I'm confused.....
I just don't get how these new anti-rollbacks work. There's lots of discussion about them and I have no idea how they work, why they don't "clank," and why they are so troublesome. Any explanation/pics? would be great!! :)
*** This post was edited by MFistheBEST on 6/25/2000. ***
*** This post was edited by MFistheBEST on 6/25/2000. ***
OK, here it goes (I should have something in the rides section about this, some day)...
Check the construction photos here and look at the track sections with the I-shaped beams that have the staggered holes in them:
http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/rides/mfanatomy.asp
Forget about the things disengaging for a minute, and think under Magnum's train:
http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/gallery/img.asp?img=cp99magnumundertrain.jpg
You'll notice the little white block in the upper left hand corner of the picture. That thing is on a hinge and drags up the lift over a series of little wedges. If the chain were to break, that white thing would catch against the wedges and stop the train from rolling backward down the lift.
Millennium Force has the same thing, only instead of wedges, you have the holes in the I-beams (that's two sets). The force has a pair of wheels that roll on these I-beams that (presumably) convert the mechanical energy of the turning wheels in to an electric current, kind of like a car's alternator. That electric current (again, presumably) energizes magnets or something to pull those anti-rollbacks (the white thing under Magnum's trains) up so they don't drag along.
Why do that? Well, if you drag those things across 450 feet of metal hundreds of times each day, they'll make a lot of noise and quickly wear down.
So what happens if the train stops? If the train stops the wheels on the I-beams stop turning and generating current, which means the anti-rollbacks are not held up, so they engage the notches, preventing the train from moving backward.
If you sit in seat 5-1 you can see the wheels that roll along the I-beams between the fourth and fifth cars as you get in or out.
Why do they cause problems? Who knows. Either the wheels aren't generating enough electrical current or the wheels aren't getting enough traction.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
Millennium Force laps: 34
Check the construction photos here and look at the track sections with the I-shaped beams that have the staggered holes in them:
http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/rides/mfanatomy.asp
Forget about the things disengaging for a minute, and think under Magnum's train:
http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/gallery/img.asp?img=cp99magnumundertrain.jpg
You'll notice the little white block in the upper left hand corner of the picture. That thing is on a hinge and drags up the lift over a series of little wedges. If the chain were to break, that white thing would catch against the wedges and stop the train from rolling backward down the lift.
Millennium Force has the same thing, only instead of wedges, you have the holes in the I-beams (that's two sets). The force has a pair of wheels that roll on these I-beams that (presumably) convert the mechanical energy of the turning wheels in to an electric current, kind of like a car's alternator. That electric current (again, presumably) energizes magnets or something to pull those anti-rollbacks (the white thing under Magnum's trains) up so they don't drag along.
Why do that? Well, if you drag those things across 450 feet of metal hundreds of times each day, they'll make a lot of noise and quickly wear down.
So what happens if the train stops? If the train stops the wheels on the I-beams stop turning and generating current, which means the anti-rollbacks are not held up, so they engage the notches, preventing the train from moving backward.
If you sit in seat 5-1 you can see the wheels that roll along the I-beams between the fourth and fifth cars as you get in or out.
Why do they cause problems? Who knows. Either the wheels aren't generating enough electrical current or the wheels aren't getting enough traction.
-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
Millennium Force laps: 34
I guess that even I can understand it if you explain it that way.
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You can fool others, but nothing you do is hidden from God.
JESUS rules :) :)
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You can fool others, but nothing you do is hidden from God.
JESUS rules :) :)
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