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Demon Accident?
27 posts
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What caused the Demon to stop on the in 98
I could be wrong but I think it was a malfunction with the wheel assembly!
Waiting to fill this space with something stupid to say!
I heard something about a lose bolt or something. Probably wrong though.
I think they had a thing that said do not step on the wheel and someone steped on it and the wheel got stuck. But thats just me so im probly wrong.
I heard the back wheel or one of the wheel's malfunctioned during the loop. The saftey mechanism worked perfectly, and stopped the train...ironically in the middle of the loop. I could be wrong though.
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Investigators concluded that the accident was caused by mechanical failure. The accident happened when a wheel that runs along the inside of the track broke off from the axle of the last car after a nut loosened. The ride's safety systems engaged, preventing the train from derailing.
Go Bulls!
Dave - SFGAmWorld Webmaster
Yes, I believe that is correct. It needed the high forces of the loop to come off, and that's what it did. Just like Shockwave's wheel assembly broke off after coming out of the third loop (has this been confirmed, or is it just a rumor?)
As a side note, this safety system was designed after the Mindbender incident in Canada...
" 1986: Fatal accident on the {Mindbender} coaster in the West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, AB. A train on this Schwarzkopf multi-looper derailed due to an equipment failure. " (Althoff, http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff ... lmanac.txt ) What happened was the "equipment failure" was a wheel assembly that disengaged from the train, causing one of the cars to derail, and creating a bit of a mess. In response, the system used on Demon was designed for coasters, and that system, while stopping the ride in the loop, prevented what would almost certainly otherwise have been more fatalities. More information: "1987, August 15: The Mindbender roller coaster at Fantasyland (now Galaxyland) in West Edmonton Mall, Alberta reopens after 14 months of down time after an accident which had claimed three lives. The trains are modified to be one car shorter. All following cars now emulate the lead one by having four trucks instead of trailered, two-truck ones." (Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada: Significant Events, http://cec.chebucto.org/SigDates.html#1900 ) Here's the aftermath: http://members.aol.com/drcompany/mind.jpg
What safety system? Something (forgot what it was) got jammed when the wheel assembly broke off which got it stuck and kept it there. Wondering why they chained the cars to the track?
Papas, I believe the cars had some sort of emergency stopping system to prevent the cars from falling off of the track in the case of a broken axle, wheel, etc. I believe that this mechinism kicked in when the train was compleatly upside down in the loop.
So what kind of system is it? I dont remember Arrow making this kind of safety system on their trains.
Fparker shed some light on this?
Nope. The trains themselves have no automatic emergency stopping system. The emergency stop is controlled from the station. It works only so that the train comes to a complete stop on the lift, MCBR, and brake run only. This is because they can control the ride at these points and get the riders safely off if we need to. What happened with Demon was one of the axles snapped and got tangled up in the track, causing it to come to a standstill smack dab in the second loop.
Reminds me of another posts 3 posts up
 .
This accident occured when a wheel that runs along the inside of the track broke off from the axle of the last car after a nut got loose.
I believe the park installed a newer safety mechanism to the trains after it happened. Didn't this happen in April of 1998?
Yeah, only I had more information on it 
It happened April 18, 1998
Heres the information on it, I forgot to put the link with my last post: Click Here Go Bulls!
Dave - SFGAmWorld Webmaster
Thanks for clearing it up. Mr. Constanza runs a great site!
I remember when this happened because i was at the park that day. My dad had to point it out though. This is way off topic N i dont no if one has been made on it but its about the Utica tornado. My grandma lives there and got minor damabe but my Aunt Connie's house got hit very hard....
I remember seeing something about that on the Travel Channel. And until I actually learned what happened I always felt a little nervous before getting on the Demon. (It was the black train right?)
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Yes, it was the black train, you can easily see that the black train has a different rear axle, it almost looks like a shockwave spare or something along those lines, when i last looked it was a little more beefy than the other trains, they've most likely converted them all to this newer axle however.
Licensed Mechanical Engineer
This quote was from early may of last year but this topic reminded me of the older topic. Here is a pitcure of the back axle on Demon. http://www.msoe.edu/st_orgs/ASME/index.htg/6flags6.jpg
Ive seen that picture before, really creepy, For those of you who dont click links or who just arent very observant, you can see one of the bodies. Around the world and back
Count me as the unobservant... holy crap, I didn't notice that before... woah.
27 posts
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