Re: Silver Dollar City |"Outlaw Run"| Wooden Hybrid Coaster
Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited by Silver Dollar City to an exclusive behind-the-scenes construction tour of Outlaw Run. On Wednesday morning I met up with Silver Dollar City's Senior Vice-President Brad Thomas for a one-on-one interview. Brad is very personable & was more than willing to answer any questions I had. Here is how the interview went.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A0u_UQug6Q[/youtube]
After the brief interview I was introduced to Richard Bittle, the park's Maintenance & Construction Supervisor, who gave me a private tour of the site. Although Richard is in charge of all construction at the park, he & his team are not the ones building Outlaw Run. That is being done by the team from Rocky Mountain Construction, but Richard is still very knowledgeable about all aspects of the construction as he works hand-in-hand with the guys from Rocky Mountain. I encourage you to spend the time to watch the entire video of the tour Richard gave me as he went into a lot of detail on how the coaster is being constructed & what you can expect if you ever get the chance to ride the coaster once it opens next March.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL_HfGPXpZc[/youtube]
We took a lunch break after the tour finished. The food selection at Silver Dollar City is fab (although I would choose Aunt Polly's over the Lucky Silver Mine Restaurant if you looking for buffet style dining). I had hoped to do some filming & photography of the other coasters & rides after lunch, but the weather wasn't cooperative as heavy rainstorms rolled in. So the park arranged for me to return the following day to take photos of Outlaw Run as well as film the their other coasters.
I awoke bright & early the next morning to gorgeous sunshine. Once again I met up with Richard, who took me & the park's photographer to the construction site. The first stop was the barrel roll, but since it was still before 8:30am the sun was not high enough in the sky & shadows from all the surrounding trees prevented us from being able to take any worthwhile photos. Next we headed over to the 153 inversion & it too was covered in shadows, so we moved on to the lift hill.
The shadows weren't as bad on the lift hill & so we decided to stick around for a while to see if they would clear up over the next 30 minutes or so before the park photographer had to move on to shoot events that were going on during the park's Fall Festival.
Neither the video nor these photos can do this coaster justice. You really have to be there to see just how amazing this thing is.
That drop is much longer & steeper than it looks. :shock:
When the coaster reaches the bottom of the lift hill drop it flies up the track on the right at 68mph into the 153 inversion, through a 90 degree banked turn & drops back down into the "holler" on the track on the left.
The accent into the 153
The return from the 153
Coming back out of the "Holler"
Geek shot of the corner supports & topper track.
I was a bit surprised to see that they don't have supports with those crossbeams at the track seams.
The track looks almost as beautiful as its surroundings.
Sorry if some of these photos are a bit repetitive, but I was trying to capture the scale of it...
...because it's huge...
...like the massive drop!
I had to take advantage of the park photographer being there with me. :wink:
This coaster is going to be so smooth.
Coaster POV shot :--D
That wrapped up the morning session as the park photographer had other deadlines to meet & we agreed to return for another session later in the afternoon when the shadows would be gone.
After a couple of hours of filming the park's other coasters we resumed where we left off.
The 90 degree curve through the lift hill <3
I had a few questions the previous day during my video tour that Richard hesitated to answer, so he introduced me to Bill Rogers, the Rocky Mountain Construction supervisor who wasn't on site the day before. Bill has been with Rocky Mountain for 19 years & was in charge of the New Texas Giant construction as well as this one. He also worked on much of the recent topper track construction like the Cyclone at Six Flags New England & Tremors at Silverwood Theme Park. He also worked on the original construction of Tremors & Timber Terror, Timberhawk: Ride of Prey at Wild Waves Theme Park, Villain at Geauga Lake, El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure, T Express at Everland & the relocation of Shockwave from Six Flags Great America to Silverwood. He also has done numerous Sky Coaster & zipline installations.
Bill was great in confirming all the info Richard gave in the video as well as what I'm mentioning in this report. When I asked why the New Texas Giant didn't have as extreme elements as Outlaw Run or Iron Rattler, he explained how they had to take it easier since that was their first hybrid design & that they have much more extreme ideas in mind for future projects than Iron Rattler or Outlaw Run. He also said that they have a huge waiting list of current projects that could include restoring the Cyclone at Six Flags New England - even bringing back its original drop.
After my conversation with Bill we headed for the 153...
...which is my favorite element.
I just can't imagine anything beating this...
...since it reminds me of...
...a more intense version of Fahrenheit's Norwegian Loop.
I took quite a few photos of it from various angles.
No matter which angle I took photos from, whether from further away...
...or zoomed in,...
...none can match...
...seeing it in person.
And you can get a look at it for yourself right now by taking a ride on the park's train, which passes right underneath it.
Next we headed through the lift hill structure.
Here you can get an idea of the scale. That's the park photographer, another park worker, Mike & Richard (left to right) below the lift hill.
The photo above leads into the Wave Turn,...
...another of the coaster's signature elements.
Taking advantage of the park's photographer once again.
Like many of you...
...this is the element I'm not so sure about.
I'm not exactly sure how it's going to feel.
I love 90 degree curves...
...but I can't imagine what...
...the bend into & out of...
...the turn will feel like. :?
It's really hard to capture those bends in a photo...
...even in panorama shots.
The seams in the track are cut at an angle because they are much stronger that way than if they went straight across.
After the tracks are bolted down & the seams welded, workers grind them super smooth (as can be seen below & in the video scene with the Wave Turn).
The Wave Turn leads into the coaster's final element...
...the 720...
...double barrel roll!
According to the people at the park I spoke with,...
...this baby is supposed be perfect,...
...where your body rotates around your head twice,...
...with your head remaining in the same place the entire time.
After the 720 the coaster heads back to the station.
The final brake run looks abrupt.
Mandatory transfer track shot.
The station is currently empty other than the wagon wheel chandeliers, which are one of the many nice touches the station interior will have.
The ride exit leads to a bridge over the out-of-the-station drop into the lift hill.
A look back at the station...
...and a look up the lift hill from the bridge.
Finally we finished off the day with some lift hill shots over the tree tops.
A 96 foot tall lift was used to take these photos, which the park was kind enough to let me use after their photographer was finished using it.
The 153 peeking out of the tree tops.
I even managed to catch a turkey buzzard in flight over the lift hill on our descent from atop the trees.
What a way to finish off my Outlaw Run tour.
I can't stress enough how amazing this coaster looks in person & it's been a long time since I've been so excited about a new coaster. It's scheduled to open March 15, 2013 & I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Finally I would like to say a huge Thank You to everyone at the park that helped me throughout the two days I spent at Silver Dollar City. It was a real privilege to work with such a professional, yet extremely friendly team & I can't wait to return next March just to see all of you again.
