Average life span of a roller coaster

aerm66tom

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Jan 20, 2004, 4:18:12 PM1/20/04

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My nephew has to find out what the average life span of a metal roller
coaster is..I've looked everywhere that I can find on the net to no
avail....please help!

Shawn Mamros

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Jan 20, 2004, 5:37:01 PM1/20/04

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There may be too much variation to come up with a meaningful average.
Some steelies have lasted less than a decade. Others have been operating
for 50 years or so, with no end in sight. And the key differentiator is
how successful the ride is to the owner(s), rather than how long the
structure itself will last.

Not the answer you're looking for, I'm sure; sorry about that! If you
want something more concrete (but not necessarily correct), you could
always add up the ages of all the steel coasters on rcdb.com and divide
it out...

-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mamros -at- mit dot edu

Wolf

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Jan 20, 2004, 6:40:21 PM1/20/04

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> My nephew has to find out what the average life span of a metal roller
> coaster is..I've looked everywhere that I can find on the net to no
> avail....please help!

In what way?

From a materials standpoint, or operational?

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-Wolf

Robert Kent

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Jan 21, 2004, 2:29:18 AM1/21/04

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"Shawn Mamros" <mam...@mit.edu> wrote in message
news:400dad8d$0$569$b45e...@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu...

Disneyland's Space Mountain lasted less than 25 years before it was
demolished. Hopefully the replacement will last a little longer.

Robert Kent

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Jan 21, 2004, 2:30:19 AM1/21/04

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"Steve Hoskins" <sjhho...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:aiqr00dlcelimftrg...@4ax.com...

> Matterhorn at Disneyland was the first tubular steel track -- now 45
> years old and still running.

Is the Matterhorn still using the original track?

kipross

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Jan 21, 2004, 8:01:22 AM1/21/04

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"Steve Hoskins" <sjhho...@earthlink.net> wrote in message

> Matterhorn at Disneyland was the first tubular steel track -- now 45

> years old and still running.

Actually, I believe this is a common misconception. Hanayashiki's Roller
Coaster opened in 1953. As far as I know, this Togo coaster uses tubular
steel track.

-kipross

rdreaming

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Jan 21, 2004, 9:21:22 AM1/21/04

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On 20 Jan 2004 13:18:12 -0800, aerm...@yahoo.com (aerm66tom) wrote:

This is slightly off your topic but close enough that I thought it
would be fun to post one of my favorite quotes I've read about the
lifespan of a roller coaster (in this case a wooden one):

"A roller coaster designer visited LeSourdsville Lake in the early
1970s to view the Screechin' Eagle roller coaster. We were standing at
the base of the lift hill when I asked him, 'What's the life of a
coaster?' Without batting an eye, he seriously replied, 'The first big
accident.' Of course, I was referring to the forces of nature acting
on the wood structure but he gave me a better answer than the one I
was looking for."

Alfred Freeman, former coaster operator

from http://www.americanaamusementpark.com/quotes.htm

kipross

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Jan 21, 2004, 9:34:22 AM1/21/04

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"kipross" <kip...@comcast.net> wrote in message

I was wrong. I just checked some pictures of Hanayahiki's coaster and it
has flat steel track, sorta like Scandia Screamer.

-kipross

Dave Althoff Jr

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Jan 22, 2004, 12:28:01 AM1/22/04

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kipross (kip...@comcast.net) wrote:

: "kipross" <kip...@comcast.net> wrote in message

That was kind of what I thought (not remembering the exact coaster; Kip is
the one with the huge file of out-of-the-way Asian coasters... 8-)
)...either it was flat track, or it was square tube. Everything I have
seen has credited Ed & Karl with coming up with the idea of using round
tube. Brilliant idea, as it turns out.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

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