The Smiler - Construction Discussion

[ManiaMuse]

It's odd, the fins are only on the straight bit of track so if they were for anti roll back purposes to reduce noise then there would still have to have clickety-clackety conventional anti roll-backs at the crest. Even if it is to lower the train back to the bottom of the lift, how do you safely disengage the chain from the cars?

The only other similar coaster I can think of is Maverick which has LSMs on the lift which also act as anti rollbacks and can lower the train to the bottom of the lift if necessary. But that is a launched lift in the first place.

[Rollercoasters4Life]

Some common sense here, the fins cannot be for antirollback as they would have to go over the crest, like the ratchet on the chain will do. They are obviously there for a reason, it's the world's first vertical lift with magnetic fins, let us not be boring... They are obviously there for awworld's first reason

Disagree, why would it have to go all the way to the top? Don't forget the fins go up to the curve, the train will take up the curve section so if it was to go back the back carriage would just be on the first fin then go down through the rest and with the other carriages following it will come to a slowed descent. Once it's up and over the curve the train is free to go.

[Peter Mcdonald 95]

Love a bit of controversy on a Monday afternoon 

Will love it what ever it turns out to be tbh

[Capt.Barnacles]

I heard a rumour at school today that the lights are on the Flasher and have already been tested. Is this true?

[Richardio123]

Hmm strange but.. people could be right, in my opinion I just think it is anti-rollbacks....
Thats my opinion though. Could be something more interesting though. Hopefully  :P 8)

[WhatARoaster]

Now that the lift is pretty much done what is next to be constructed?

[Capt.Barnacles]

The final turn, the two drops, and the first lift hill. The Hypnotiser leg also has to go in, and then it's just general work around the site with small details. Like the pipework on the station.

[Rollercoasters4Life]

Now that the lift is pretty much done what is next to be constructed?

Well there is still both inverted drops to finish, the final turn into the brake run and first lift hill. I would say either the first inverted drop or the final turn will be next.

[Phild94]

Now that the lift is pretty much done what is next to be constructed?

Well there is still both inverted drops to finish, the final turn into the brake run and first lift hill. I would say either the first inverted drop or the final turn will be next.

This is what i think will be completed.... in order from 1-4

Green is completed track as of 15/4/13 at 2:30



1- First inverted drop
2- Final Turn
3- Second inverted drop
4- 1st lift hill

Mainly because this doesnt stop any progress anywhere else on the track... and the final turn MUST be completed before the 2nd inverted drop can go in due to the turn being underneath it

Hope this helped......

[Roodlesnouter]

I fully excpected the lift hill track to be completed today, the lift hill was completed yesterday and I saw and photographed all the lift hill track in position ready to lift into place, you can see this in yesterdays update.

I now wonder where they will attack next, first lift hill or second inverted drop. Knowing the the crane is now posistioned over the far side of the ride I expect them to finish by working from the inside out ie finishing with the first lift hill.

Only one way to find out and that is to get on park, expect an update from me tomorrow evening   

[Alex]

You should have been there today Mark! Missed some good photo opportunities!

[Boz]

I'm really curious about the brakes on that lift, not only does it have magnetic brake fins along the straight, at the base of the straight, there are also friction brakes, AND (although I'mm not 100% on this) I'm pretty sure there's a ratchet teeth in there too! :-k This is proving to be a very unusual lift hill, and I for one, don't wanna make guesses about what's going to happen on it.

Edit: Here is a pic of the bottom of the straight in the car park

[aress]

I can't help but wonder if the first lift hill is deliberately being kept until last? Perhaps there's something very unique about it that they don't want us to know about until the last possible moment!

[Altitude]

^ It's because some of the track goes under that lift. The final turn needs to go in first. However something may be special about the lift. I hope it's just a normal lift though tbh.

[coasterdude_1]

I think it's probably just an evac measure. On normal Eurofighters, how would an evacuation take place? Perhaps I'm wrong but I think they can evac at any point on the tower using the bucket lift pulley system in the tower lattice. Worth noting here there is no standard lattice tower and just a few supports instead. I expect that this is solely for evac- if the train gets stuck for some reason they just release the train dog and it drifts back down to the bottom to be evac-ed there rather than halfway up the lift. Also a possibility that they are to help with timing the duelling elements, though you'd think they could do that with the chain alone.

Either way, tbh I am happy with the result as it is as stands. The design was good enough with no gimmicks added on top... Also remember more gimmicks = more downtime --- just look at the first few years of the Winja coasters' existence to see that. Would a rollback lift or launch really add a huge amount? Probably not, I think this has enough merit in the design alone

[SmileyMan]

I would just like to point something out that I dont think has been mentioned yet. This is that on the picture of the completed vertical lift hill, the top, where it goes from vertical to horizontal is a very wide arc. If you look at all eurofighters, they all have a very sharp top to them.

If it was a launched coaster, it would have time for it to slow down at the top to carry on its journey. It would also mean they would be able to launch it faster than if it was pulled up by a chain.

[1996coaster]

I've had a thought about the LIMs up the vertical lift, is it possible that they are there to hold the extra weight of the trains? because a normal Eurofighter has only 2 rows of 4 per train, seeing as this weighs twice as much having 4 rows of 4 the LIMs could be there just to make sure the chain can lift the cars up the lift without snapping.

[Boz]

I would just like to point something out that I dont think has been mentioned yet. This is that on the picture of the completed vertical lift hill, the top, where it goes from vertical to horizontal is a very wide arc. If you look at all eurofighters, they all have a very sharp top to them.

If it was a launched coaster, it would have time for it to slow down at the top to carry on its journey. It would also mean they would be able to launch it faster than if it was pulled up by a chain.

Indeed, it was much sharper than that in the plans... :-k

I've had a thought about the LIMs up the vertical lift, is it possible that they are there to hold the extra weight of the trains? because a normal Eurofighter has only 2 rows of 4 per train, seeing as this weighs twice as much having 4 rows of 4 the LIMs could be there just to make sure the chain can lift the cars up the lift without snapping.

Sorry but they are not LIMs, they are a standard sheet of metal (normally a copper/steel mix), designed to induce the attraction of magnets behind the break pads fitted on the train.

[GigaSurimi]

I've read a few posts here where people mention dueling elements. Is that speculation only or is there anything actually supporting that point? And if so, how would the dueling take place, would it be like two or more cars meeting/crossing their ways at some points of the track?

What would that add in terms of experience? I mean a "dueling" feature would require quite a bit of work/design on timing/synchronization to ensure that the trains actually meet at one or more points, but would that be worth the hassle? Would that add/provide any thrills to the riders or is it just something aesthetic for the spectator to enjoy from the queue lines? Considering the certain speed and complexity of the track, I'm not sure the riders themselves would have time to focus/notice that...?

[MrMrMr]

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