I would imagine they stopped using them when technology improved to the point where they could have good quality security cameras monitoring the lift hills.

This appears to be an early picture of The Beast.  When did it become possible to walk on the roof of the 2nd tunnel?  It appears that The Bat's short life had just ended as the ride is gone but the station remains.

 

<http://im12.it/g/13490>

 

Edit.  Doing a google image search for all things Beast it is interesting to see that because most of the photos are POV of the first drop, over the years it seems that sensor placement has changed multiple times in terms of block positioning.  Basically the train climbing the 2nd lift hill is in a variety of locations as the train crests the 1st hill.

 

<http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/dabe707ef551874d771b8809384fa32e946569db/c=179-0-2305-1598&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/Cincinnati/Cincinnati/2014/07/25/1406304330000-ki-beast.jpg>

 

<http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/fb/c7/14/the-beast.jpg>

 

<http://www.coastergallery.com/2000/beast3.jpg>

 

<http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/d/3/7/3/event_27714131.jpeg>

 

<http://vacationthrills.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_0546-1024x768.jpg>

 

Great old station photo

<http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/beast_0.jpg>

 

4 Bench Cars

<http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/78e67b0365b85a8f272b704b418ea78c6037b129/c=320-0-2444-1598&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/Cincinnati/Cincinnati/2014/04/02//1396449464000-ki-rides-23.jpg>

I both liked the water element at the station and felt sorry for anyone that had to clean it after midseason.

over the years it seems that sensor placement has changed multiple times in terms of block positioning.  Basically the train climbing the 2nd lift hill is in a variety of locations as the train crests the 1st hill.

More likely, it's just variations in dispatch time. The later a train is dispatched, the further ahead the train in front will be when the first train crests the first hill.

 

More likely, it's just variations in dispatch time. The later a train is dispatched, the further ahead the train in front will be when the first train crests the first hill.

 

 

I agree with you, although it seems in recent years that slow crawl of the first hill was to allow the train ahead of it to enter the last block (beyond the point in which the chain can stop the train).  But I do vividly remember climbing the 2nd lift and watching the train on the first lift crest and enter the tunnel before our descent into the helix which contradicts with my first statement. Simply an observation, not an argument.

Come to think of it, I think the brake shed after the first right-hand turn used to be block brakes. So you may be right there.

In modern times, the slowness of the first lift hill does serve to let the train in front enter the next block, though the precise point at which that happens still varies by dispatch speed.

The brake shed, prior to the switch to the current braking system was a block brake.  A train could be stopped there, if a train did not clear lift two.  When they converted to the pneumatic brakes in the station, and the magnetic trims, the block was removed from the brake run and replaced only with magnetic brakes. Therefore, a train cannot be stopped in the brake shed in the event of a ride shut down or power failure.  So now, a train on lift one has to wait for the train on lift two to clear the lift before it can leave lift one.  Under the old configuration, the train could leave lift one, as long as the previous train had cleared the brake shed.  (In the event of a power failure, or ride shut down, if the train hadn`t cleared lift two, it would stop the train in the brake shed).

That certainly makes a lot of sense.  I guess I was not thinking that the change in braking method would change the dispatch intervals.  I always assumed that the brake shed could stop the train if necessary.  Thanks for the clarification, certainly enjoyed the education.