Vertigo single tower collapse

Duane, I think you hit it right on the head.  I sent my g/f the article from the SR, she replied "well, I don't want to try that ride anymore."  She wanted to try it last time we were there, but we didn't have the $.  Now, she won't try it at all, even though I know it'll be fine.
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Mr. Skyward is my hero.
"Why don't you change your name to Mike?" "No way, why should I change my name, he's the one who sucks."

Well they could do what I do on RCT..Repaint it and rename it something different to get peeps on it after an incident...;)

Pros and Cons to ponder in the advent!

Seriously though, I have to agree with Duane here a little. Even though no one was injured and this was something such as a bad weakened Part of steel or something, the GP will not be so quick to jump in line let alone PAY $$ up and above their admission to ride this just yet after what happened. I know CP will do everything in their power to make this safe again and I like the others will put my faith and ride again but many will not. I think this ride is wonderful and a great addition to a great park but realism will unfortunatley have some harsh effects I'm afraid on Vertigo. :(

On the Flip side though many locals and us enthusiasts will probably in the end being the only ones to ever find this out. I mean I heard nothing about this in Middle Michigan on any newscasts and had it not been for the enthusuiasts sites I visit and freinds within, I would have known nothing just being an average Joe. The people who visit CP next summer are just those average everyday family thrillseekers who don't call them locals or enthusiasts and therefore may be none the wiser this every happened..CP may not notice too much from this if indeed they reopen it for 2002's opening Day.

My $.02...

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http://www.msu.edu/~armbrus9/cp.html
Fear the Mullet!

Well, I don't know that the public will have that much of a problem with it. First off, most people don't know it's there in the first place. Second, if we find out it did have something to do with weather, to me at least that changes a lot of things because it's something that can be corrected, not to mention not duplicated in the summer.

If they're getting the state involved, I'd have to think that we will get an answer on what really happened. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Wow! Finally a valid reason NOT to ride this thing! woo hoo!! UCISEJBHIIGRD-you can tell Lauren she can sit with me while you, Rob, Corey and Mikey ride with you. Or better yet, we'll be on my baby Raptor-meet us later!! :)

Jo
2000 Raptor Crew
Gemini 100 "Survivor"
Po!nter Girl-FOREVER! :)
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Cowboys dig cowgirls in trucks
Cowgirls dig cowboys in Wranglers! ;)

:) Good idea, Jo!
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Mr. Skyward is my hero.
"Why don't you change your name to Mike?" "No way, why should I change my name, he's the one who sucks."

I bet, if the ride does open again it will be a lot cheaper.
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OMG! your names Michael Bolton!?!? (couldnt resist)

If it does go on sale, will it be 1/3 off? ;)

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini on 1/15/2002. ***

You're right Corey.. we were the last riders of the season last year. I forgot all about that.

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VertiGo Rides - 82 (2001)
And looking forward to more!!!

First, the public is quick to forget, if they even pay attention to the incident at all. Second, the towers sway inward as part of the normal operation of the ride. They act as sort of a spring to soften the vehicle's stop at the top. Just a guess, but I bet metal fatigue is the cause of the collapse. The columns probably always sway in the wind, and a crack that developed during operation got to the breaking point. If it proves to be a metallurgy or manufacturing problem with just that one tower, then they just have to replace it and the ride is good to go. However, if it proves to be an engineering problem, than all the rides will have to be modified. If I were Cedar Fair, I'd shut the Vertigo at Knott's down until the CP ride was analyzed. Does anyone remember the crashes of the old British Comet jetliners? These were one of the first jet passenger planes in production. After some time in service, they mysteriously started to crash, just break up in flight. It was determined that poorly engineered windows allowed metal fatigue to occur at the corners of the windows, and when the cracks got big enough the fuselage cracked and broke apart. The fix was to redesign the windows into a more rounded shape. If a flaw like that exists in Vertigo, than S&S got very lucky that a tower collapsed during the off season in a park and the rides can be fixed before any injuries occurred to the riders.
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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.
*** This post was edited by Pete on 1/15/2002. ***

*** This post was edited by Pete on 1/15/2002. ***

Knott's and SFMM will not run thier rides till further notice.

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VertiGo Rides - 82 (2001)
And looking forward to more!!!

As some of you may have noticed, I made a post earlier this morning with some info. I deleted it because I wasn't sure that it was a good idea to let people in on it, but now that the cat's out of the bag (Completely), I'm reposing what information hasn't been hit on by the News reports:

-The tower broke approximately 66.25 feet up the tower, about 1/4 of the total height. This is about where the first "tower joint" is.

-The collapse took out a ticket booth of some sort, but it is unclear which structure was hit.

-Cedar Point is reviewing Web Camera images that were saved on their computers. Some may be familiar with a web cam that was pointed at Magnum XL-200. Basically, In one shot, the tower is there, and in the next, it is not.

-No one was near the site, or witnessed the collapse. An employee driving in the area was the first to notice that the tower was missing.

-From initial reports, the tower is badly damaged. But I can't say for sure that it is un-salvageable.

More info as I becomes available.

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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
"Thank You Jeff Putz" "My Fellow Americans, Lets Roll!"

My uneducated guess is that it will either be gone (and I think S&S should take the hit on the cost of it) or it will be priced so that price is not an issue (free?).

Not sure I care to ride it now.  I personally did not have much interest in it before and now.....

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From what Zero-G said there, it most likely sounds like a steel defect or problem. From that, I would think S&S would pick up any repair costs.

Plus, VertiGo was already there for 2 months or so. People liked it, so if it's a fix-able problem, fix it and bring it back!

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Tommy Penner -
http://coolforce.tycoonplanet.com - http://vx3k.cjb.net
"How YOU Doin'?" ;)

I will NOT be going on vertigo again.  And I will be sure to let any friends of mine that go with me to CP what had happened.  It's only fair to them so they can make their own mind's up.  Winter weather or not, this is just something that should not happen.  No one is going to convince me otherwise.

Steel assembly is steel assembly whether it be the towers of Vertigo or the supports of Magnum.  To say that you won't go on that one ride because it collapsed is odd.  In all likelyhood, it will now be the safest structure in the park b/c of the scrutiny it will receive.

It may be just coincidence, But wasn't there some kind of union labor dispute this past summer? I think it had something to do with letting scabs build rides to save money. Does anyone know if Vertigo was a union job? It sure wouldn't look to good for CP if they hired scabs to build Vertigo, and then have the thing fall to the ground within a year. I really hope that's not the case.

How strong were the winds when this happened?

*** This post was edited by MooreOn on 1/15/2002. ***

Not real strong at all from what I have heard and read...

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http://www.msu.edu/~armbrus9/cp.html
Fear the Mullet!

Ok kids--heres a thought--ever taken a plastic bottle filled with water and frozen it? What happens? IT cracks and breaks...now i might be fececious here, but isnt CP on a lake and its cold and snowy? That ride may have been better suited to a warmer climate, but they'll fix it.

If that were the case, wouldn't this happen more often?  I don't think the supports to any of the other rides are solid steel.  So water would collect and freeze in the supports of other rides, not just Vertigo.  But I understand your theroy.  But what do I know, I'm ODD, or my reasoning is odd, becasue I don't want to go on a ride that is 300' tall that collapsed one day.  Chief, I didn't call anyone else odd for saying they would go on Vertigo now did I?