Upstops on Wooden Coasters
Shawn Mamros
>1. Are the upstops on wooder coasters safe? I dont know but I always
>have this fear that there aren't any upstops on Wooden Coasters <Of
>course there are but sometimes I get the feeling there arent!>.
Answer: a most emphatic YES, they are safe! It would require a major
structural failure for upstop wheels to fail. Note that, if a train's
weight-bearing wheels are on the track, there will be a few inches of
play between the bottom of the track and the upstop wheels; this is
by design. So it is possible that the weight-bearing wheels will
rise off the track, but not far enough for the upstop wheels to catch;
this actually happens quite often (on the better coasters, anyways :-),
and is no doubt the cause of the sensation you describe. When the upstop
wheels do catch, you *will* feel it!
ALL wooden coasters running today have either upstop wheels, or under-
friction bars which serve the same purpose. (If/when Leap the Dips
at Lakemont Park runs again, this will no longer be true, but that ride's
side-friction wheels coupled with its *very* small dips will ensure no
problems on that ride either.)
-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mam...@ftp.com
cyberq
Well.. I am still a newbie here <I have only been reading here for about
2 months and I am sure this newsgroup has been running longer then that>
and I just have a couple questions for everyone out there.
1. Are the upstops on wooder coasters safe? I dont know but I always
have this fear that there aren't any upstops on Wooden Coasters <Of
course there are but sometimes I get the feeling there arent!>. I saw
them on the Wilde Beast at Wonderland and they looked something like this.
--
| |
-------- <-- The Car
O O <--- Main wheels
-------- <---- The Track
o o <----- The upstops?
--
The upstops looked like TWO little white rollers or something. I get the
feeling of the train flying off the track on Minebuster usually on the
second bump, it freaks me out! :)
2. What are trim brakes?
3. Where did everyone get those rumors about Top Gun in Paramount
Canada's Wonderland from? Top gun is running GREAT in Wonderland. I
still enjoy the parts where you get the feeling that your legs are going
to hit the other track.
4. Anyone ever think of a backwards standup inverted looping roller
coaster?... Maybe its possible <yeah right> :)
Well.. sorry to bore you all with these very simple questions for most of
you.. oh, one more thing, when you get lateral g's how does the train
stay on the track? I dont see any side wheels so I am confused.
Thanks again,
Paul <CYB...@CML.COM>
------------------------------------------------------------------
: Come join our Teleconference! telnet://chat.compulink.com:9000 :
------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Riznar
In a previous article, mam...@ftp.com (Shawn Mamros) says:
>cyb...@cml.com (cyberq) writes:
>>1. Are the upstops on wooder coasters safe? I dont know but I always
>>have this fear that there aren't any upstops on Wooden Coasters <Of
>>course there are but sometimes I get the feeling there arent!>.
>
>Answer: a most emphatic YES, they are safe! It would require a major
>structural failure for upstop wheels to fail. Note that, if a train's
>weight-bearing wheels are on the track, there will be a few inches of
>play between the bottom of the track and the upstop wheels; this is
>by design. So it is possible that the weight-bearing wheels will
>rise off the track, but not far enough for the upstop wheels to catch;
>this actually happens quite often (on the better coasters, anyways :-),
>and is no doubt the cause of the sensation you describe. When the upstop
>wheels do catch, you *will* feel it!
>
>ALL wooden coasters running today have either upstop wheels, or under-
>friction bars which serve the same purpose. (If/when Leap the Dips
>at Lakemont Park runs again, this will no longer be true, but that ride's
>side-friction wheels coupled with its *very* small dips will ensure no
>problems on that ride either.)
>
>-Shawn Mamros
>E-mail to: mam...@ftp.com
>
Just a brief observation in this vein. While riding and observing the
Raven recently, I heard (somehow don't remember hearing this sound ever
before) a "Clunk" sound when the back car went over the edge of the
"Big-air-drop". This is the sound of a safety wheel banging into the
upstop rail, and hopefully not destroying it BTW.
Joe "Mr. Detail" Riznar
Tom Obszanski
>>friction bars which serve the same purpose. (If/when Leap the Dips
>>at Lakemont Park runs again, this will no longer be true, but that ride's
>>side-friction wheels coupled with its *very* small dips will ensure no
>>problems on that ride either.)
>>
>>-Shawn Mamros
>>E-mail to: mam...@ftp.com
>>
Not entirely true. The Clementon Lake Jackrabbit, to the best of my knowledge,
doesn't have underwheels or a friction bar to hold it onto the tracks, the only thing doing
that is gravity.
Tom Obszanski
John Downing
>From: tobs...@enter.net (Tom Obszanski)
>Subject: Re: Upstops on Wooden Coasters
>Date: 23 May 1995 22:02:48 GMT
This is also true of certain Scenic Railways in Europe, including Hullamvasut
in Budapest and HochSchauBahn in Vienna
>Tom Obszanski
Dave Althoff
: Well.. I am still a newbie here [...]
Welcome aboard! Secure all loose articles as we cannot be responsible if
any become lost or damaged, and remain seated throughout your session.
Above all, enjoy the ride! 8-)
: 1. Are the upstops on wooder coasters safe? I dont know but I always
: have this fear that there aren't any upstops on Wooden Coasters [...]
Oh, they're safe all right. A typical wood coaster truck has three wheels
on it...a road wheel on top, a guide wheel on the side, and a roller
underneath the road wheel. You usually don't see the up-stops on wood
coasters because the up-stops drop down between the rails. The
arrangement looks something like this--
Road Wheel -----------------> O-|--------
Track top ------------------> ##[] <--side-friction wheel
Track ----------------------> #o-| <--up-stop assembly
#
Track-tie-------------------> #############
In other words, the 'road' portion of the track is actually cantilevered
so that the up-stop can fit underneath. Note also that the up-stop is not
necessarily a wheel...for instance, Prior & Church used a brass rod, as
does Arrow on the older Runaway Trains.
Note also that where there are forces which will lift a train from the
track, there is usually a steel track strip mounted on the underside of
the track as well as on top. In fact, on the Stricker's Grove Tornado, I
once stood under the track and watched the up-stops strike sparks against
the upstop wear strip!
: 2. What are trim brakes?
Simply put, these are brakes located along the course of the ride with the
intention of slowing down the train, not stopping it. In some cases, the
trim brakes are capable of stopping the train, but usually do not (ex.
Raptor, Mean Streak)
[question #3 skipped since I don't have an answer]
: 4. Anyone ever think of a backwards standup inverted looping roller
: coaster?... Maybe its possible <yeah right> :)
Well, Vekoma is reportedly working on an inverted version of the
Boomerang, which takes care of the "backwards" part and the "inverted"
part. That leaves the "standup" part. Y'know, I'm not sure that
"inverted" and "stand-up" would be a particularly interesting combination.
The real attraction of the inverted coaster is the flying feet effect,
and if you've got to have something to stand on, well, what's the point.
I'd say either a stand-up boomerang or an inverted sit-down boomerang.
Just my opinion, of course.
: [...] oh, one more thing, when you get lateral g's how does the train
: stay on the track? I dont see any side wheels so I am confused.
First of all, with the up-stops, the train isn't going to leave the track.
In terms of providing a smooth curve, there are a few ways to do it.
a. Ultra-traditional: Use flanged wheels...that is, wheels with look
like this in profile--> [|- as you might find on a standard railroad
track. This tactic is generally associated with Prior & Church, and with
the older PTC junior coasters.
b. Most common: Use wheels mounted at a 90-degree angle to the road
wheels on the inside or outside edge of the track. If these wheels are
mounted along the inside edge of the track, as is common with PTC, NAD,
Arrow, Vekoma, and others, these wheels can be really hard to see. Note
that Arrow actually uses pairs of side wheels on its steel coasters.
c. Less common: Use concave-surface road wheels )=(. This is done on
steel coasters by such designers as Schwarzkopf, SDC, Pinfari, and I
believe B&M. In this way, the road wheel can double as a guide wheel.
Perfect example: a cross-section of a Jet Star truck looks something like
this... |-)=(-|####
| O----------
\___
(uncommonly simple for anything designed by Anton Schwarzkopf!)
Does this help?
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
--
/-\ _ _ __
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /XX\_ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ _/XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX