Are you talking about a loading station like Big Thunder's at Disney World, where there is a switch in the track or a station with separate loading/unloading spots?
like kingda ka's dual loading station with switch tracks. I dont really get how that works. And also how does a train get from the tracks to the storage area? OMG I know these may be dumb but please answer them...THANKS!!!
I'm not sure how the switch track works on Kingda Ka exactly, usually it just slides over about a foot so that the correct rail is lined up for whichever side it is supposed to go to. For storing trains, there is a track that either slides perpindicular to itself or rotates on its end. They move a train onto the transfer track, move it to the desired storage track, and wheels on the transfer track push it onto the storage track. Once it is in the storage area, it is sometimes supported by wheels mounted to the structure that run along the center underside of the car rather than the car being supported by the rail itself (there are two guide rails that prevent the car from toppling over), making it easier to inspect and replace wheels on the train. Each ride is different, so just ask an operator if there is a transfer track (all the coasters at SFGAm have one) and to point out where it is.
Last edited by twixmix0303 on October 20th, 2005, 11:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If Kingda Ka's station is anything like Mr. Freeze then the trains arrive in the station, stop and then the track slides left or right. This will put either train on the track to launch.
This system works much like the transfer track that Raging Bull and other coasters use to load and unload trains off the circut, only Mr. Freeze goes both left and right of the track.
It also helps if they are only running one side of the ride, they can switch over to the other side when a dealy in operation occurs. The track just basically slides back and forth to bring it into the correct station. Then the people get off at one station and load at the next, then they are ready to go, the track will switch back over to allow them to be set on the launch track.
Universal Orlando Mechanical Engineer Marathon down, Goofy to go.
Revenge of the Mummy's dual station is actually ran similar to a train track. They switch the rail around between the stations. I was trying to understand it when i was there but never really figured it out, i just remembered running differently than most.
RIP: Trailblazer and Deja Vu...heck, even Alien Encounter
watch the KINGDA KA preview video on the SF website, the computer graphics one. it shows the switch track moving over to let the one sides train go, and then back to let the other
I personally love the Big Bad Wolf transfer track solution. what happens, I believe, is the track that leads into the station has another peice of curved track facing the sky. the track then rotates on its spine and drops the curved section into place for the train to roll onto the storage tracks. I don't know if its like this for all Arrow suspended coasters or even if I got the idea right, but that was the only purpose for a curved piece of track facing the sky that I could think of. wish I had a pic.
I don't have a detonator; its on a timer.
A countdown timer?
No, a count-up timer. It goes from one to explode.
twixmix0303 wrote:I'm not sure how the switch track works on Kingda Ka exactly, usually it just slides over about a foot so that the correct rail is lined up for whichever side it is supposed to go to. For storing trains, there is a track that either slides perpindicular to itself or rotates on its end. They move a train onto the transfer track, move it to the desired storage track, and wheels on the transfer track push it onto the storage track. Once it is in the storage area, it is sometimes supported by wheels mounted to the structure that run along the center underside of the car rather than the car being supported by the rail itself (there are two guide rails that prevent the car from toppling over), making it easier to inspect and replace wheels on the train. Each ride is different, so just ask an operator if there is a transfer track (all the coasters at SFGAm have one) and to point out where it is.
Not all coasters have them. Vu and V2 dont. And i know this sounds tupid but i use to think that the ride operators carried the cars of the trains from track to track until I realized how heavy they are.
As for Kingda Ka and Superman: Ultimate Flight, watch the Kingda Ka video. That is about the best way to show how it works. The entire track that the train sits on doesn't move. Only a small piece moves before the train approaches it (as rct2wizard360 said, like a railroad switch).