TTD down long term?

The track in the station would need to be profiled as well. keep in mind the current launch track gradually elevates as it gets towards the tower. The station track is all level. Seems like more trouble than its worth when you get into that deep

Based on Maverick, my concern wouldn't be power, it would be heat.

Kevinj said:
Gee, Adam. *shuffles feet*....thanks.

The current is proportional to the force the motor is applying, and the voltage is proportional to the speed of the motor. Thus, at a standstill, the motor is consuming very little power. As the train accelerates, it takes more and more power from the motor to maintain the original acceleration. By my calculations, the dragster motor is applying about 4.5MW of power to the train at the end of the launch. This amount of power can't be drawn from the electric grid in short bursts, so an energ-storage method is needed (i.e. hydraulic, capacitor, flywheel).

From the article linked above, I can come up with a rough estimation of th power applied by the Red Zone roller coaster. The train is shorter, and the train doesn't accelerate at the full rate for the entire length of track. So, I estimate the Red Zone motor to have a peak power of 1.6 MW. This is less than half of what Top Thrill's motors apply.

While it may be technically possible to convert Dragster to electric, my question would be: could the launch section even be converted to handle an electric launch? The launch section is specifically designed to house the catch car trough and retractable brakes. In order to install electric motors on the ride, the launch section could very well need to be replaced.

Finally, I would ask: what is the advantage to running with electric motors over the current hydraulic? Is it worth the investment cost it will take to do the conversion? On the days I visit this season, Maverick, which more or less uses the same technology, has had more downtime than Dragster. So I would say, no, it isn't worth the investment it would take to make the conversion.

Count me in the camp that thinks there's no way Maverick has more downtime than Dragster, at least on average. That's unfortunate that you had that experience, though. I think from a reliability and, more importantly, safety stand-point, an electric launch would probably be beneficial, if they could achieve it.

Hard to say whether Maverick or TTD is down more often. You can look up from anywhere in the park and see trains cresting TTD; and a lot of places you can hear it, too. Maverick is tucked in the back corner of the park so unless you're in Frontiertown all day you never really see it. And the closed/wait times on the app mean NOTHING so don't go by that.

You will have to look at downtime for mechanical vs downtime for weather as well. Dragster at 400ft tall is down for weather more than anything else. Maverick's downtime is almost always mechanical.

Maverick has seemed pretty good this year but 2-4 seasons ago it seeemed to have some bad seasons.

Maverick had a very bad weekend... it was down for most of the day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

This past Saturday was reaaaally bad... Maverick, Dragster, Raptor, and Valravn all had extended downtime. People in line at guest relations and on social media were not happy.

I’m sure Guest Services was glad siouxsie and the banshee weren’t there that day.

Can somebody explain this Siouxsie thing to me?

https://pointbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/cedar-point-traffic-nightmare

It was a drawn out topic from an irate customer that took it out in guest services.

GigaG said:

Can somebody explain this Siouxsie thing to me?

No, it was unexplainable.

Chris

Cleveland 19 "News" recently posted some pseudo-journalism on their Facebook page:

Link Here

EDIT: And Here is the Facebook post by Cleveland 19 where the comments can be found.

It's pieces like this that my students (or just the general public) read that feeds their anxieties, their fears, their phobias...so I guess "thanks but no thanks" to Channel 19 for giving me something to go over with them on Tuesday.

But a HUGE thanks to our very own Rideman...(if you didn't know, he's Dave A., and has a great response to the article below it in the comments)...you absolutely have to read his piece about the workings of Dragster. There is also some good news; in the park's official statement to 19, they said they "expect it to be open soon", which I hope is true.

But one thing that's necessary, sometimes, is calling out stuff that is just inflammatory fluff, and that comes from someone named Taylor Dougherty, who apparently feels it necessary to share his wisdom that TTD is, by all means, a death trap, and it's only a matter of time before someone meets their end.

I would expect a much more reasoned and thoughtful response from someone who claims to have been the "ride operator" (and maybe he really was, I haven't a clue, although he also posted a badge of honor)

For 2016 I was a ride operator for Top Thrill Dragster you would not believe just how much stuff breaks off from this ride or just how many times they gotta replace the sensors on the track on a daily basis.

Before 2016 kick off each ride gets inspected by state officials and during our testing they tried to back up 2 cars which is normal but the cars ran into 2 other cars bending the front bumper on one completely sideways cause a sensor failed no one was on the ride but Top Thrill Dragstor is not a safe ride by any means.

If a break sensor fails just after the car takes off when you go up and over their will be nothing to stop you which means you'll go plowing into another car going over 100mph luckily that has not happend yet

At the very least, kudos to Marc Spaulding for adding this at the end:

"I 100 percent trust the State of Ohio, Cedar Points maintenance, I worked with those guys for three years and I don't question anything that they do," said Spaulding. "I would have my kids on the ride next week if it was open."

WOIO's report is completely irresponsible and an embarrassment to journalism. They took quotes from one "expert" who had nothing to offer except speculation, and it's not even the right speculation. The braking system of the catch car is independent of the one that stops trains (which itself has at least five times the necessary fins to stop a train).

That was horrible. The embodiment of "fake news".

Yeah that was bad..

The grammar was even worse too...

When the catapult pulls and releases the train it also needs breaks to be able to stop and go back to get the next train.

Where do you see the comments on the article? I can't seem to find them. @Kevinj

Sorry; here is the link to the Facebook article. That's where the comments were written:

https://www.facebook.com/Cleveland19News/posts/10155817121149443

Kevinj said:

But one thing that's necessary, sometimes, is calling out stuff that is just inflammatory fluff, and that comes from someone named Taylor Dougherty, who apparently feels it necessary to share his wisdom that TTD is, by all means, a death trap, and it's only a matter of time before someone meets their end.

Yeah, I don't understand your criticism here, Kevin.

Here's an example. Let's say you posed the question of how to rebuild the transmission in your car. If I just randomly gave you an answer, you might wonder if what I said was accurate. But if I told you I had a driver's license, how could you question my solution?