Track walks

[EndlessWire]

I was having a chat with a GP friend of mine who holds the "but it looks so dangerous!" opinion, and had an odd moment of brain fade. I've always thought that coaster tracks were walked and checked daily, but he pointed out that it's surely impossible to do that safely every day, especially when there are no harness points obvious - how do you walk Nemesis for example? So, given I'm almost certainly wrong about that it got me thinking - how often are track walks/inspections carried out really? I know the vehicles are checked daily and there are tests, but specifically how often are walks done?

 

[GuyWithAStick]

I can't speak for "walk on the actual track and inspect every nut and bolt", but I can say with absolute certainty that the low zones are walked every day to make sure that there is no debris in the ride area, and that all the gates around the ride are locked and secure.

Regardless, roller coasters are extremely safe with numerous redundancies and safety precautions. There is no need to worry about any catastrophic failure happening to you.

 

[Fi]

I don’t know what the maintenance teams track walk tasks entails, but they are done from ground level, walking alongside/under the track, the ride Op teams walked the Route day and night checking for derby and changing the locks to low zones, maintenance went into the low zones every night visually looking at the track, I don’t know the depth of their inspections or what they did.

 

[Crazycoaster]

Track walks are done on Wooden coasters daily, to check the wooden rails, make sure all bolts are in place and there hasn’t been any warping. That’s why woodies have catwalks all the way around. Steel coasters don’t need this level of inspection because steel tracks are far less likely to shake themselves apart. This is also why RMC coasters do not need the catwalks that stereotypical wooden coasters do need, as they have steel track.

 

[Kw6sTheater]

This is also why RMC coasters do not need the catwalks that stereotypical wooden coasters do need, as they have steel track.

Hakugei at Nagishima Spa Land has catwalks in certain parts of the layout (the double down), but I think those are just for extra earthquake protection correct?

 

[Crazycoaster]

More than likely, yes. Just as many steel coasters in Japan have catwalks, it’s probably due to regulations.

 

[Antinos]

If there is a catwalk, there is a harness attachment point. As mentioned by everyone else, steel coasters don't require the same scrutiny as wooden coasters, but lift hills, launch runs, low zones, tunnels, and anywhere that may have moving hardware is inspected and has a means of inspection.

One particular example I like is Millennium Force. To ensure that the lift hill is inspected every single day, Intamin installed the on-off switch (or whatever industrial equivalent it may be) at the bottom of the ladder next to the drop. Someone from the maintenance crew must ride the funicular up the lift, climb over the crest, and then climb down the ladder to the steepest point of the drop. Might as well inspect all the hardware while on the way!

 

[Snoo]

If there is a catwalk, there is a harness attachment point. As mentioned by everyone else, steel coasters don't require the same scrutiny as wooden coasters, but lift hills, launch runs, low zones, tunnels, and anywhere that may have moving hardware is inspected and has a means of inspection.

One particular example I like is Millennium Force. To ensure that the lift hill is inspected every single day, Intamin installed the on-off switch (or whatever industrial equivalent it may be) at the bottom of the ladder next to the drop. Someone from the maintenance crew must ride the funicular up the lift, climb over the crest, and then climb down the ladder to the steepest point of the drop. Might as well inspect all the hardware while on the way!

Also.. video!