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The Smiler - General Discussion

Smiler is waiting on a part. As is Hex. Both coming from manufacturers in Europe.

Brexit red tape is adding further delay to an already wrecked supply chain.

Alton can do little about it in spite of trying.

Issues should be raised with the government.

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Danscott22 said:
Yeah I heard from staff members it was awaiting a part and we've had someone else say its awaiting a brake sensor. I think the fact that the fast track has been removed speaks volumes. If it opens on Friday, I'll happily eat my hat.
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Please don't

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AstroDan said:
Smiler is waiting on a part. As is Hex. Both coming from manufacturers in Europe.

Brexit red tape is adding further delay to an already wrecked supply chain.

Alton can do little about it in spite of trying.

Issues should be raised with the government.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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That explains why Hex has been closed for so long. Thanks for clarifying. With all the supply issues I wouldn't be surprised if both parts arrived after the season has ended. Fingers crossed though!
 
AstroDan said:
Smiler is waiting on a part. As is Hex. Both coming from manufacturers in Europe.

Brexit red tape is adding further delay to an already wrecked supply chain.

Alton can do little about it in spite of trying.

Issues should be raised with the government.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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I am not doubting your knowledge but I am just genuinely curious, how can a part be needed for the ride to run when it has been running/testing a lot while closed?
 
MakoMania said:
I am not doubting your knowledge but I am just genuinely curious, how can a part be needed for the ride to run when it has been running/testing a lot while closed?
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If it is a brake sensor that they are waiting for, it can be overridden in order for a single test train to run.
They require the new sensor in order to operate with guests onboard though.
 
I also don’t know why they don’t keep spare parts on site. Think I have mentioned this before but I went on a back of house tour at BGT years ago and they told us how important it was for them to keep spare parts of almost everything so that it was there when needed. Then when they installed a new one they would order another straight away to be the spare.
 
MakoMania said:
I also don’t know why they don’t keep spare parts on site. Think I have mentioned this before but I went on a back of house tour at BGT years ago and they told us how important it was for them to keep spare parts of almost everything so that it was there when needed. Then when they installed a new one they would order another straight away to be the spare.
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They will almost certainly keep general/common spare parts on site. Specialized parts might need to be manufactured off-site to order though.
 
MakoMania said:
I also don’t know why they don’t keep spare parts on site. Think I have mentioned this before but I went on a back of house tour at BGT years ago and they told us how important it was for them to keep spare parts of almost everything so that it was there when needed. Then when they installed a new one they would order another straight away to be the spare.
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And if the replacement part breaks before supplies are restocked?...

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It's so strange seeing Smiler's screens off! :eek:

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s_g_k said:
I didn’t know they kept them on throughout winter - out of curiosity, why? Surely it’s cheaper just to switch the screens off?
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Yeah apparently they are kept on over winter. That's strange in itself, so it's even stranger to see them off. :confused:
Does anyone know if the screens and effects are connected to the ride control system and power source or are they seperate?
 
Skyscraper said:
Yeah apparently they are kept on over winter. That's strange in itself, so it's even stranger to see them off. :confused:
Does anyone know if the screens and effects are connected to the ride control system and power source or are they seperate?
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Having worked on the ride, the screens are kept on over winter so that winter doesn't damage the screen to much (frost).

Effects are a not connected to the ride in any way, there’s a separate button/console for this that just turns all the effects including music all on at once.

The only thing technicians turn on of a morning is the marmaliser leg which are the inoculator and the tickler.
 
How strange?

They’re LED screens aren’t they, so I assume wouldn’t use much power to run?

All I can think is they have turned them off to give off an “it’s closed” vibe, ahead of the busy weekend.
 
The screens are on timers I believe, sure they go off about 10pm or something. I know previously there was a first day of scarefest when the screens all went out about 7pm when someone clearly forgot to change the timer!

I know the screens have been on during the whole time the ride has been shut, as well as the music. The marmaliser effects were also on last week, but they were off last weekend.
 
Interestingly, witnessed a maintenance worker in a cherry picker inspecting the track on one of the air time hills earlier; could have been doing something to the trims?

We shall see.
 
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