The Interpreter Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Well worth a read and a look-see: http://eastcoastcoasters.com/pittstop/old.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TH13TEEN Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 i loved reading that nice find interpreter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 -Photo courtesy of Coaster-Net.com Ah, the Rye Airplane by Fred Church, if only it could be ridden today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 -Photo courtesy of Coaster-Net.com Ah, the Rye Airplane by Fred Church, if only it could be ridden today... http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=170727 Instead, we got thrown for a loop, but only for a while. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I think it would have been perfectly fine if they had built that at Kings Island and called it Son of Beast instead. I wonder who would've built it and where they would have put it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 It was a time when both Cedar Point and Kings Island went for records. Something about the turn of a century...a new millennium force was felt throughout the industry. And since the Aeroplane, or Airplane as others called it, didn't break records per se, it was instead decided to rebuild something from early in the 20th century, but on a whole new scale. Son of Beast was announced with great fanfare and high hopes. The Aeroplane would easily have fit where Italian Job is now. How different a place the park would have been. Then again, at one time, a Hurler was also planned for the park. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I think I'd rather have a bear claw at Stan Mikita's than a cold burger at Tuckers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kwindshawne Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I think coasters were better before computers-everything was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I wouldn`t say that all coasters were better before the computer and computer engineering got involved. I mean, Flight of Fear, and Top Gun at Carowinds are among my favorite steel coasters. Coasters that would not have been feasible without computer technology. But there is something special about the rides that were designed without computers, especially classic wooden coasters. John Allen`s rides all have a beauty to them and are fun rides. Keep in mind that The Beast was also built before computers were common place. In the 25th anniversary video, you hear them talking about building The Beast. The entire elevation of the track was drawn on a single continuous sheet of vellum. Calculations had to be done by hand and constantly refined as the park designed the ride around the topography and natural vegetation. I do think that some firms, particularly Great Coaster International, have used computer technology to their advantage. The GCI coasters share a beauty and design craft that some of the classic coasters in the early 1900`s had. The care and time that GCI takes in making their structures look graceful is something that the long gone designers used to do. Alas, trial and error is not common place anymore due to the use of the computer. But even with the computer, sometimes there still needs to be trial and error. Look at what happened with Mavericak at Cedar Point. As my high school math teacher used to say when talking about computer or calculators: "Grabage in, garbage out." Computers have drastically changed our lives, whether we like it or not. I am in a profession where computers DRASTICALLY impact what I do at firms, and at school. Back in the early 1990s, most architectural plans were still being hand drafted and lettered by draftsmen. Now only schematic design and early design concepts are drawn on paper and bumwad. Trial and error is still a common practice, especially in early design. But most of my work at the firms I`ve worked at has been on the computer using AutoCadd, where revisions and changes to building plans are easy and simple to make. The building that I go to college in (DAAP) would not have been possible to be built in 1997, had it not been for computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 . . . not to mention that my childhood dream was to do so well in life so as to have a Teletype machine installed in my house, so that I could keep up with the very latest from the AP and UPI news wires. My teachers thought me very ambitious and/or foolish. Little did I realise that, beginning in the late 1990's, just about anyone could in effect have a Teletype machine...through something known as the Worldwide Web. This entire forum would not be possible were it not for computers. Imagine doing this exchange by postal mail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kwindshawne Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Well, this is true, however, the lack of computer intervention is what makes Beast so special..I still believe in the old pen and paper calculations. Computers have good uses, although I think it encourages social isolation. And spellchecker is a curse.....just look at some of the signs around you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 You do realize that The Beast opened with skid brakes, big old brake levers and was manually controlled by its operators....whereas now it is computer controlled, right down to the speed of the lift chain, spacing of the trains and operation of the brakes, which are now magnetic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kwindshawne Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 You do realize that The Beast opened with skid brakes, big old brake levers and was manually controlled by its operators....whereas now it is computer controlled, right down to the speed of the lift chain, spacing of the trains and operation of the brakes, which are now magnetic... I do now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 The same can be said of Racer, Fairly Odd Coaster, and virtually every major wooden coaster in the USA of the same or older vintage. Heck, at Kings Island, even the Scrambler is controlled by a primitive version of a computer....it is fun to watch the arms that control the ride move "automagically" with no operator intervention, once the go button is pushed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 You do realize that The Beast opened with skid brakes, big old brake levers and was manually controlled by its operators....whereas now it is computer controlled, right down to the speed of the lift chain, spacing of the trains and operation of the brakes, which are now magnetic... Are you sure about that Intperpreter? I know that there was a panel located behind where the operator sat at the main control panel that had manual brake levers that controlled the air for the brakes, but I'm fairly certain that was for maintenance use only. I think The Beast always had a computerized block system where the brakes were released by electronic buttons in a system similar, but much older than what is used today. You can see the original operators panel at about 3 minutes and 5 seconds into this video... In the booth directly behind the operator panel he is showing the kid was another panel with the brake levers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Am I totally sure? To be honest, no. Memories fade. But I DO know that there were BOBL's (big old brake levers) on Racer for many, many years...and I am virtually sure there were on Beast as well. . . In any event, the operation of that coaster, and most wooden coasters, has changed drastically over the years, with the safety of the patrons uppermost in the parks' minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I take that back, that video may not have the original control panel as it is from 85, not 79, but I am fairly certain that the box did at one time have to seperate panels, and instead of levers it was more of a system of pins that could be pulled out to release air in the brakes and manually let the trains come forward. The more the pin was pulled out, the more air released, the faster the train came in. This was for maintenance personnel only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 On the topic of the Kings Island Scrambler, the braking mechanism has a hydraulic arm attached to it which controls the braking of the ride. While at Coney, the braking mechanism is controlled by the ride operator. The handle is identical to the handle that is used to control the Eli Bridge Ferris Wheels. As an aside, Kings Island has had seat belts on the Scrambler for many years now. However, this past season, Coney added seat belts to both the Scrambler and the Ferris Wheel. Although, the ones on the Ferris Wheel cause most people difficulty to operate as all the excess slack is stored in a case right next the male end of the seat belt. People often don`t know how to extend the belt to make it larger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogrmac Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 What a fantastic post! I guess I never really thought about how coasters were made before they were able to plan everything out on computers. Think of the people who were the very first to test ride these old coasters. I would be afraid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dvo Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I think coasters were better before computers-everything was. Yeah nothing says a ball of fun like the Great Depression! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 As Interpreter surely knows, Camden Park's Big Dipper still runs with hand brakes. I do remember when The Racers had hand brakes, but I didn't ride The Beast until a few years after it opened, so I don't know about hand brakes on The Beast. Although, I thought it was discussed here before that The Beast was the first KI coaster to use computer controlled braking system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 As Interpreter surely knows, Camden Park's Big Dipper still runs with hand brakes. I do remember when The Racers had hand brakes, but I didn't ride The Beast until a few years after it opened, so I don't know about hand brakes on The Beast. Although, I thought it was discussed here before that The Beast was the first KI coaster to use computer controlled braking system. And Camden Park's Lil Dipper also has manually operated brakes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 It's almost like going back in time....(cue Deloreon Rider) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Racer originally operated with manual lever-controlled skid brakes. For years you could still see the replacement boards in the station floor where the levers once existed. Scooby Doo (Beastie, Fairly Odd) did as well. I actually have a picture of the original Scooby Doo costumed character operating the lever brake on the Scooby Doo coaster. Beast was never operated by lever. It had an antiquated "electronically" controlled blocking system from the start. To my knowledge, it was not the first "electronically" controlled coaster in the park. If I am not mistaken, that title belongs to the Screamin' Demon. The original panel for Beast was the same one used on many coasters built in the mid-late seventies. I believe that if you watch either "Rollercoaster" the movie or the old "Wonder Woman" episode called "Phantom of the Amusement Park" they feature shots of the original operator's panel for Revolution at Magic Mountain. The Beast used the same type of panel that featured the coaster's layout on a backlit acrylic board. The electronic eyes (still used on the coaster today) alerted the panel as to the location and speed of the train. When the train passed the eye, the block section of track where it was located blinked on the panel. The release of the final brake run/station brakes was performed by switches and levers attatched to the panel that when depressed or pulled released the compression within the hydraulics lowering the skids in station. There were "kicker" tires that were engaged by switch in station in order to move the train forward and gain the momentum needed to move the train off the skids and out of the station. Those tires (no longer used) are still in the station today. The skids located on the first drop, in the mid-course brake shed and on the drop to the helix have always existed on the coaster. They were counter-weighted in order to increase/decrease the speed of the train. The speeds were measured by a reading on the clock panel in station. If the train was running fast or slow, a wooden coaster maintenence crew memeber would go to the specific trim and either add weight or remove weight from the skid counterweight. The counterweight on these skids was literally a long wire attatched to the underside of the skid that hung down through the coaster's structure to about 3 feet off of the ground. At the end of the cable was a metal can. Weight was added in the form of nuts, bolts rocks etc being put in, or taken from the can, thus raising or lowering the trim. Ironically (and humorously) these counterweights were used up until the skids were replaced with the magnetic brakes just a few years back. When the magnetic brakes were added to Beast, it required fins be placed on the bottoms of the trains. Because of that, rebar that was used on turns as track ties had to be replaced with split-rods. These act just as the old ties did... running through each side of the track and bolted together. However with the addition of the fins, the original rods were replaced with two rods held together by C-clamps. These C-clamps allow the fin to pass through those areas unobstructed. Finally, footage of The Beast exists showing the original operators panel. I believe it might have been footage from the "Real People" show that was filmed featuring Beast just after it opened, The Beast 25th Anniversary special, or a kids show that featured the ride shortly after it premiered. Shaggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Too cool. I figured you might know the answer to hand brakes on Beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Also, I am pretty sure that Beast was the first coaster in the park to use air-gates. I don't recall Demon having them, and know that Racer and Scooby Doo did not originally. Beast's gates were "double" gates. Meaning there were two sides to each gate for each corral. The original gates opened like saloon doors. The gates were only about 1 foot tall and hung at waist height. These were replaced for the 1999 season with the full-sized gates. Once the new gates were added, liquid soap was kept on hand in the station due to kids getting their knees and arms stuck between slats. Shaggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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