DC Rivals HyperCoaster train stuck mid-course

[Prequel]

1 hour ago, Rivals said:

Yesterday the ride was cycling with dummies and there was still one - two earlier today

 

That's not what I meant.

Rivals is in a maintenance period, which where dummies is something I'd expect to happen. 

I'm talking about every day cycles of the trains before the park opens.

[Brods]

My memory is shocking, but there was no trim break on the first hill originally, then it was added at some point, I think right before it first opened? Would that have any effect? In terms of original building plans to then being potentially tweaked to add the break and as a result goes slower than originally planned? 🤔 

 

[Rivals]

9 minutes ago, Brods said:

My memory is shocking, but there was no trim break on the first hill originally, then it was added at some point, I think right before it first opened? Would that have any effect? In terms of original building plans to then being potentially tweaked to add the break and as a result goes slower than originally planned? 🤔 

 

From what i remember the trims to the first airtime hill as well as after the non-inverting loop were added just after the first couple tests (always meant to be there obviously they just hadn’t added them yet.) They don’t seem to be on a lot of the time and when they are they don’t slow the ride down much at all (the second set hit harder then first) so i don’t think those trims would’ve done it. 

[mba2012]

I've been told that the water dummies are being used to test the second train after its rebuild, and are entirely unrelated to the other train getting stuck.

9 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

I think we can all agree now that it was way too windy for the ride to be dispatched.. especially empty.

I'm pretty sure we established a while back that the ride more likely than not, has an interlock that would prevent it from being dispatched in winds that were too high. It was definitely a combination of factors including wind gusts, but also temperature, and weight, and probably more.

The ride has successfully been cycled empty in all sorts of conditions for the past five years, so one windy day can't be the sole cause.

[Ashley]

When I was at the park last Monday I was told that I wasn't caused by wind, and that the cause was under investigation. 

I was also told that it valleyed on it's second test run, it almost didn't complete the first test run, but obviously didn't complete the second. If this is correct then the cause is probability not wind, since it almost valleyed the first time.

That information didn't come from the maintenance team, rather a cast member, so the info may not be creditable. 

[Rivals]

4 minutes ago, Ashley said:

That information didn't come from the maintenance team, rather a cast member, so the info may not be creditable. 

Unless they are apart of the rides or maintenance department, cast members aren’t normally told what happens. So unless they were apart of those departments they most likely didn’t know. 

Hopefully as they are testing the second train it’ll reopen with both trains operation which is also going to help out fright nights a lot.

[Dean Barnett]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

If this is correct then the cause is probability not wind, since it almost valleyed the first time.

Winds - especially gusts - change with time. 

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Dean Barnett said:

Winds - especially gusts - change with time. 

True, but if the wind was strong enough to almost cause the first test run to valley, I couldn’t see them testing it a second time.

[Dean Barnett]

It’s not the first roller coaster to valley because of high winds - and certainly won’t be the last. 

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Dean Barnett said:

It’s not the first roller coaster to valley because of high winds - and certainly won’t be the last. 

Correct, BUT, we don’t know that it was wind.

Things aren’t always what they seem, in other words, just because it may look like wind caused this, it doesn’t mean it was wind.

[Dean Barnett]

Can someone come up with why it would have got stuck if it wasn't because of high wind? They never released any statements about it.. when they released a statement about the reason a different  ride got stuck on the same day.

Edited September 25, 2022 by Dean Barnett

[Daedra]

On 22/9/2022 at 9:25 AM, franky said:

Credit to u/ClassyDaedra for the footage

I was just the Muppet with the reddit account. A mate took the footage. 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Slick

[Ashley]

8 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Can someone come up with why it would have got stuck if it wasn't because of high wind? They never released any statements about it.. when they released a statement about the reason a different  ride got stuck on the same day.

Well yourself found out that wind was gusting 45km, @rappa, stated earlier in the this topic that the limit for Mack’s is 50km.
So, the ride was does appear to have been operated in the limits.
MW, is some ways are quite pedantic about safety, so I’m in serious doubt that we’re testing the ride when winds were too high.

8 hours ago, Daedra said:

I was just the Muppet with the reddit account. A mate took the footage. 

What? No idea what you’re going on about.

Maybe the best explanation is: it’s currently school holidays.

Edited September 26, 2022 by Slick

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 19/09/2022 at 11:25 PM, ScottyJ said:

How about a 'push' through instead of pull through? A powered device that could be put on the rails and give it a little nudge to get it moving! 🤣

Scooby Doo used to have that for fire safety.

On 25/09/2022 at 4:51 AM, Dean Barnett said:

I do believe there was a roller coaster down the road that required a minimum amount of people in the train to dispatch …

Was this an anti-valley measure or was it a cost-saving 'don't cycle almost empty' measure? As far as i'm aware it hasn't valleyed prior to that rule, and it was implemented at a time when the park was definitely pinching pennies.

35 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

Can someone come up with why it would have got stuck if it wasn't because of high wind? They never released any statements about it.. when they released a statement about the reason a different  ride got stuck on the same day.

Sure, i'll humor you. But - let's be very clear - i'm not stating these are true. I have no basis for my suggestions - they are speculative (as are yours mind you) but they are what I would consider reasonable possibilities. 

(Please for the love of god let's not spend the next 10 pages dissecting this)

My first thought when I heard about this was that a wheel delaminated. It's rare that it wouldn't be picked up in morning checks (especially as one of the first cycles of the day) and even rarer that it would stall the train - but it is still possible. 

Could they have swapped wheels with the incorrect type? (Nylon vs. Polyurethane?) If too many fast wheels are swapped for slow ones they can slow the train enough to cause a valley.

And lastly, (and also the most unlikely) could something external have freakishly gotten jammed in the running gear mid-course? A bird... a stick... ?

 

Just a reminder - this is pure speculation. The park hasn't made a statement, and they probably won't. We don't know, but many reasons have been given for why it couldn't have been wind, or solely wind. I also agree it probably wasn't these reasons - as I mentioned - this was to humor one person who can't recognise that they're sitting at a table with a lot of people who know better, but can't disclose it. I am definitely not one of them.

[Daedra]

10 minutes ago, Ashley said:

What? No idea what you’re going on about.

 

Aimed at Franky for crediting me (u/ClassyDaedra) 

[Slick]

1 hour ago, Dean Barnett said:

Can someone come up with why it would have got stuck if it wasn't because of high wind? They never released any statements about it.. when they released a statement about the reason a different  ride got stuck on the same day.

Instead of pointlessly speculating (and it is at that point) just give the park a buzz if you want to know.

[Rivals]

13 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Was this an anti-valley measure or was it a cost-saving 'don't cycle almost empty' measure? As far as i'm aware it hasn't valleyed prior to that rule, and it was implemented at a time when the park was definitely pinching pennies.

The rule was implemented with the old arrow trains but was then dropped with the new Vekoma trains, the ride has valleyed once with the new Vekoma trains during testing but that’s it. I heard it did valley a couple times with the old Arrow trains (not 100% sure) so it was an actual rule needed.

[Dean Barnett]

35 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

My first thought when I heard about this was that a wheel delaminated. It's rare that it wouldn't be picked up in morning checks (especially as one of the first cycles of the day) and even rarer that it would stall the train - but it is still possible. 

Would they run the train for the rest of the circuit to recover it if this was the case?  I'm gonna guess you can't replace wheels while the train is sitting in the middle of the course. 

[Ashley]

11 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

Would they run the train for the rest of the circuit to recover it if this was the case?  I'm gonna guess you can't replace wheels while the train is sitting in the middle of the course. 

If wheels were the cause, it wouldn’t matter to run the train through the rest of track, cause most of the wheels would be changed out after the train has been homed. And as you guessed they may not be able to change them mid course.

Removing the train for whatever reason wasn’t the best option, or may not have been possible in that location, otherwise they probably would have done that.

Even if they could change them course would be a nightmare, for a number of reasons.

So, best to take your chance and hope it’ll complete the circuit without changing them.

That is of course is if it was the wheels,@DaptoFunlandGuy, was just spitballing.

[New display name]

30 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

I'm gonna guess you can't replace wheels while the train is sitting in the middle of the course. 

Loads of coasters don't have maintenance bays like Rivals and they have no problems changing wheels on track.

[Dean Barnett]

 

3 minutes ago, New display name said:

Loads of coasters don't have maintenance bays like Rivals and they have no problems changing wheels on track.

If you're talking about West Coast Racers before the second launch - even though its a straight bit of track - they don't actually change the wheels when the dude says they are.. it's just a video.

[New display name]

They changed my wheels @Dean Barnett   That’s because I ride them like I stole them instead of worrying if the wind is going to be too strong and mess up my hair..😵

[Dean Barnett]

8 hours ago, Ashley said:

Well yourself found out that wind was gusting 45km

Those wind readings weren't from the coaster site.

 

anyways it's open again. yay.

[Rivals]

It didn’t appear the trims were on today so is it a possibility it was actually an issue with the trims?

[Dean Barnett]

Maybe to squeeze more cycles in to make up for lost backwards profits ?