The Final Word on The Demon

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

okay so we have lots of people saying lots of different things about demon. some good, some bad. so i thought i would create this thread so we can end it once and for all. (and so the ops can have their say too) so - here we go: The Vekoma Boomerang design is a pretty old, but popular design in production coasters. its a ready-made design, that any park could purchase off the shelf. there are over 20 copies of the boomerang around the world. Demon - AKA Titan @ Expo '88 was one of the first produced by Vekoma, and as such was one that Vekoma learnt from. later editions of the boomerang included trim brakes in the boomerang section, and a number of other small corrections... So - yes its a popular design. yes its a lot of fun and one that you can ride again and again. its easy to operate. with correct staffing it is extremely fast to load and unload, and its capacity, while not excellent, is acceptable for its ride time. But... for this particular version of the boomerang - lets look at a few things it has experienced during its operation: Frequent stopping (61Charlie) on the second lift hill. second lift hill dropping too soon, causing the train to charlie INSIDE the boomerang section. Shearing the lift cable, causing the train to drop down the first lift hill, with the dolly jack STILL ATTACHED to the back of the train. the resultant 3 sections of brakes that were ripped out of the station section, 7 wheels that were thrown, and injury to the operator took over a month to get her back in operation. Guests able to release THEMSELVES from the train - resulting in the dismissal (unfairly) of more than 5 operators inside a year. in its operation at Wonderland, the demon's train sheared 2 couplings between carriages. OTS Restraints that came loose, didn't lock in, or CAME OFF entirely DURING the operation of the ride. Ok and thats just what i know of. lets talk Maintenance... a COATHANGER used as a conductor in the engine room. WARNING LIGHTS and indicators DISCONNECTED from the operator's console because they wouldn't stop beeping flashing an alert. in particular the oil warning light, as the machine room was CONSTANTLY leaking oil into the surrounding area. (and lets not forget what the area under the lift hill looked like from all the oil used on the first lift hill. CABLE TIES used to hold fibreglass mouldings on the train. GAFFA TAPE used for the same purpose operator's phone not working - so they ran a cord from demon manor, and used their phone... which didnt reach the OP booth, so they put it on the exit ramp. not exactly easy to get to in an emergency. other than this - the ride was rough as guts through the boomerang. operators were issued earplugs because the noise the train made through the station was too much... I agree, yes its a great ride. and i agree i would love to see the ride continue operation elsewhere, but i have to admit, even though i dont want to see it go, it is poorly maintained, in a great state of disrepair, and i have no doubt that other persons whom are intimate with the Demon (eg: ex-ops) will have more to add than i already have. So the field is open... batter up! hehehe

[scott]

This is the sixth Demon thread since September,honestly,nobody's going to get over Wonderland closing.Did Demon have that many fault's?!Hmm,there are going to be alot of opinions I can see.Oh,by the way,nice Wonderland Poem there,Alex.

[SeanM]

nobody's going to get over Wonderland closing..

but the anecdotal evidence is that there is a lot of support for the proposal of a Mini Wonderland..."I can word it like the big bank guys too!"

[Richard]

Boomerang was hardly "one of the first produced" - it was the eleventh, and built six years after the first. You'll find that it differs very little, if at all, structurally - the only advancements would have been in the technology driving the ride, and even standard Boomerangs built today frequently experience the exact same problems you're mentioning Demon had. Cables shearing, restraints breaking or not working are maintenance issues. Cables always have an operation life span that is specified by the manufacturer and are always very conservative estimates. If that did occur, it's a maintenance issue, not a ride issue. Similarly with restraints - mechanically the system that operates the restraints is absolutely sound - it has been in use for nearly thirty years and is still in daily use on hundreds of rides around the world. Not locking is a maintenance issue, not an inherent design problem in Demon. As for restraints being able to be unlocked by riders - I see it as being in no way physically possible for riders onboard and locked in to release their own restraints. You're doing well if you've got your hand to eye level, let alone over the side of the car and to the lever a metre away. Of course anyone with a foot not on the ride can release or lock the restraints. As above, it's the exact same design on hundreds of other rides around the world and has been in use since the 1970's - including two coasters with identical trains on the Gold Coast. Gaffer tape, cable ties, control panel modifications, coat hanger wire, phones not working etc. - again, all maintenance issues. Not problems directly associated with the design of Demon that would hence hinder efforts to reopen the coaster elsewhere. Now, I see no immediate need to bring back Demon at another park because plain and simple, it's not a very good ride. It doesn't need to be a deathtrap for me to cross it off the list.

[rappa]

**** Alex! Actualy no even worse, despite the swearing rules... **** ME! If half of the stuff you're saying is true that is serious stuff!!! Anyone else care to share some info on this train ripping through the station with the Catch Car attached incident?

[DJKostya]

Ive been on the demon when the cable has snapped half way up the hill and we finished resting on the boomerang! That was pretty funny now that I remember it.

[Daniel]

You're full of crap Kostya! It never came to rest with guests on it in the boomerang. It has happened without guests, never with them! The train did drop early on Lift 1 on a test cycle one Saturday night and was still in the boomerang at 3:00 the next day. Demon is like it is now, because of Wonderland. Not because of Vekoma. It hasn't been looked after. The ride's been stuffed for a few years now. There's no way in the world you can reach the pedal with a locked harness unless you had a 6 foot long floppy arm, so I don't believe the operator's story for a minute. Perhaps trying to save their arse with some bullcrap. I've stated a lot of the problems it had in previous threads. The cable did snap and slashed through the station giving the brakes a good hiding! Luckily there were NO injuries. The operator was fine. The trouble alarm on Demon means nothing anyway. Just because the trouble alarm goes off doesn't mean it was necessarily e-stopped. It came down to operator confidence and knowing the ride. Why stop it, when it's going to safely finish the cycle? Anyway, I could go on forever about what's wrong with Demon but I've just got back from an extremely long day shift so tough tits. Myself and Wonderbus have commented on Demon's condition elsewhere.

[scott]

Well,obviously nobody cares about the swearing rules! :cool: I'd have to say that these stories are slightly far-fetched.

[Bussy]

Frequent stopping (61Charlie) on the second lift hill. second lift hill dropping too soon, causing the train to charlie INSIDE the boomerang section. Shearing the lift cable, causing the train to drop down the first lift hill, with the dolly jack STILL ATTACHED to the back of the train. the resultant 3 sections of brakes that were ripped out of the station section, 7 wheels that were thrown, and injury to the operator took over a month to get her back in operation. Guests able to release THEMSELVES from the train - resulting in the dismissal (unfairly) of more than 5 operators inside a year. in its operation at Wonderland, the demon's train sheared 2 couplings between carriages.

Alex, the Demon train has never stopped in the boomerang with people on it at Wonderland, the closest it came to doing that was when the train was released early on the first lift and the operator pressed the e-stop (this happened several times), the train would hit the brakes and go partway into the boomerang and then roll back into the station. The cable did snap and caused extensive damage to the first section of the track and the train, but as Daniel said the operator and guests were not injured during that incident. The operator who injured her back did so by slipping and twisting her back and causing nerve damage. It is physically impossible to unlock the harness while locked into the seat. So those operators who were terminated, and it was not 5 by the way, it was 2, were obviously full of bullcrap. The carriage have never separated due to a sheared coupling or any other fault like that the only time they have come apart was when they have been taken off the track for maintenance work.

Ive been on the demon when the cable has snapped half way up the hill and we finished resting on the boomerang! That was pretty funny now that I remember it.

As I have just stated the train has never stopped in the boomerang so I think you should go back to bed and continue having your wet dreams. If it did happen you would not think it was funny because you would be stuck there for sometime and if you were in the back or front carriages you would be nearly upside down and if you were in that position for probably at least an hour you would definitely not think it was funny. Get your hand off it Kostya. "The Bus is now leaving for Black Bull Scrub, Tasmania"

[Daniel]

Nobody cares if you think so Scott. But you'd know wouldn't you old son?

[ScReAMmachine!]

This topic proves that crap prevails throughout these forums. Hint for next time guys, make up something believable! And better still you know ex-WLS staff monitor these forums so you know any lies will be exposed Oh and i was stuck on the Bush Beast fan curve, and upside down in the Demon's tear drop, and ended up in the reservior after falling out of my snowy boat... you didn't know???

[mikrowave]

This thread is pure gold - people's stories getting shutdown left, right & centre. I love it

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Demon HAS been stuck in the boomerang Demon HAS sheared a train coupling Demon HAS injured an operator after the cable snapped an operations SUPERVISOR has sat in the rear seat of demon and released herself from the restraints. Im not going to get into a whinge argument here. these are facts. they are not hearsay. i AM an ex employee of the park, and have WITNESSED some of these incidents in its lifetime. those incidents that i did not myself WITNESS, i have seen the INCIDENT REPORTS of such, or visited the MAINTENANCE SHED after the fact and seen the resultant damage myself. Richard in regards to your comments, i never said anything was bad in the DESIGN of the coaster by VEKOMA, as i said above- i said lets look at what has happened to it since it was put into operation I knew that can of worms was itching to open. Anyone else with 2 Cents?

[Richard]

OK, explain the process by which this supervisor released herself from the restraint. I'm interested to hear, and spare no detail - I know enough about how these trains work to understand anything technical you want to get into.

[Daniel]

Alex, the comments weren't a personal sledge brother. Firstly, when the Demon cable snapped it was being operated by a MALE good friend of mine. Not the female you mention. Ohh yep, he's fine, looks a bit like Long John Silver now but he's all good. Maybe you're getting confused with the FEMALE guest that was injured when Probe's cable snapped just prior to Channel 7 pulling the pin funnily enough. Yes the Demon has been stuck in the Boomerang, but without guests! Just explain to me the process they had to go through to remove the guests if it was the case. I'd really like to know who the supervisor was that released herself. Mate, firstly, if you're good enough to reach it because you're deformed or have a rubber band for an arm, don't forget it has to be pushed down a further 6-8 inches to release the harnesses completely. That's a friggin long arm mate. Have a think about it. I tried numerous times, probably every time I went on it to reach the pedal and I couldn't even get my arm over the side let alone within kooee of the pedal. I had the harness probably a good few inches off my chest too. The only way you can get it, is when the harness is up, that still takes some effort. There is no way in the world you can get your hand in between the harness and the side of the train. You're lucky to get a finger through there. I'm not saying you're telling porkies, I just think you've either misinterpreted some stories or someone has led you astray.

[Bussy]

OK, explain the process by which this supervisor released herself from the restraint. I'm interested to hear, and spare no detail - I know enough about how these trains work to understand anything technical you want to get into.

It was simple Rich all she did was say Go-Go-Gadget Arm, and bingo she reached the pedal and pushed it down. Is that too technical for you? There were a couple of male operations supervisors who may of had long enough arms but Alex it is physically impossible to do and like Daniel I have tried. If you remember there was a bar on top of the side of the carriage and that was in the way, but also you would just about have to dislocate your shoulder and stretch it about 6 inches. Alex you also told me that you worked in the Retail department and as an ex-ride operator I think that I would have a bit more knowledge about the subject than you would. I have seen Demon stuck in the Boomerang once but know of another time it happened, BOTH without guests aboard. The time I witnessed it, the train was stuck there for a day and a half before they got it back into the station. I think that you have got the guest who was injured on Probe when the cable snapped confused with the operator of Demon. That’s my 22c plus GST. "The Bus is now leaving for Broken Head, NSW"

[willsy]

Yeah dont forget the amount of pressure needed to push the pedal down aswell!!!

[ScReAMmachine!]

an operations SUPERVISOR has sat in the rear seat of demon and released herself from the restraints

When did this happen??

[Daniel]

I think we've come to the conclusion that it's not true. Alex seems to have flown the coup. Where are you old son?

[Bussy]

It happened just before Alex woke up in a cold sweat. It's amazing what people dream about isn't it? "The Bus is now leaving for Cold And Wet, South Australia"