Recent content by costar

Are you saying you pressed a Ride Stop when you saw a drive tyre / wheel about to detach...? Fair play for thinking ahead / convenience etc but I would really expect ride ops to be trained to hit E-stop for that kind of thing. You shouldn't need to put much thought into it... you just want the...

Interesting research. And I wouldn't be surprised if the Chinese inspectors just take the 'easy route' and insist on ride closures after the design service life expires. But I'm fairly sure there's no 'policy'. It may interest you to know that the English translation of the Chinese standard GB/T...

The footfall around there is already pretty crazy and it's only gonna increase. Shame all those investors wasting their time on a Thames peninsula in Kent didn't direct the cash here instead, as it could have been a massive hit I reckon. As for the chimney lift - seems like the words...

…And it’s seriously rough. Which is a shame because it could have been quite a good ‘advert’ for the concept but I suspect it’s maintenance letting it down. I remember feeling quite bad for the old Chinese lady on the other end of my row, coz I was hurting enough! So I guess the original S&S 4D...

I don’t think you need to worry. The main purpose here will make no noticeable changes to the ride, for guests. They may use the time for cosmetic stuff too but the layout etc will be untouched. In my experience, this shutdown duration and lack of fanfare etc means this is almost certainly a...

I'm not sure I agree with this idea that evacs are a last resort / dangerous / should be avoided, etc. It's an interesting topic but I can tell you some of the major players in the industry would much rather evac a train if there's anything unknown at play. I read above "Estops can be reset"...

Just a few short weeks after writing the above, I now realise there is a robo arm on gravity track in existence: Source: http://premier-rides.com/itps-leisure-news-wanda-releases-amazing-behind-scenes-images-largest-attraction-ever/ And, in keeping with the topic, I believe this was kind of...

Ha! There’s no way they’re dropping the AR. Millions of $ of R&D... I think they’re having a big problem with cleaning in a post-Covid world though coz they’re tethered to the vehicle last I heard. Did anyone say... on-board sterilisation boxes... :oops:

Park Asterix kind of picks itself here, even before Oziris. There was a time when Tonnerre De Zeus was winning Mitch Hawker’s wooden poll every year, and I think Goudrix has come bottom of the steels at least once, maybe more....

I think any B&M front coach ever... anyone wanna pick one? There’s just something about seeing them on carpet, under lights. And the futile attempts to stop people from photographing the wheel assemblies : ) Some of the less obvious stuff that’s fun close-up, too. I remember the Mack...

I think you’re basically right. But you mention the design was when “Walter and Claude had already ... started B&M” but don’t forget the other Shockwave (SFMM) and the Swedish one which were both several years earlier and may(?) have had more input from W & C. I would guess Intamin used a lot of...

I believe Rip Ride Rockit at USF was modified recently to almost drop the car backwards into some brakes, instead of lowering it slowly like Smiler. I think it was about getting the stranded train down and out-of-view as fast as possible to avoid negative press, just as much as being able to...

Actually, look at the BBC picture again. The cars are presumably trailered. So each should have left and right wheel carriers. The nearest car does. The back car does. But the one in between... erm... I think a whole wheel assembly dropped.

Yes, the article is quite reasonable (for now) - a rare thing. I’m sure we’ll get the “people were dangling perilously” and “I’m never letting my kids on a roller coaster again” comments soon though.

Re: ACCIDENT At Dreamworld Australia! Wikipedia suggests that the standard Intamin rotating station was "decommissioned due to safety concerns". Oh dear. So it may not have been quite 30 years of operation like this. I hear from other industry types that the ride has been quite heavily...