Millennium Force Cable Issue

Touchdown said:
... how would you feel if something happened to Raptor and it wasnt open for CM?

I would complain non-stop to park ops and send Mr Kinzel a nasty letter ;)
I would simply ride something else!

I remember in '00 my kids and I made several trips to PKI only to ride SOB. It was down for several of those visits, We would simply ride other things or find something else to do. Back then there was far less to do (and even now) in compared to CP.

Funny thing is once we finally got to ride SOB we realized all that wait for something that really sucked :(

Jo

Here's a picture I took last year, to compare the two.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/topthrill/IMG_1311.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/topthrill/p5280014n.jpg

Just to add some more food for thought...

It appears Intamin changed the design of the catch wagon track after Millennium Force was built. You can see very clearly in this image of Expedition GeForce (opened '01) or this image of Thunder Dolphin ('03). In the latter, there appears to be a 'stopper' on the end, although it's not the greatest picture. I would imagine El Toro has something similar.

^ If that is true, then we could be seeing some retrofitting being done to MF soon...and probably all of the Intamin Megas that dont have the stopper.

RideMan said:
It appears that the return rope failed. What is not clear is why the catchwagon didn't simply drop out of the slot and land on the ground in a large heap. I wonder if there is some kind of limit in place which prevented this failure from being more serious than it was.

Well, wouldn't the tow rope still be attached? So provided that drum doesn't start unwinding, the catch car would be supported by that cable while the back-end dangles down.

Lets just hope that it's back up in time for CoasterMania! Not sure if it will or not but I'm hoping for it!

The drum that pulls the catch car up is the same drum that pulls it back down. One thing i did notice this year is the front end of the catch car is the only part attached to the cable so that the rest of the sled could make its way under each train.

In the photos posted it seems like the cable is still in tension.

This would mean that more than one segment of the catch car had to clear its rail housing. As soon as one section was out it would allow the car to buckle and let all of the sections follow.

In both of those newer rides, it makes infinitely more sense to route the catch car track through the main track where the cable is going. And maybe you pack it with feather pillows and rainbows or something.

LuvRaptor said:

I remember in '00 my kids and I made several trips to PKI only to ride SOB. It was down for several of those visits, We would simply ride other things or find something else to do. Back then there was far less to do (and even now) in compared to CP.

Did somebody say Son of Beast?

Another solution, in my opinion, would be to have the top and bottom rails of the catch car track progressively converge. That way, it would act as a braking mechanism on the sled. Of course, it might be a bit of trouble getting it out...

doublesecretcoasterconspiracy.org says this whole stunt was orchestrated. The cranes are there to covertly install LIMs on the lift hill to reclaim the title, World's fastest coaster! The precise launch speed is not being disclosed but expect some serious airtime at the crest. ;-)

Best wishes on a speedy recovery Millie.

TTD 120mph said:

Darn, sounds like it was an awesome time. I was going to go after work (literlly in my car ready to go) when I remembered it was my grandpas birthday. I'm with Josh and hope they somehow work Dragster and Magnum in for their original ert date as well as something with Millennium.

So if your reading this Tony, I'm gonna bug you till you get the powers that be to do it. Don't doubt me, I'll do it! There's nothing like a disgruntled Dragster fan who had to miss out on a surprise Dragster ert session.:)

As seen Here, he was listening.

I am beginning to think there may be some sort of track damage. There has been one or two people hoisted up on the crane for several hours now - and they are below the return point for where the cable goes under the track.

bholcomb said:

Did somebody say Son of Beast?

lol!!! :)
Proving SOB still sucks! :)

Jo

Retrofitting Millie would be a huge job considering that they would have to replace the top section and down about a 1/3 of the drop and possibly the supports for the channel. the new system. Why Intamin didn't incorporate this new system on Millie is quite confusing considering that GeForce and Millie were being designed almost at the same time.

So when they fix this, since they've changed the catch car since then, what are they going to use to make it operational again?

Tools? New parts? Their mechanics?

So...is it open?

The crane at the drop is gone. Now we just wait for something to happen.

I would not be surprised if some sort of an explanation was given at Coastermania.

Has anyone seen the tension wheels? I would guess that one of them is on the ground as it was in 2001.