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Voyage to use 7-car PTC trains in 2011


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While disappointed, I felt that the PTCs that Voyage got are an improvement over older ones, especially the hollow seat divider and the individual car lap bar release mechanisms. It's been a few years since I've ridden it, so whatever trains are running on Voyage, I'm still hungry for some rides!!

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Kind of disappointing in away. But I think they likely reached the point of no return. They had to make a decision, in order to have the ride ready for guests when they open for the season. And come 2012, they will have the latest Timberliner trains, instead of a prototype set. So all the bugs will have been worked out.

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Well, at least it's 7-car PTCs...which will mean better capacity than the 6-car PTCs it used in 2010. I actually think this was probably the right move, even if Voyage won't be the first coaster to get the new trains, at least they will have been fully tested. They are not jumping into this headfirst which, on more than 1 occasion has caused problems.

However, there is one thing I really liked about the article: Raven is getting it's 2nd train back! Kind of sucked when it only ran 1 train last year...long lines!

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Guest rcfreak339

I am very bummed about this...the past 2 years every time I have ridden Voyage it has been fairly painful. Besides for the front row both Raven and Legend are rated higher in my opinion.

Voyage (Again, besides the front row) has to be the most overrated coaster Iv'e ever been on.

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All Im going to say about this, mainly to avoid a rant of epic proportions, is this.... Michael Graham and his co-rider didnt seem to have any problems with extreme forces taking a toll on them during the video-announced test ride a few months ago.

Yes, but who's to say that's the issue? What if the extreme forces of the ride keep the trains from living up to their benefits (lowered maintenance, etc.)? Seems like a more logical assumption to me. After all, if you're going to test new trains, The Voyage is kind of a BIG starting point--it's like if you were going to play Super Mario Brothers for the first time, and the game starts you on the final level. (Or so I'd speculate, since Voyage seems to be unequivocally one of the most intense rides in the world. I could just as easily be wrong.)

I'll be honest... I'm excited for Timberliners, but I love Voyage so much that they could put Morgan trains on it and I wouldn't care. I'm especially pumped to hear that there will be seven cars per train. It was a ride in the seventh car that made me love the ride, and I only got to ride there twice. It's more intense back there, and I love it.

Since apparently it's what you do... Posted from my iPod Touch? haha.

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I'm excited for some reason.

I think I'm just glad they have something prepared for this year. They gave us free tickets because the Timberliners weren't ready for HoliWood Nights so I can;t have a shred of bad feelings towards the park.

Indyguy, that got me thinking about how badly the wheels squealed. It was way more intense than what we heard on Vortex and Firhawk last year.

They also added antibollbacks to the final hill before the break run. Giga told me that... Will or maybe Mike told her that the Timberliners were barely clearing it.

Gordon, last I heard they had ordered individual cars to return to a 6 car train. I know Raven's train is going back and they sold the other Voyage trains so I think they have to buy a whole second train right?

EDIT: 7 car. Don't ask me what anniversary I'm on either:wacko:

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So is it running with its original PTC rolling stock or did they get a whole new set of PTC's?

This is a good but tricky question.

Original they had the 3 PTC's on Voyage. They sold 2 of the PTC's before the start of the 2010 season and only had 1. When they realized they were not ready to use the TL's for 2010, they took 1 of Ravens 2 PTC's off of it and refit it for Vogage. So then Voyage had 1 original train, and a retrofitted Raven train. Raven ran with only 1 PTC for the 2010 season.

I would assume they still have the 3rd original PTC unless they sold it after the season was over last year. Can anyone confirm that? If not, I think they would only need 1 additional PTC for 2011. Whether that would be a used PTC or a brand new PTC I have no clue.

The way I read the article they were getting 2 brand new PTC's for 2011?

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Sorry for the double post, but after I made the last post I figured I might as well email Paula and see if she would answer me about the speculation of the train config. I got permission to quote her email so here it is.

In 2006, we opened Voyage with three 7-car PTC trains. In 2010, we sold two 6-car PTC trains; doing the math, we then had 9 cars remaining. For this season, we ordered an additional five cars from PTC. We will have two 7-car trains on Voyage this season.

Paula Werne

Director of Public Relations

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari

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IndyGuy, thanks for emailing Paula and clearing that up for us! I was wondering if they ordered new trains also. I am slightly disappointed that they aren't going to run the Timberliners this year, but I would much rather they wait until they are completely satisfied with the ride experience and the performance of the Timberliners before running them.

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I was looking forward to the Timberliners but I'm glad they are taking the steps to make sure everything is done right. Paula and the crew down at HW always seem to know what they are doing and I'm sure they've made the right call here too.

In case anyone cares the old PTC trains from Voyage were bought by Darien Lake and are now in use on Predator.

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HAHA! That needs to be the done by the entire group upon walking back to Voyage on Opening Day... Love it.

If I am so lucky as to be at Holiday World opening day, my first coaster there will be the one closest to the front gate, which is still by far the best wooden coaster in that park in my book...and I am very glad to hear it will be running two trains again...

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I am very sad, the Timberliner trains have been testing for several years correct? I do not understand the hold up?

Gravity Craft (Gravity Group) wants the coaster trains to run on another roller coaster to see how they hold up for an entire season?

If they hold up on another "less extreme" coaster, that tells me nothing on how they will hold up on Voyage.

Sounds to me like they have little confidence on their product.

1. If you run a coaster train on The Beast, compared to The Racer, yes a lot more wear and tear should occur due to the speed, drops, and general G-force.

2. Is that what is going on with Son of Beast trains and the structure having more wear and tear on it? Greater speed and all around force.

3. I do understand testing the Timberliner trains to its fullest, so there is "any" issues. In the end we want a safe and fun coaster to ride.

4. Testing began a few years back on The Timberliner trains, running on The Legend (sorry if it was the Raven) I thought things were going smooth?

In the end, I will be disappointed by the lack of Timberliners, but in the end, safety is the biggest concern, I am all for it.

This is going to be my first trip to Holiday World come summer. Still gonna have fun!!!

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HAHA! That needs to be the done by the entire group upon walking back to Voyage on Opening Day... Love it.

If I am so lucky as to be at Holiday World opening day, my first coaster there will be the one closest to the front gate, which is still by far the best wooden coaster in that park in my book...and I am very glad to hear it will be running two trains again...

i agree with you whole-heartly on this one.wink.gif

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I have to say honestly, that I am quite glad Raven has its second train back, because I will fully agree that there are some elements of Raven (the "hidden" drop back in the trees) that I really Love. With two train operation dropping the wait times drastically, I can see myself spending a lot more time in that area of the park as well. It wont be opening day for me, but my visits will still be as frequent as my new job schedule will allow.

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Yeah, I'm just getting to this topic.....

But aw man! This was the only way I was going to get my dad to take me to Holiday World this year! :lol:

He didn't like how rough the Voyage was and he was disappointed in it....then I told him there would be new trains to make it smoother. Now, there's not........

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