Jump to content

Diamondback Track Inspection . . Just Curious


rlentless
 Share

Recommended Posts

Was watching a POV for the Diamondback and the thought hit me how they go about inspecting the track daily.  I know from reading other posts/articles that woodies like The Beast, Racer, etc. that someone walks the track every morning before it opens.  Do rides like the Diamondback get inspected the same?  Or do they do more of a from the ground inspection?  And/or climb up at certain points and do spot checks??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Others can chime in, but I believe that once a week they do more thorough inspections.  I am not sure if they clime the entire length of the track, or not.  I would imagine that they would do something more than just a walk from the ground.  Obviously they will inspect the lift and the sensors on the lifts every day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have read railroads use electromagnetic sensors and such to create signatures of what good sections of track look like and can compare to find faults. Parks could probably do the same but then again railroads have many more miles of track to inspect and maintain than a park so it might not be as feasible on such a small scale.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few little insights on this!

I know recently a enthusiast page posted about some equipment being on Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, and that equiptment was most likely the NDT they do for the trackwork (NDT standing for Non-destructive testing) 

If you have ever ridden Dominator, you may notice that in the transfer they have a maintenance ball covered up. I do believe CF possibly has a few of these that ship around from park to park to test all the B&M's every few years. Keep in mind that the track and rails are solid structures that even though they take a lot of stress, do not break as easily. That's why CF does a complete winter maintenance of all of it's rides where everything comes off, stripped down to the very last bolt and is tested before being put back together and back on the track for another year of fun! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, sixohdieselrage said:

Not sure if anyone saw it, but Carowinds had some cool gyroscopic, ball shaped vehicle that can "drive" along the track for Fury. It looked really cool. I'll insert a link if I find it again. 

That sounds really cool. I've never heard of anything like it. I'm assuming it attaches to the track via wheels? I'd love to see this thing so I can understand it better.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a response from Don on this question.

There are parts of the ride the maintenance workers walk the track (up the lift and block areas) every morning. The entire ride course is walked from the ground level. With steel coasters, you're looking at the foundation, footers, and welds, and how the coaster sounds during test cycles.

Thanks @DonHelbig for the info!

  • Like 9
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^Nope.  No way, no how.  Even if I remembered all my knots from Scouting, I would not do this.


It’s all in what you know and are required to do. I’d do this no issues at all. Then again, scouting knots aren’t going to cut it. This is life safety knots all the way.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I could get over my fear of falling, I'd love to have a job like this. But I'll leave this to the pros, haha.



It’s all in what you know and are required to do. I’d do this no issues at all. Then again, scouting knots aren’t going to cut it. This is life safety knots all the way.


Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I could get over my fear of falling, I'd love to have a job like this. But I'll leave this to the pros, haha.


Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk



You overcome the fear of falling from getting used to doing the ropes and knots on the ground. Then you try indoor rock climbing and rappelling. Keep it low, under a few stories. Then try 5 stories. After that, height won’t bother you. We have a ladder truck at work that is 105’ high at an 85 degree climbing angle.

The fall isn’t the problem, it’s the sudden stop when you reach the ground... :lol:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/21/2018 at 11:52 PM, BoddaH1994 said:

Where is @AZ Kinda Guy when you need him?

Pretty much what Don said....To add on to it, it’s rather fascinating how quickly you get acclimated to how the ride is supposed to sound. A trained ear can pick up on even the slightest abnormal noise that other people wouldn’t notice. I believe we had an example of this involving Invertigo while waiting at the front gate a few years ago @BoddaH1994!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AZ Kinda Guy said:

Pretty much what Don said....To add on to it, it’s rather fascinating how quickly you get acclimated to how the ride is supposed to sound. A trained ear can pick up on even the slightest abnormal noise that other people wouldn’t notice. I believe we had an example of this involving Invertigo while waiting at the front gate a few years ago @BoddaH1994!

Haha... I’m shocked you remembered that! 

It made a strange noise and you were like, “Uh oh. Miscatch.” And then it did.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, AZ Kinda Guy said:

Pretty much what Don said....To add on to it, it’s rather fascinating how quickly you get acclimated to how the ride is supposed to sound. A trained ear can pick up on even the slightest abnormal noise that other people wouldn’t notice. I believe we had an example of this involving Invertigo while waiting at the front gate a few years ago @BoddaH1994!

 

13 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Haha... I’m shocked you remembered that! 

It made a strange noise and you were like, “Uh oh. Miscatch.” And then it did.

 

That's me at Vortex! I have worked there there long enough to tell if a train miscatches on the lift or if a train arriving on the safety brakes either slows down or stops just by listening. I have also been able to suspect any possible abnormality on the trains (or at the very least, a noise slightly different from what I'm used to hearing) by listening to them when they are moving.

This year I actually tried to tell which train was going up the lift by listening for any subtle differences in their anti-rollback noise, but I have yet to get to that point as the train I guessed would not match the train actually on the lift. If the trains have ANY differences whatsoever in how their anti-rollbacks sound on their 56-second ascent, one must have a highly sensitive, highly trained ear to even remotely notice them.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...