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B&M track

andrus

Giga Poster
B&M uses a track that is significantly different from any other manufacturer out there. I know that the track type was used by Intamin when Walter and Claude still used to work for them. But why did Intamin quit using it? And why doesn't any other company use that box-track style? All other manufacturers use either bi-/tri-/quadrail, tubular track or the old Arrow/Vekoma track (which sort of also is tubular). What are the pros and cons with the B&M box track? Thanks in advance! :)
 

Thekingin64

Strata Poster
Well, Intamin started using different track to B&M so it is easier to tell the difference between them. Same with every other company, the box track is B&M's style of track and is very recongisable as that. Each company has it's own design of track now so it is easier to tell the difference between the manufacturers just by looking at the track.
 

Antinos

Slut for Spinners
Aesthetics are a very valid reason, Ben. He has a point.

B&M stays well within their comfort zone when it comes to designing rides. Intamin may have felt that by changing their track design, their rides could withstand higher forces and they could push the limits on a lot of their rides. That is why we saw the change in track with Intimidator 305 and Formula Rossa.
 

Ben

CF Legend
Antinos said:
Aesthetics are a very valid reason, Ben. He has a point.

No. No he does not. First of all, he wasn't even arguing for visuals as aesthetics, he was arguing visuals to differantiate it from another coaster. Key point there. Aesthetics deal with beauty, he was talking about people knowing what's a B&M and what's an Intamin. Aesthetics would be SLIGHTLY more valid, but still moronic.

They would not have gone "this is the best design BUT we don't want the people to be like 'oh, is that a B&M or an Intamin...? I'm not sure!', so we'll use this one instead". To suggest so is... ludicrous. Rides look different because of cost, practicalities, and probably the fact that certain designers will have patents on certain types of track. Not so people don't get CONFUSED between the two... I mean, Gerstauler use bi-rail that looks a lot like Intamin bi-rail now, don't see people going "OMG I DON'T KNOW WHO MADE THIS OMG!" Everyone who needs to know the difference (people who will buy one) would know the difference anyway, so. And the MS Spinner bi-rail looks a lot like Gerstauler track too... Don't see them freaking out about the fact it is similar!

I'm sure the way it looks is CONSIDERED when initially designing track for about three seconds, but, practicalities will be the order of the day. You're not creating art here, you're creating a track. It needs to do its job for the cheapest price possible, not look pretty.

Different chocolate companies don't bring out different tasting chocolates so people don't get confused between which is Cadbury and which is Hershey... I just... I despair.
 

andrus

Giga Poster
Thekingin64 said:
Well, Intamin started using different track to B&M so it is easier to tell the difference between them. Same with every other company, the box track is B&M's style of track and is very recongisable as that. Each company has it's own design of track now so it is easier to tell the difference between the manufacturers just by looking at the track.
I don't agree with you there. Both Intamin, Gerstlauer and Mack uses a very similar track and the old Vekoma and Arrow tracks used to be the same. Today Vekoma, S&S and Maurer Söhne have almost identical track types. The only manufacturer that differnetiates is B&M.

Antinos said:
B&M stays well within their comfort zone when it comes to designing rides. Intamin may have felt that by changing their track design, their rides could withstand higher forces and they could push the limits on a lot of their rides.
I thought of this too. But then I realized that the majority of the really forcefull rides I've been on are B&Ms. Plus the fact that B&M tend to use less supports than any other manufacturer indicates that their type of spine surely is a durable one!

Intamin might have changed their track type to save money? I don't know, that's just speculation...
 

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
It's simply to do with trains and forces surely?

Intamin = 2 car wide trains.
B&M = 4 car wide trains.

The reason B&M came up with the wider track was to easily support the wider trains. Intamin can support wider cars now (Furious Baco) with their track design, but it took them a while to get it just right and I think Baco has "beefy" Intamin track.

B&M don't have track like Intamin simply because they don't do narrow trains. It's odd that newer Intamin track is going back towards single spine like B&M now and away from the triangular supported bi/tri/quad track they're used for a few years. That will come down to new production techniques, new design techniques, cheaper manufacturing processes, changes in material/labour costs, etc, etc, etc.

All coaster companies will have two things on their mind when creating track:
- function
- cost

If the cost is too high, then they'll look at a different way of making it function. Cost is not just metal raw materials, but fabrication, weight (shipping), on site costs (foundations, engineering expertise, labour costs, equipment requirements and probably a load of other stuff) and again, a thousand other things I simply don't know about.

In the Dollywood topic, it's pointed out flyers and inverts have "curved" cross ties, the other coasters flat. Why the difference? It'll be cost or function (I'm betting function) and certainly not so you can tell if it's going to be a flyer or sit-down while the track is sitting on the grass outside a park.
 
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