I heard that there was a loop in the ride. I didn't get the chance to ride SOB before the accident, so can someone thell me what kind of loop was it and did it go upside down?

Here's a picture of the loop:

http://www.KICentral.com/photos/displayima...m=42&pos=25 and

http://www.rcdb.com/ig584.htm?picture=14

Here are thumbnails to other pictures (there are also some GREAT ones on this very site here):

http://www.rcdb.com/ig584.htm

Here's a url to facts on the coaster:

http://www.rcdb.com/id584.htm

And the photo album here can be found at:

http://www.KICentral.com/photos/thumbnails...m=42&page=2

Be sure to look at page one there, too.

Happy looking!

Happy looking

Thanks.

Do you know what happened that made the ride close?

The old trains were really heavy so that they would make it through the loop. However the weight of the trains was too much for the wooden structure over time, and last year there were riders on one train that were sent to the hospital because some of the wood was splintering and starting to fail. After that accident they shut down the ride indefinitely and eventually decided to remove the loop and invest in lighter trains.

This is how it happened as I remember it I am positive someone will correct me if I don't remember something correctly.

About a year ago several supports failed which created a dip in the track. This caused a train to suddenly decelerate throwing the passengers into the restraints. I believe there might have been a cracked rib or two but overall the injuries were minor. After the accident the ride was closed and it was found that the trains weight was causing damage to the ride. The reason the trains were so heavy was because of the loop so instead of trying to go back and redesign the supports and track the loop was removed and a pair of used coaster trains were purchased and retrofitted to run on SOB's non-standard track.

Not all of the injuries were minor. One patron broke their chest plate.

One fact I found interesting is while the loop support structure was steel there was still your typical wooden coaster track on top of the steel support structure.

One patron broke their chest plate.

What's a chest plate??? Wouldn't that be your rib cage?

One fact I found interesting is while the loop support structure was steel there was still your typical wooden coaster track on top of the steel support structure.

What's so interesting about that? Many new wooden coasters do that (biggest example is Voyage).

If I rember, it was a track piece before the loop, and the track had a "dip" in it, createing a jack hammering effect.

Example: your going 55 mphs in your car and you hit a speed bump. You fly up in ur seat and its very jerky.

One patron broke their chest plate.

What's a chest plate??? Wouldn't that be your rib cage?

Right in the center of your chest, the part that covers your heart.

Do you mean sternum?

Do you mean sternum?

Yep. I have had bruised ribs before, I can only imagine how bad that hurt...

One fact I found interesting is while the loop support structure was steel there was still your typical wooden coaster track on top of the steel support structure.

What's so interesting about that? Many new wooden coasters do that (biggest example is Voyage).

I believe he finds it intriguing that there could actually be wooden coaster track through an element that goes upside down with such stress on it. To me that always seemed to be weird too, that you could go upside down on wooden track. But for some reason I remember thinking that the actual track in the loop was steel. I could be wrong but I remember thinking that the track was actually steel through that loop, and not wood. Cant remember though.

The track in the loop was wood. The loop itself was steel.

And not just newer wooden coasters have been built on steel supports. See, perhaps most famously, The Coney Island Cyclone.

I've had cracked ribs, 3 at once, all on the same side, with a cracked shoulder blade. I'd rather give birth unmedicated than go through that again. I can't imagine the pain those riders were in.

deb

Both the track and train had to be strong enough to support each other in case the train were to stop upside down and be caught by the under wheels... and its a good thing because it was put to the test...

I would be so scared to ride SOB and get stuck in the loop

Chestplate...sorry, was just using Dane Cook terms... Yes, sternum.

yes, please do not shoot me in the chest plate

I have another question.

Did the SOB use the same type of seats that they use now before the incident?

Because they would probably have to use seats similar to The Vortex. The current seats at SOB is just a seatbelt and a lapbar. Is is possible to fall out of your seat like that. And you cant fall out of your seat if you go upside-down on a Vortex seat.

If you mean did the former Son of Beast trains have over the shoulder restraints, they did not. Instead there was a very large lapbar very similar to those found on Flight of Fear nowadays.

Over the shoulder restraints are not necessarily necessary for loopers. See also Mindbender at Six Flags Over Georgia, Shockwave at Six Flags Over Texas, Sooper Dooper Looper at Hersheypark, etc.

And in my opinion, that loop was by far the best loop in the park at that time. It was the smoothest part of the ride and the loop itself was MASSIVE- 120 feet or something like that...

Does anyone know if the loop at one time was the tallest or second tallest or something?

SoB's loop was 118' tall.

Mantis's loop at CP is 119' tall.

Dominator's loop at GL is 135' tall. I believe that this is the record holder for the tallest loop.

Kumba's loop at BGA is 114' tall.

SoB's loop was 118' tall.

Mantis's loop at CP is 119' tall.

Dominator's loop at GL is 135' tall. I believe that this is the record holder for the tallest loop.

Kumba's loop at BGA is 114' tall.

I think you're right about Dominator's loop.

Also, don't forget to add Chang to your list at SFKK, weighing in at 121' 7"

and Riddlers Revenge at 124' and SCREAM! at 128'.

But technically the tallest loop is on Superman Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas at 145', followed closley by Viper at Magic Mountain at 144'.

Viper's shouldn't count, IMO. It's a small loop that is high in the air. Pretty bogus if you ask me. Sadly, of all of those coasters, the only two I've been on are SOB and Mantis. And Mantis's loop is amazing.

and Riddlers Revenge at 124' and SCREAM! at 128'.

But technically the tallest loop is on Superman Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas at 145', followed closley by Viper at Magic Mountain at 144'.

The figures given are the actual stats for the loop itself. Not the height from the ground to the top of the loop.

This is a big loop, no denying it.

This, well it could go either way, technically the lead in to the loop does come from the ground, it just cuts short on the way back down. I'd still count it.