Wicked Twister Wiggle

No this is not a dance move. I just always found it curious how (usually) the left side (closest to Windseeker) of WT's track seems to wobble after each train does its run. I noticed it while on Big Wheel and freaked out at first, thinking something was wrong, until I noticed that it always did that. Anyone know why and is it normal/common for coasters like that? Thanks.

I think all coasters tend to have a little bit of wobble to them; Wicked Twister's is just more obvious because it's a terminal end versus having the wobble absorbed by the track ahead/behind.

If you want a scary 'wobble', try to find that old video of Rattler flying through some corners...

Here's the video! The amount of shaking is quite nuts.

^Now that's something I'd like Rideman's take on!

It's better for things like roller coasters and buildings in earthquake zones to bend and shake a little than to be too rigid and snap.

There is an old saying when it comes to a lot of this kind of rides. "If it doesn't bend, it will break". There is almost always some "flex" designed into these rides that absorbs and dissipates some of the force that is generated during the ride cycle.

Looks a lot like CCMR's turn before the final helix near the station. Freaks me out every time I see it.

The Rattler is a little more than SOME flex^^ ;)

Haven't you ever looked up at Mean Streak while the train was going through the high curve over the station?

Oh, I understand there has to be some flex, but was it really designed to flex that much?

That may be the first roller coaster I've ever wanted to give Viagra.

You should have seen Wicked Twister before they added the extra supports.

And the 1st Gen Intamin Impulse at Six Flags Ohio, at least when it was new. I think the front spire on that was even worse than WT before the extra supports.

And yes, Mean Streak's track where it exits the lift hill used to sway dramatically when it was new. Haven't been on it in so long I'm not sure if any of the later reinforcements to the structure and/or trims dampened this at all.

That's why Wicked Twister has the name Wiggle Twiggle amongst ride ops.

Good lord! The Rattler's got some waterbed motion to it! That looks unreal.

Wicked Twister looked almost unsafe without the added supports.

As an engineer, if it don't shake (within reason of course) it will break.

The forces need to go somewhere. If the supports didn't give some the forces would snap the towers like toothpicks.

Watch Top Thrill Dragster, right at the base of the hill after the train passes, it shakes quite a bit. Watch it.

To much wobble then you need to worry about strength of material, like when you bend a paper clip back and forth over and over and over and eventually it breaks. So too much wobble isn't good either. Hence why they added supports.

That's my take.

Not just the bottom of Dragster, if you watch the entire tower it will twist a decent amount. The best view I've seen this is from Magnum's queue. After the train drops down to the brakes the whole tower will torque for a few seconds and then stop, just in time for the next train to do it again.

But the most impressive movement is definitely Rattler. I couldn't believe it!

Rob

RCMAC said:

Haven't you ever looked up at Mean Streak while the train was going through the high curve over the station?

I'm too busy worrying about the bones in my body that Mean Streak is bending, not the track. I went on it today because my friend said it couldn't be that bad and wanted to see what it was like. Man oh man I have never felt violated quite like that before; it felt twice as bad as last year.

I have never seen a coaster flex like Rattler. That was just freaky.