How do the rides run?

[Coaster Alex0805]

I know that they press a botton and then the train goes..But according to my sister it is all ran by computer, And they have to press the button to tell the computer and she said that the ride will clock out. Any help here or is she just crazy!

[regulator0407]

i couldnt tell you...it would be kind of cool to find out though...

[rct2wizard360]

This is true. Once the ride operator presses the button, the computer takes over. How do you think the sensors on the MCBR's work? If the computer does not sense the ride going past a sensor with in a certain amount of time, the ride operator is notified and will stop the ride.

[Danhockey04]

It is actually very simple. They press the button which releases the brakes in the station (or in Vu's case, enables the catch car). Once out of the station it will reach it's first proxy sensor. There the ride will be taken over by the proxy's. The proxy's will detect the trains position along the ride and when to trigger certain things to occur like starting the lift or releasing the catch car. It also triggers the brakes and how slow to stop the train. This is all done through a main computer.

[Coaster Alex0805]

She also says when they clock out they will be able to tell why they stoped and broke I dunno what she is talking about though!

[twixmix0303]

All coasters are divided into blocks. Basically, a block is wherever the train can be stopped (like the brakes, station, and lift hill) and all regular track before it. Remember, the cars themselves do not have brakes. The formula for how many blocks a coaster must have at least is 1+(number of trains). For example, Raging Bull has at least 4 blocks. It actually has (I think) six (station, lift, MCBR and track before, final brakes and track before, inside the storage shed, and transfer track).

The way the block system works is this: only one train can be in any one block at a time. This would prevent them from crashing. Let's say a train has just cleared the lift and is traveling towards the trims on the third hill. But the trims are on way too hard and when they release, the train can't make it over the hill and it falls backwards and valleys. However, a train has already been sent and is on the lift. As the train reaches the top of the lift, the computer senses that the first train has not made it through the MCBR and will shut the lift down. (This is why if you ever get stuck on a lift, you weren't super lucky that it was the top-this is actually where it is most likely to stop.) So, if you're still with me, you should understand that every time a train passes through the MCBRs, they shut to prevent any trains that have cleared the lift from getting too close to the train ahead. As soon as the train ahead is completely through the final brakes, the MCBRs will open. That way, if there was a problem with the first train, the final brakes are there to stop the second train. The MCBRs will open and shut hundreds of times per day, yet almost never actually stop a train.

Also, ride ops can also shut down a ride manually. They probably would have E-Stopped manually in the case of a valley on Raging Bull.

[Timmy179]

They watch for stuff like people standing up on lifts etc..... and they arent afraid to stop the lift and take care of you.

[Nystagmus]

Hi all,

I used to be a ride op at the park, back in the 90's, and want to clarify a few things for you.

First, the term E-Stop is used quite loosely on the board. On a rollercoaster, there are three different "stops". 1. Lift stop (stops only the lift and nothing else), 2. Ride stop (closes all brakes, stops the lift, stops feeder wheels, etc.). 3. E-Stop, (same as ride stop but also shuts off all power to the ride, excluding the computer and control panels for obvious reasons).

Also, when the other poster was talking about a "clock-out" they may be referring to the fact that if the operator or other host depresses a button and the other does nothing, after 8 seconds, the button must be repressed. Such that, if the operator tries to start the ride cycle, and the person running enable does not push their button, 8 seconds after the first button was pushed, the buttons become deactivated and must be pushed again. Get it? I know, it's weird, but it is more for the fact that operators cannot jam something in the button and have it go off on its own.

In another case, "clock out" may also mean what is known as Trouble. Anytime the ride detects and error, it is relayed to the operator as "Trouble" but no other information is given to the operator. Else, if the "trouble" is caused by an operator (such that they dispatched a train too early/late), and the ride sets-up (where the train stops close to the top of the hill because the next block was occupied) then they will know. Usually, operators can tell when a set-up will occur and will just stop the lift to prevent it from happening. It is a common occurance and usually why rides "break down" even though all that happened was the operator wanted to prevent the ride from starting a safety mechanism or the ride itself figured out that there would be a problem and just stopped just to be sure nothing would happen.

The computer do a lot of the operating of the ride. For example, some of the rides automatically unlock themselves and the operator has the ability to lock/unlock, but only when the computer says it is okay to do so. Also, the computer will not let a train be dispatched until it says it is okay to do so. The train could be ready to go in 5 seconds, but the computer can wait as long as it would like until it knows that the next part of the course is clear. Also, the computer does a lot in terms of sensing. It can tell how fast the trains are moving through brakes, how frequently the operators are dispatching trains, how hot the computer control room is (and the ride will shut down if the room ever gets too hot, it is a very picky computer for very good reasons).

So, basically, it is the job of the operator to ensure that the "human side" of the experience is safe and ready to go only after the computer figures out that the technical side is as well. Otherwise, there would be no need for operators at all.

[twixmix0303]

Yes, I have seen ride ops on Whizzer yell "hands off" and "clear" before. Must have been for the clock-out thing. (Everyone on the train put their hands up too, kind of funny )

Also, many coasters now have LCD screens that provide locations of trains, exact problem for trouble light, etc.

[Mr. SFGAm]

And contrary to popular General Public belief, a roller coaster train can NOT be stopped just anywhere on the circuit. As said before, it only can be stopped in the station, block brakes, and lift.

I always get people telling me how the ride-ops can purposely stop the coaster train upside down just for the fun of it.

[twixmix0303]

Didn't you hear? An outraged employee stopped Demon upside down on purpose.