LoCoSuMo Opinions and Comparisons

[kirk_ri...@yahoo.com]

LoCoSuMo is in a category all its own in my opinion...I find it hard
to rate it among other coasters....what other coaster would you place
in a similar category? Black Diamond? Wooden Mice? Other?

[Jeremy]

On Jan 3, 3:37 pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"

Gravity Group is still trying to market this ride style they designed
for Indiana Beach when they were CCI, so I think it doesn't really
belongs being categorized with other coasters until they sell any more
'Splinter' coasters. Right now it's just a prototype design that no
other park has happened to buy yet. I wouldn't be surprised if Black
Diamond/Golden Nugget was used as a historical point of inspiration
for the design, however.

[kirk_ri...@yahoo.com]

On Jan 3, 4:37 pm, Jeremy <jkthompso...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Gravity Group is still trying to market this ride style they designed
> for Indiana Beach when they were CCI,

I did not visit Indiana Beach until the year LoCoSuMo opened. Was that
2002? I thought I understood that the mountain already existed and to
some extent the ride was created because the mountain existed. Is this
correct?

[Jeremy]

On Jan 3, 5:27 pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"

Yeah that's correct, it was originally a dark ride attraction until it
was converted in 2002 (with I think some modifications in 2003?). CCI
developed a new wooden coaster system to fit it into the pre-existing
structure, and I think Gravity Group has retained the patent on that
system so they're still trying to sell it to other parks.

[Wolf]

<kirk_ri...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3719344e-6ca3-474e...@x15g2000vbr.googlegroups.com...

> LoCoSuMo is in a category all its own in my opinion...I find it hard
> to rate it among other coasters....what other coaster would you place
> in a similar category? Black Diamond? Wooden Mice? Other?

It's as much akin to a gravity dark ride as it is to a wooden coaster.

Wooden mice, Pretzels, and the dark woodies (The Underground, etc) probably
are comparable.

You could almost include WG's Cyclone for its pure perversity.

--
|\-/|
<0 0>
=(o)=
-Wolf

[Wolf]

> LoCoSuMo is in a category all its own in my opinion...I find it hard
> to rate it among other coasters....what other coaster would you place
> in a similar category? Black Diamond? Wooden Mice? Other?

Gravity Group is still trying to market this ride style they designed
for Indiana Beach when they were CCI, so I think it doesn't really
belongs being categorized with other coasters until they sell any more
'Splinter' coasters. Right now it's just a prototype design that no
other park has happened to buy yet. I wouldn't be surprised if Black
Diamond/Golden Nugget was used as a historical point of inspiration
for the design, however.

------------------

Very broadly, it's a wooden wild mouse themed as a dark ride. The ride
actions are fairly consistent with that of a freeform mouse. It's all tight
switchbacks and steep drops.

[Wolf]

<kirk_ri...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:296eb8b2-1bf9-464e...@o35g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

---------

Yup. Used to be a dark ride called "Superstition Mountain". Some of the
props and much of the mountain were retained. You can see the original track
and layout in places.

It had even worse throughput than LoCoSuMo does.

[Wolf]

"Jeremy" <jkthom...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:da7eaa0f-6869-4371...@k19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com...

--------------

I'm not sure it was patented, actually. Not that many people would steal a
train design that can't go straight.

I *think* the Timberliner cars can complete the LoCoSuMo circuit, though.

[kirk_ri...@yahoo.com]

> I *think* the Timberliner cars can complete the LoCoSuMo circuit, though.

Really????

[Wolf]

<kirk_ri...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4dcf3cdc-8432-44eb...@z7g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

>
>> I *think* the Timberliner cars can complete the LoCoSuMo circuit, though.
>
> Really????

I won't swear to that. The Lost Coaster trains are capable of tighter turns
that the layout provides, and I think the TLs can make that one switchback
in the mountain.

[kirk_ri...@yahoo.com]

I would think the length of the train could be the primary factor/
problem

[mamoosh]

On Jan 3, 12:37 pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"
<kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> LoCoSuMo....

What idiot came up with that abbreviation?

Oh, wait...never mind : - )

[Steelforce]

sounds like a japanese coaster!

[Andrew Brawley]

Yeah. A crazy Spanish speaking Japanese coaster.

[mamoosh]

On Jan 6, 5:39 am, Andrew Brawley <dj_d...@coasterboys.com> wrote:

> Yeah.  A crazy Spanish speaking Japanese coaster.

Aww, man! I expected you to respond with an appropriate zinger or two
my way. You're going soft on me (and you KNOW how I hate that)!!!

[Dave Althoff, Jr.]

Jeremy <jkthom...@gmail.com> wrote:
: On Jan 3, 3:37�pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"

I don't know if that is quite fair to either LoCoSuMo or to the Gravity
Guys. It's accurate, but I am not entirely sure it is completely fair.

Certainly, the mechanical engineering involved in building the trains for
LoCoSuMo were the impetus for ultimately designing the Splinter/Timberliner
train, and the new design shows corrections for lessons learned in building
LoCoSuMo.

But while it sort of is, I am not sure it's really appropriate to consider
LoCoSuMo really to be a prototype ride, not in the sense that it was
intended to be a demonstration platform for a new ride system. The ride
was very much designed and constructed specifically as a replacement for
the existing Mountain Ride, which was one of the most bizzarre
dark-ride-like rides I've ever seen. LoCoSuMo is a one-off custom
creation, where CCI very deliberately took what they knew...wood roller
coasters...and expanded that to create what is really an entirely new ride
platform. It kind of looks like a wood coaster, but it isn't really...or
is it? 8-)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
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[Dave Althoff, Jr.]

kirk_ri...@yahoo.com <kirk_ri...@yahoo.com> wrote:
: I would think the length of the train could be the primary factor/
: problem

Not necessarily. The more serious issue is the length of the wheelbase.
Since the Timberliner cars have only single axles, that can be controlled
within some limits by the coupling. And in fact, because the Timberliner
cars are trailered, a 4-car Timberliner might actually be *shorter* than a
2-car LoCoSuMo train because there is no drawbar.

What I am not sure of is what they would do for a train of Splinter cars.
Remember that the Splinter car is simply two Timberliner cars facing each
other. That means that to do a 2-car train there would probably have to be
some kind of a drawbar, and that would have to be long enough to keep the
cars from hitting each other, yet short enough to still make it around the
curves. But if the LoCoSuMo train can do it, the Splinter train ought to be
able to.