launch is finished and then comes back slowly over the large sheave for the return to the motor house. When that goes over the sheave at the end of the launch, it throws that water off as it rounds the bend at 175 feet per second. The water isn't to cool the pulley or the ropes, it's to lubricate the launch sled as it slides down the middle of the track.

Anybody got a good shot of the brake fin cylinders that shows whether there is an air hose attached at the bottom of the cylinder?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan:

...I think instead of being spring loaded I think they are double-ended, where air pushes the cylinder in both directions, and with the valves closed the rod stays where it is set.

I suppose that could work, since the pneumatic system is a closed loop, so even in the event of electrical power loss the air pressure would still be present and therefore the fins would extend. But it doesn't seem truly failsafe, since there's a nonzero chance the pneumatic system could fail in a way that would result in loss of pressure.

Here's the best picture I could find, which still doesn't give a clear enough look...

You know, for those of us that are not as knowledgeable as you folks posting here, I must say that I find the complexity of all this truly amazing. My routine is usually getting in line and expecting the thing to operate in a swift and safe manner. All the different parts, sensors, fins, plates, pulleys, ropes, hydraulic's, water lubrication, computers, gizmo's, etc.... is astounding.

For a ride that to many people just appears simply to launch & come back down it is no wonder that there is the potential for so much down time for issues here or there. Thank you posters for all the insight to the mechanics of it.

FYI, in case you're not already aware, Dave's got some great technical writeups on various rides and systems:

The Physics of MaXair

And of course the Ask Rideman series.

Cedar Pointer:

Lets try and keep it family friendly

I don't know if you know how families are made, but that's pretty much as friendly as it gets.

And I don't find sexuality to be obscene. If you do, I dunno, maybe see your therapist, but don't tell me how to run the site.

RideMan:

It's quite obvious that the actuators for the brake fins ar--I mean--were pneumatic cylinders.

What gave it away, the loud sound of moving air when they switched position? 😀

THis is just a snapshot from Google street view showing an air line going into the top of the actuator.

Top Thrill Dragster was often criticized for its short ride and one trick pony attributes. I understand that hours worth of line waiting for a 17 second experience did leave a lot to be desired. However, I was always most impressed with that insanely quick 0-110+MPH launch! No production car in the world could match its acceleration. Would be twice that of a Tesla Model S Plaid. Probably not even the quickest production motorcycle could match it. It was THAT experience for me that I always enjoyed the most. although it would seem, not many others cared.

^The hours-long waits for it tend to disagree. Anyone can have opinions about the ride, but its popularity is/was undeniable.

Long waits are not necessarily an indicator of popularity, since long waits can also be attributed to poor capacity. I've spend a relatively long time queuing for Woodstock Express, and I don't think anyone would suggest that ride is among the park's most popular.

Ridership may be a better metric, and I don't recall TTD ever ranking in the top 5 in ridership numbers when those numbers were still being shared.

Thanks for the video! I knew they were spraying some kind of liquid! You can see the squirt right at 29 seconds, and more gushing at 42 seconds. You can see a vapor cloud near the end of the launch at 1:08! That's where I was dripped on when walking underneath the track entering the line queue!

Post on the Cedar Point Reddit this morning with an aerial view of TTD. Looks like launch side is gone all the way up to the last section or two of flat track. And two or three sections of flat track post-top hat still exist. Would a launch rework have required the brake side to also be completely removed?

https://reddit.com/r/cedarpoint/comments/xx1xsw/top_thrill_dragster_aerial_view/

Look at all that juice!

It is somewhat interesting me that haven't even touched the supports yet.

They may have removed a few of the supports between the station and halfway through the grandstand. It's hard to see, but it appears that only the foundations remain for some of them.

If these were taken within the last day or so, it would seem they've removed less track this week compared to last.