Backlot Stunt Coaster - Makin' it to the Top?

[Hank]

Has the Backlot Stunt Coaster ever not made it to the top out of the station? If so, what happens?

[PKIDelirium]

It rolls back and stops in the safety brakes on the launch run.

I have the rare "IJST Rollback Credit" from when it happened to my train on closing day 06.

[RingMaster]

It does what all coasters do when it doesn't fully make it to the top...it rolls back. The same motors that launch the car out of the station help bring it to a smooth stop so it doesn't hit the other train in the station. I've seen it happen plenty of times when they were first testing it.

EDIT: PKIDelirium already beat me to it.

[Hank]

I did not know what kind of safety device was used on that coaster.

[Jasper]

It rolls back and stops in the safety brakes on the launch run.

I have the rare "IJST Rollback Credit" from when it happened to my train on closing day 06.

I must say, wow! I never knew Backlot rolled back, but I guess it is possible with all roller coasters. To add to that fact, you have the IJ:ST to your credit too, something none of us will ever experience again.

[CincyMan98]

I was behind somebody who had that happen to them. It was launched, went up the top of the hill, then came back down.

[TheSonofBeast]

its seems to be much like maverick. it just slowly goes back into position and just relaunches. i missed it by one train last time i went...

[TH13TEEN]

It does what all coasters do when it doesn't fully make it to the top...it rolls back. The same motors that launch the car out of the station help bring it to a smooth stop so it doesn't hit the other train in the station. I've seen it happen plenty of times when they were first testing it.

EDIT: PKIDelirium already beat me to it.

The LIM's do not stop the ride there are friction brakes that close along the track when the train is launched. The friction brakes will bring the train to a nice not so smooth stop.

[buckeyemaniac]

its seems to be much like maverick. it just slowly goes back into position and just relaunches. i missed it by one train last time i went...

Not quite like Maverick. With Backlot, the train needs to be physically pushed back to the launch position before it can be relaunched. It only rolls back to the safety brakes.

[coaster_junky]

^umm... how many people does it take to push that train back? although only a three car train, it still has to be heavy, doesn't it?

[CincyMan98]

its seems to be much like maverick. it just slowly goes back into position and just relaunches. i missed it by one train last time i went...

Not quite like Maverick. With Backlot, the train needs to be physically pushed back to the launch position before it can be relaunched. It only rolls back to the safety brakes.

That's not true.....when I saw it go back from the top, it went right into the station.

[Rustbucket]

It happened 2 years ago on Labor Day weekend. It was clear to me at the launch that the train will not make to the top. It was not very rough although not as smooth as TTD roll back.

It took 2 maintenance people and 2 ride ops to push the ride back. We were on the ride for about 15 minutes before the maintenance people showed up.

[RWildman424]

I imagine it would be like pushing a car in neutral if not easier. Coasters are designed to minimize friction throughout the ride. Same as a car. No friction means no difficulty pushing.

[Cory Butcher]

its seems to be much like maverick. it just slowly goes back into position and just relaunches. i missed it by one train last time i went...

Not quite like Maverick. With Backlot, the train needs to be physically pushed back to the launch position before it can be relaunched. It only rolls back to the safety brakes.

He's right. It has to be pushed back to the station.

^umm... how many people does it take to push that train back? although only a three car train, it still has to be heavy, doesn't it?

Very Heavy. The station goes slightly downhill out towards the helix, so it gets pushed up hill, and through the brakes.

its seems to be much like maverick. it just slowly goes back into position and just relaunches. i missed it by one train last time i went...

Not quite like Maverick. With Backlot, the train needs to be physically pushed back to the launch position before it can be relaunched. It only rolls back to the safety brakes.

That's not true.....when I saw it go back from the top, it went right into the station.

You're wrong. It has to be forced back into the station.

I imagine it would be like pushing a car in neutral if not easier. Coasters are designed to minimize friction throughout the ride. Same as a car. No friction means no difficulty pushing.

Lots harder than pushing a neutral car. There is lots of friction in that spot to keep the car from rolling back into the station. Those cars are very heavy, if you have seen the cars pushed back into the station you know it takes quite a few people, and the leverage needed is difficult to achieve.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

It does what all coasters do when it doesn't fully make it to the top...it rolls back. The same motors that launch the car out of the station help bring it to a smooth stop so it doesn't hit the other train in the station. I've seen it happen plenty of times when they were first testing it.

EDIT: PKIDelirium already beat me to it.

The LIM's do not stop the ride there are friction brakes that close along the track when the train is launched. The friction brakes will bring the train to a nice not so smooth stop.

You can see the brakes open in rapid succession just before the launch.I've yet to see a rollback on BLSC @ KD but have seen one on JJ at SFA.

[Coney Islander]

Does Flight of Fear ever have any rollbacks?

[The Interpreter]

Yes. Very, very seldom, but it does happen. And I can personally attest to that happening in two different states...

[stuntvolt]

if the train rolls back the brakes stop it on the launch track and it takes 3 employees to push it back. its not that hard to push once we get it rolling.

[bkroz]

I can hardly imagine Volcano or Maverick having a rollback, but have heard from employees at both parks that it does in fact happen. Not frequently, or even occasionally, but it does happen.

A question (probably for Terpy): Would it be safe to say that most launch coasters have experienced an unplanned rollback at some point? Or is one particular launching method so consistent that rollbacks are performed only during testing?

[CoastersRZ]

Well, sure. Anything can happen. Especially in pre-season, before the parks officially open, roll backs can and do happen. And not even on launched coasters! Sometimes with all the new grease and bearings and parts that were put into the trains during offseason maintenance, things take a couple of cycles to break in. Things usually run a little slower at first.

And there can always be unexpected things such as power outages that could prevent a launched coaster from successfully achieving the desired launch speed. And there are some rides out there that are harder to evacuate in the event of a power failure, say an Eli Bridge cable driven Ferris Wheel. I speak from experience on that one, as I was once working Coney`s Ferris Wheel, when Coney lost power with the ride almost fully loaded (we were in the process of loading the twelfth car) several years back.

[Monroe]

CoastersRZ said it fine. I would also like to add that you should just change "most" to "all". I do not know of any launch coasters that had anti-roll back from the very beginning. You have to remember that this is a mechanical device and it gets it's roots from some very primative ideas. In the early years of launch coasters, you had spring tension, flywheel, and diesel catapult.

[coaster_junky]

I can hardly imagine Volcano or Maverick having a rollback, but have heard from employees at both parks that it does in fact happen. Not frequently, or even occasionally, but it does happen.

maverick's opening year (in late june) i saw it have a roll back on the first lift hill, i was on the stairs leading to the station when i saw it, this made me even more excited to ride it since it was my first time, and boy was i let down.

[Gturner94]

it sounds fun Ive seen Maverick rollback a train ahead of me but I want to be on a rollback

[DeLorean Rider]

You always have to have some sort of mechanical brake to completely stop the train. Modern magnetic brakes cannot hold a train; they are only affective while the train is in motion. This is why the LIM's cannot be used to stop a train. It would be possible to use them to slow down but this is not done as in a worse case scenerio, the reason why a train rolls back is because of a loss of power to the LIM's rendering them useless.

Still, who know's what the future holds in terms of LIM technology. I'm sure they laughed at the guy who first thought they could use aluminum LIM fin's with electromagnetic motors but hey; now look at every LIM launched coaster; aluminum fins.

[HTCO]

I have never been on a roll back.

I would imagine that BLSC being pushed into the station, wouldn't be that difficult with three people. Of course, I have no idea how heavy that thing is! How would I know!

[DeLorean Rider]

I have never been on a roll back.

I would imagine that BLSC being pushed into the station, wouldn't be that difficult with three people. Of course, I have no idea how heavy that thing is! How would I know!

It's actually quite easy. Havn't you ever tried to push a car in neutral? It's not too much different. At The Beast trains have to be pushed on to an off of the track every morning and night. There are kicker wheel's in some places but there are still times when two people will have to push a train. It's not that bad.

[TopThrill]

I've seen the train stall out at the top back in 2005.

[DeLorean Rider]

I've seen the train stall out at the top back in 2005.

Indeed; it happened 2 times that year. One of which was on Pride night with guests on it.