Yes, as mentioned aboveCould this weekend be a realistic timeframe for Panoramabahn to reopen, then?
Call me mad, but I actually wouldn't be surprised if it's open by the weekend.
I agree, Scandinavia was such a huge job with so much infrastructure affected too. The major stuff for Alpenexpress (train, station, op panel etc) seems to have escaped unscathed - the same goes for the log flume too. Lots of damage but essentially it's mainly a metal box, track and troughs that've gone up in smoke. That's relatively quick to rebuild in comparison to the detailed buildings, facades and complexities of a partially underground ride in Scandinavia.I also reckon next season for Alpenexpress could be on the pessimistic side too.
If they put their minds to it I don't see why it couldn't reopen for winter season, sans building of course.
Around that area it was just standard wooden sleepers and track over gravel. Unless something landed on it, gut feeling is it's relatively undamaged. The main hurdle will be how safe the station is (it looks like superficial damage to the roof tiles) and how quickly the station charging system can be brought back into use.Does it use wooden sleepers or another material ?
Must've missed that - my computer's been rather slow today, which is quite annoying.Yes, as mentioned above
Yup there was a closeup of the track in those press images that Danny posted last night, very heavily warped. No surprise considering how much it was burning at one point:It'd hard to see but zoom in on the picture where Alpenexpress leaves the show building and you'll notice a fairly warped bit of banking I'm sure wasn't like that before. There must have been a lot of heat blasting through that hole.
I'm sure bare minimum it'll be getting a complete retrack inside, if only to ensure it hasn't developed internal faults in the steel.
I wouldn't object to a full retrack with the new, very comfortable Mack powered trains with onboard audio...
That thing that they built at Efteling in place of the Bob is fairly devoid of any character. It would be nice if they can maintain some of the original vibe of Alpenexpress.
Still, that burnt out shell still manages to have more charm than the Rapids and RMT tunnel at AT.