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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-25

Matt N said:
  • Oblivion (Theoretical: 1,900pph on 7 shuttles/2 stations): 787pph (5 shuttles/2 stations, average of 3 dual dispatches, 26th July 2025)
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A question, Oblivion has never been able to run 7 shuttles as far as I am aware. They have 7, but can only run 6 as maximum. In double station, if everything is parked up the last shuttle (6th) occupies the last brake, so a 7th would not have a block to occupy?

When I did the track walk last year, they said 6 was the maximum that could be on the track.
 
AltonLover123 said:
A question, Oblivion has never been able to run 7 shuttles as far as I am aware. They have 7, but can only run 6 as maximum. In double station, if everything is parked up the last shuttle (6th) occupies the last brake, so a 7th would not have a block to occupy?

When I did the track walk last year, they said 6 was the maximum that could be on the track.
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7th would be a spare so they could change it if one had an issue they could have swap
 
I could have sworn I heard that they tried to run 7 back in 1998, but it was causing issues so they stuck at 6 after that to prevent breakdowns.

Don’t quote me on that, though. Someone with more 90s Towers knowledge, or who was alive in the 90s, might be able to correct me.
 
Matt N said:
I could have sworn I heard that they tried to run 7 back in 1998, but it was causing issues so they stuck at 6 after that to prevent breakdowns.

Don’t quote me on that, though. Someone with more 90s Towers knowledge, or who was alive in the 90s, might be able to correct me.
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I just can’t see how, as when 6 are parked that’s all the available blocks taken. (They can’t exactly park shuttles on the lift and drop now can they)

Perhaps I’m mistaken but I just don’t see how it would be possible.
 
AltonLover123 said:
I just can’t see how, as when 6 are parked that’s all the available blocks taken. (They can’t exactly park shuttles on the lift and drop now can they)

Perhaps I’m mistaken but I just don’t see how it would be possible.
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I seem to remember hearing that the ride had a differently programmed PLC until the mid 2000s wherein the ride could have 2 shuttles on the lift hill at once. Maybe that was how the ride hypothetically could have run 7?
 
Matt N said:
I seem to remember hearing that the ride had a differently programmed PLC until the mid 2000s wherein the ride could have 2 shuttles on the lift hill at once. Maybe that was how the ride hypothetically could have run 7?
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But when in two stations, one waits at the bottom until the first clears the lift. There would not be enough time for the first to clear the drop and clear the brakes if the second was engaged further on the lift, so it would only end up stopping at the drop since the next block (the first brakes) would be occupied.

It’s an interesting thought
 
I could have sworn I heard that raised in a debate on here once, many years ago. But I could be wrong!
 
IICR, Rick posted something about the 2nd train of a pair advancing onto the lift when the previous one was nearly at the top but still on the chain, which meant the theoretical capacity used to be a bit higher than it is now. I don't think that wouldn't make any difference to the brake run arrangement though - I can't see how there could ever have been enough space to run another car. If none of them were moving you'd need one to be between the station and the pre-drop brake
 
Out of curiosity, what sort of throughput figure did Oblivion achieve in its earlier years?

I can’t fathom in my head how the ride would ever have achieved 1,900pph, as mooted by RCDB. I’ve timed the ride based on individual shuttles before, and even the shorter interval between shuttles 1 and 2 of a dual dispatch, if repeated, would only equate to around 1,700pph.

If they had ever hit 1,900pph, I’m guessing the tidbit from @John about the PLC being different to allow two shuttles to occupy the lift simultaneously would have to be true. In its current mode of operation, the interval between the two shuttles in a dual dispatch is too long to allow for 1,900pph.
 
Okay. So I’ve gone through a few videos from opening year and it looks as though the dispatch in two stations is the same as it is now.

I’ve included a screenshot below. As one is on the drop, the second is still advancing which means I highly doubt there was ever more than one shuttle on the lift chain itself.

IMG_4987.png
John said:
IICR, Rick posted something about the 2nd train of a pair advancing onto the lift when the previous one was nearly at the top but still on the chain, which meant the theoretical capacity used to be a bit higher than it is now. I don't think that wouldn't make any difference to the brake run arrangement though - I can't see how there could ever have been enough space to run another car. If none of them were moving you'd need one to be between the station and the pre-drop brake
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Exactly. A PLC update may have taken place a year or two after opening but an overhaul of the block system just isn’t feasible.

I’m pretty confident it’s never ran with mkte than 6.
 
Oblivion has better capacity then all of the newer Dive Coasters because that station can hold 64 people at a time and 32 riders when 2 stations are operating as each train has an additional couple of seats.

Thing that hurts Oblivion is the fact people have more bags these days then they did back in the 90's everyone has a bag. They should really consider turning X-Sell into X-Store have a place where your bag can be kept
 
When Oblivion opened, B&M ditched Consign AG and tried to do the ride PLC themselves, with the target of 7 shuttles on the circuit. It didn't work, took B&M a year or two to walk and hand the PLC back to Consign AG. Hence we never see more than 6 shuttles on the track.
 
Kraken27 said:
When Oblivion opened, B&M ditched Consign AG and tried to do the ride PLC themselves, with the target of 7 shuttles on the circuit. It didn't work, took B&M a year or two to walk and hand the PLC back to Consign AG. Hence we never see more than 6 shuttles on the track.
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A PLC is wonderful, but if there were 7 shuttles and all were parked, one would have to be at the bottom of the lift, on the lift itself or at the drop. With 6, you have two in the station, two behind the station and two on the break run.

A PLC change could not magically add or remove a block. The ride has not changed in blocks since it was built. Of course the lift itself and the drop would be a block each, but you wouldn’t have shuttles parked there once they’re all stopped.
 
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Matt N said:
Perhaps that would be a better idea.

My issue is less with the show itself and more with the way it's organised. They do seem to struggle to keep up with the ride in their batching of the pre-show; if it were less of a free-for-all, I do wonder if things might be better on there. Maybe a cattlepen as @Poisson suggests, or maybe even just numbered dots like on Flight of the Sky Lion, might add some order to it and make it flow better.
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I'm very much against numbered dots in most settings because people are idiots. Pretty much every time we ride Croc Drop at Chessington people ignore their assigned dot and sit where they like, resulting in random spaces and a prolonged boarding process. In fact one time they asked us to wait for the next ride rather than rearrange everyone to enable me to sit with my son which was very poor.

In fairness SkyLion which you cite generally works well but i think that's because the demographic is predominantly parents shepherding children to the correct space combined with a lengthy pre-show video which firmly reinforces their purpose. Wickerman's demographic would likely not succeed in this regard.

Also what would the numbers even correspond to in this scenario?
 
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