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Vekoma SLC deterioration

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wakey1512

Roller Poster
Just a bit of history, the jubilee odyssey was built in 2002, is a 167ft Vekoma SLC capable of speeds of about 63mph, with a 125ft loop, its one of vekomas bigger rides. I had ridden it when it was brand new and seen it over the last 10 years and i was expecting a half decent ride with the new restraints

The jubilee odyssey has always been known as a rough ride and even when new it was headache inducing. But the track has always been smooth and the trains have always felt tight and it was purely the restraints giving the ride a bad reputation. In the queue, the track still looked OK but there was limescale all over the supports and the motors in the station had barely any paint left on them due to corrosion. The joints in the track where whoever installed the ride had smoothed the joints over, these had all rusted through and paint was coming off. All in all quite a suprise since the last time i rode the ride it was in good condition. The worst is to come.

Train dispached, the track already feels bumpy. From a distance the ride still looks quite neat but nearing the top of the lift hill the upside of the track looks incredibly faded, its no longer red its pink.. the supports are covered in limescale and rust, and the dung powered motor sounds eerie too. The coaster looked like something off final destination or from an abandoned park thats never been dismantled. As we reach the crest, the train falls through the course.

As the train takes the drop, it doesnt feel like its following the track 100% true, it doesnt stay straight along the track as it falls. It wobbles side to side. Now i realise its been years since i had rode this before. But i can never recall the trains behaving like this? I always thought the trains were tight, stayed true and smooth not loose and wobbly.. As the train exited the loop you can feel it banging side to side and knocking, and the front row which i was sat on felt like it was loose from the next car along, as through the cobra roll the front car which i was sat on juddered backwards and forwards against the car behind, almost like the train coupling was loose?? I realise it probably isnt, but it just felt incredibly worn out!! There was very little headbanging as the modified restraints were pretty comfy. But the train just didnt feel like it was tight to the track at all! The closest experience i can relate this to is a 28 year old corkscrew at flamingo land - expected. Not a 10 year old £28,000,000 SLC

When i climbed off the train, i could see the rear most bottom wheel on the train FREEWHEELING. The scary thing is, the wheel and circlip looked nearly brand new

This was quite a shock as i have witnessed this ride go up and look gleaming and have never seen a single sign of deteriation until today.

I would love to hear other peoples opinions, perhaps im being harsh but i cant quite comprehend how a 10 year old ride can be so hidiously knackered!
 
Well the design of the wheel assemblies and track force them to have gaps between the wheels and rails. A different wheel cluster design with double wheels underneath and springs that force them to touch the rails at all times would significantly improve the ride, but Vekoma haven't bothered with it so we might never see a great SLC ever.

When I rode it, about 2 weeks ago, I found it no worse than any other SLC, not good, but the roughness were tolerable if you assumed the SLC brace position (pin you arms/upper body against the restraint and press your head against one side of the restraints). One of the better SLC's I have ridden.
There is however one rough spot on the bottom of the first drop that we decided were due to a bad track joint, even the Ultimate didn't get close to that one. It's a proper spike (not just noise) about 0,05 seconds long that peaks at17.7 g's. That hurts no matter what you say.
 
I have rode it before and never experienced such a feeling (apart from on the corkscrew at AT and FL)

admittedly the headbanging has always been a problem, but ive never noticed the trains rocking or wobble

Im assuming part of the problem is how the seats lever on the wheel assemblies much more than a typical sit down coaster. I have rode all three SLCs in the UK and never experienced this kind of train wobble. Its only 10 yrs old. I dread to think what theride will be like in another 15 years both mechanically and cosmetically
 
Indeed. As i thought would be the expected typical answer

But for the train on a 10 year old 167ft ride to start wobbling from one side to the other on the first drop before the 125ft loop, is very very worrying.

Scarily the original plans (which were originally accepted!!) detailed that vekoma take on a 265ft project. Only a last minute opposition saw the rejection of the plans and approval of the 167ft ride we see today. The station, train, ride type etc were all identical

I really can't see how the trains would have lasted on a 265ft high ride!?
 
Some SLC's have almost no clearance between the upstop wheels and the track when stopped, others have over an inch.

This is how I can tell if I'm about to get my ass kicked before I get on.
 
wakey1512 said:
Indeed. As i thought would be the expected typical answer

But for the train on a 10 year old 167ft ride to start wobbling from one side to the other on the first drop before the 125ft loop, is very very worrying.

Scarily the original plans (which were originally accepted!!) detailed that vekoma take on a 265ft project. Only a last minute opposition saw the rejection of the plans and approval of the 167ft ride we see today. The station, train, ride type etc were all identical

I really can't see how the trains would have lasted on a 265ft high ride!?
Click to expand...

I mean sorry to be so abrupt, no intentions to piss on your post, just all you say pretty much results in a head nod and "yeah...vekoma" :lol:

Yes, the 265 foot idea was probably scrapped by the UN. It would've been a crime against humanity!
 
I understand, obviously this is the nature of the companys quality

But my understanding has always been (as a younger lad) that the headbanging was the only thing dislikeable about the ride. Never have i felt like the train wobbled inside the track and made banging and knocking noises on every high speed inversion or turn

Im sure in 2002 CAD was available for the track manufacturing process. If you look up the lift hill as riding you would think otherwise. Its far from straight.

The smoothed over track joints (that havent been painted) are now very rusty and lifting the paint off. This is getting to the point the track joint has no paint left. One portion of the ride has been dismantled and reassembled many times as the track is lowered, due to train stalling. This results in a very bumpy ride.

I just think my naivity as a child has caused me to think these rides are flawless. Perhaps kumali, infusion, hell even nemesis behaves in the same way?
 
Don't forget the size and conditions will play a part on the distortion of the track to some extent; it might only be minor but an inch here and an inch there may cause a bit of shuffling side to side, especially if the ride is rough by nature as it is.
 
I don't mean the train moving due to uneven track, i mean the train moving due to the wheels not touching it, it felt like the side wheels weren't touching the track. So on any given element you can hear the train knocking side to side despite the track being u. Straight. Ish. When you are 167ft in the air and the train feels like its about to fall out the track on the first drop its a very scary thought

An intense, fast, extreme coaster that rides like a portable fair ground ride

admittedly the scale doesn't help. I think the intense speed and g force batters the trains and track
 
Again, as everyone has said, that is Vekoma for you. They make mediocre rides with such a vastly different ride from one to thenother that it is just horrible.
 
In a nutshell, they go through inversions that slowly gravity causes the trains to fall back on themselves.
 
Vekoma's quality assurance is garbage. The manufacturing tolerances are unbelievable. When a single parameter such as the opening between road wheels and upstop wheels is permitted to vary an inch from one train to the next, and you factor that the track itself is what 3 or 4 inches in diameter? How is anyone surprised that the rides suck?

Combine that with a place that probably does only the barest minimum of preventative maintenance and the seaside location, corrosion and ride deterioration is to be expected.

One of these days an SLC is going to derail, and I certainly won't be surprised when it happens.
 
Totally agree, on a simple corkscrew model its not as frightening as you expect that from a portable fair ground ride . But its a truly terrifying experience with everything you've said in mind while your suspended 167ft in the air facing the ground with a 65mph drop approaching.
 
Isn't the topic title slightly misleading here when you consider that the opening post is 100% about Jubilee Odyssey?

So much of what was posted (paint job, limescale, generally being tatty) is completely down to one park's maintenance of one coaster, and not down to the manufacturer at all.

It's kind of a known "fact" that Vekomas don't necessarily age as well as, say, B&M coasters. However, when you look at parks that make more effort with maintenance, the problems aren't nearly as bad the majority of the time.

Basically, what I'm saying is that it's completely unfair to blame Vekoma for what is, essentially, the responsibility of Fantasy Island. You wouldn't buy a new car and expect it to run the same after 20 years if you didn't invest in maintaining it beyond making it road-legal, which is pretty much what Fantasy Island seem to be doing with JO.
 
Tbh, I dont really find it that rough, and the condition of the ride doesn't seem that bad. Yes the red paint has faded, but apart from that it seems ok.

I genuinely love this coaster, and I kinda wish it was at another park where it could be given the TLC it deserves.
 
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