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Would it be possible to make a powered extreme coaster? Of course it would. Would it be worth it considering there are more reliable and efficient ways of heaving a train around a track? Nope. The biggest problem with a self powered train is getting the juice to the motors. A sliding contact...

Neither did I until I started paying attention to what went on outside my department as it puzzled me as to why the park always seemed so busy even during school time. I remember the figure of 15000 being tossed about by admissions when they stopped letting people into the park. The only time...

Hixee is correct, there are many factors that determine how many people can fit in a park. The limit is usually worked out and imposed by the company providing the parks public liability insurance. They look at things like spacing between buildings and rides, how many toilet and eating...

I think that is the first example I've seen of a specific age restriction without any other context applied to it. I know of a few advisory age restrictions that are related to the theme and setting of a ride as opposed to the ride itself, for example a restriction may say something along the...

Resistance is futile springs to mind.... Us engineers have the enviable task of trying to turn an architects wet dream into something that works by breaking as few laws of physics as possible. It's been a long time since I did any work on a wood coaster so it's not something I've kept up to...

True if the original planning was approved, what Stealth is now is very different from what was originally wanted. Stealth was supposed to be more like Xcelerator but planning for it was denied. If it was apporved, it would have required more of the lake to be filled in and the Fish was to be...

Oblivion has a similar setup with the workshop part of the station building. The placement of Stealths workshop has less to do with it being on swampy ground, it was designed with a problem on Colossus in mind. The workshop on Colossus was originally only big enough for one train, it had to be...

Hixee is correct in that the frequencies of the drives resonate with the natural vibrations of the track and train at certain speeds, this amplifies the sounds but is not the source. There are actually 2 distinct and seperate sounds produced by linear motors caused by 2 different systems. Trax...

You would be suprised how different staff training routines differ from one park to another. One park I worked in trained you up on a ride and you wouldn't see that ride again for 6 months yet you were still expected to know how to operate it. At the other end of the scale you have parks like...

That's probably unlikely because if you buy a company then you could end up with the companies problems including it's debt. A new management and marketing strategy may work better than a completely new owner. As far as updates are concerned, we aren't expecting anything new to reach us until...

Why not? We have already had at least one ride sponsored by a bar of soap..... I suspect we would start seeing more sponsors showing up from companies whos products or services are not considered essential and have therefore had a huge reduction in revenue. If the parks manage to open up before...

I agree, I don't think it will be easy at all for anyone. But that doens't mean planes won't be flying this time next year, the demand for tourism and leisure will not go away. It is up to the government to make sure all businesses big and small can survive long enough to start trading when the...

Ya welcome. Another thing you may find interesting is just how hot wheels can get. They usualy end up around the 50-60 degree mark depending on the speed they get to. One example I could give would be the very first morning test run on Stealth when it is raining. The wheels on the first and...

I agree, back in 2008 I do not remember a single day where Thorpe Park had less than 5000 people through the gates. I am being completely serious here, we were given a capacity request for each ride every morning that allowed us to streamline morning maintenance checks. These requests were based...

Somebody shout me? I assure you all that wheel temperature and track lubrication is a serious thing that has a huge influence on how fast a coaster runs. Coasters are no different from any other machine in that they are not perfect and there will always be friction in the wheel bearings which...

The first drop was reprofiled after it's first season because the twist was too sharp and was putting huge strain on the track and trains. The track was made to twist higher up the drop, reducing the speed at which the train made the turn. If you look closely you can see the slight difference...

Yes, but i'd have to email them to you if that would be ok with you?

It is indeed a Vekoma coaster, the wheels and their assemblies gave it away.

Because they're idiots? Strangely enough, their procedure for evac is unload from front to back, why they didn't, noone knows.

No I'm not, only you can read this......