Webcams??

^Maybe

Just thought of this: I read somewhere on this board about the ride having to have 100 hours of test time, but what about the individual trains. I'm sure they want all of them to get some test time too. We've seen the silver one (I think), but there are six of those trains.

Anybody with inside info on whether or not the trains have to have a certain number of testing hours?

Every single train must be tested for the required number of hours (Not sure of the number) before they can operate. If May 12th rolls around and certain trains have not completed required testing, they will remain out of operation.

Were any of Dragster's trains kept from operating at opening in 2003 because of this? Or was that solely because of blocking issues they encountered.

Dragster freaks, this is your cue ;)

the pink train never made it :(

Maybe the cranes are to add another train to the track.
We wouldn't be able to tell, since they'd be doing that at the transfer track.

And about the kicker wheels. I don't see it being as big of a problem with Maverick as it is with Dragster and Millennium since it has the lighter trains. I know they use diamond plating for traction, but who knows, maybe they went with something that'll give even more traction on Mavericks trains.
But I can't tell that for sure since there's no definitive proof....like a pic of the underside of where the kicker wheels grab the train.

http://www.pointbuzz.com/Gallery.aspx?i=6326
This pic (bottom right) shows where it is on the train that the kicker wheels grab, but I still can't tell what the bottom is lined with. *** Edited 4/11/2007 10:28:13 PM UTC by TTD 120mph***

MrInkspot@aol.com said:
Were any of Dragster's trains kept from operating at opening in 2003 because of this? Or was that solely because of blocking issues they encountered.

Dragster freaks, this is your cue ;)

Who me?? :)

I believe the purple and black train had yet to be fully tested by opening day. The gold train wasn't even on site at that time either. In 2003 the park closed for 4 days after Opening Day and that's when the fifth car was added and all 5 trains (minus the gold one) were running. The gold train showed up a couple weeks later on May 24 if I remember correctly.

There's your Dragster freak answer. :)

TTD 120mph said:
But I can't tell that for sure since there's no definitive proof....like a pic of the underside of where the kicker wheels grab the train.

I'm not exactly sure what your looking for, but do these pics help at all?

Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3

You still can't see what, if anything, the bottom of the skid plate is lined with.

It's the plate just left of center in pic 1. It ramps up in the front just a bit.

oic... I don't think I could have gotten low enough to photo that. Without crawling under the storage track the train was sitting on.

You didn't crawl under the train to take pics, why? :)

Gomez said:

MrInkspot@aol.com said:
Were any of Dragster's trains kept from operating at opening in 2003 because of this? Or was that solely because of blocking issues they encountered.

Dragster freaks, this is your cue ;)

Who me?? :)

I believe the purple and black train had yet to be fully tested by opening day. The gold train wasn't even on site at that time either. In 2003 the park closed for 4 days after Opening Day and that's when the fifth car was added and all 5 trains (minus the gold one) were running. The gold train showed up a couple weeks later on May 24 if I remember correctly.

There's your Dragster freak answer. :)

Yeah, what he said. I was going to respond to that, but I got my trains mixed up.:P
Wait a minute, what black train are you talking about Craig? Is it Dragsters equivalent of Millenniums green train or something? If you're going to say the colors, you could at least get them right! It's black cherry, fluorescent purple, and sunshine yellow! :)
*** Edited 4/12/2007 4:15:24 AM UTC by TTD 120mph***

The Gold train on Dragster was on the ride at one point. Before May 2003. However, due to a MASSIVE mechanical problem it had to be repaired.

halltd said:
You didn't crawl under the train to take pics, why? :)

On any other day i might have. But, IIRC, it was about 30* and the ground was covered in snow and ice. :)

If they were diamond plated you'd see it from the front.

Maybe they went with some type of rough surface, almost like a thin coat of non skid coating.

Only Dragster has the diamond plating - and it's TERRIBLE when wet, that's why maintenance has to come and push after rain. Millennium has something almost like sandpaper that works no problem when wet.

Then that's what they probaby went with on Maverick's trains. It make the most sense, seeing that the diamond plating isn't really working well on Dragster's trains.

Looks like they're testing again today!

When do you think CP will put the Maverick in the sky line on there home page?

I think that for Skyhawk it was on the skyline just before or on opening day.