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2018: General Discussion

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The 5 degrees thing with Th13teen is nothing new. It is simply that they have decided to enforce it fully now. They know full well it won't stall once it has warmed up.

Thorpe are also playing to the letter. In fact, at Thorpe Park it is even worse.

Something has got to give with the parks at some point soon though - they can't go on like this.

They are over-the-top with H&S to the detriment of the park cleanliness, operation and guest experience. They should work hand-in-hand.
 
AstroDan said:
They are over-the-top with H&S to the detriment of the park cleanliness, operation and guest experience. They should work hand-in-hand.
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How does the H&S affect the cleanliness?

I’m far from Merlin’s biggest fan, but given recent events, and the effect on the business as a result, I think this attitude is understandable.

End of the day. The risk of running Thirteen below 5 degrees might be insanely low, but what if something does happen? It’s then Alton’s fault for running it. We’re in a situation where a ride stalling for 5 minutes is national news and requires a Facebook video from Alton to clarify. I can totally understand it to be honest, as annoying as it is, especially as we’re talking 1 or 2 rides, for a small portion of the day (on days when operations are twice a normal day)

I take the point that other parks run I. Different temperatures, I’ve no doubt it’s safe to do so. I’d question whether they would do if they’d had a Smiler incident.
 
Kraken27 said:
When I worked at Towers I am sure it was temperatures below 2C that were stated in the Nemesis manual as a reason for closing the ride - it was to do with brake performance if my memory serves me right.

Clearly in years gone by, Towers did run Nemesis in somewhat cool conditions at February half term in particular. For reasons obvious, the park is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. They don't want to shut rides if it's a bit cold, but the nanosecond anything went wrong and certain sections of the press (OK, The Mirror / Daily Mail) picked up on the fact the ride was operating outside manufacturers guidelines... you can imagine the headlines. "Riders almost FROZEN to death 2ft off the ground on Nemesis" etc...

I would imagine that for the above reasons, Towers have probably added a couple of degrees onto any minimum operating temperature set by the manufacturer so they can say they are playing things safe.
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Car brakes operate in ridiculous temperatures and these things are just a bit bigger and they are a proven technology.

We have to remember that rollercoasters are exactly the same as trains, just going a bit slower with no potential objects getting in their way (smiler stuff aside and also a dig at the wet leaves on tracks which won't happen). Give or take, these things are over engineered by a long shot and are fully designed with the location climate in mind, although wind is a given to stop a ride because of the forces.

Also this 5'c rule which is talked about, where has this objectively came from?
 
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I always thought the risk was if there's any moisture in the compressed air it could freeze and affect the valves on the brakes causing them to stick, potentially in a released position. However that's only my assumption and it could be completely inaccurate.

I'm sure there's ways to avoid the problem such as dryers or heaters within the pneumatic system, but maybe they're not standard.
 
With Thirteen could it be the drop section they're worried about? Perhaps they won't function properly. After the Smiler crash i expect they're being massively careful as they wouldn't want a train to get stuck in there and the resultant publicity
 
delta79 said:
With the drop section being within a building. It could have sensitive components warmed.

Sent from my SM-J600FN using Tapatalk
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Alsty said:
I always thought the risk was if there's any moisture in the compressed air it could freeze and affect the valves on the brakes causing them to stick, potentially in a released position. However that's only my assumption and it could be completely inaccurate.

I'm sure there's ways to avoid the problem such as dryers or heaters within the pneumatic system, but maybe they're not standard.
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Even as far back as the British Rail days (and followed on by Railtrack, then network Rail) there have been heaters on key sets of track points on main lines to stop them from freezing in cold weather. So yes, it is very easy to fix the 5 degrees C problem, should Merlin want to spend some money... Aah, might be onto something there! .
 
I don't think Thirteen has any friction brakes - it's all drive wheels and magnetic trims.

We don't know what the limiting factor may be, with Thirteen there are several possibilities given how complex it is. That said, once the ride is running the external temperature is much less of concern than when they first start it up. Ice is not likely to from on the track or mechanical components when being regularly used (generating heat). Stalling isn't a major risk either, and even if the train starts to take longer to get round stalling can be anticipated by timing the train between the two lifts and between the crypt and switch track (I know Galactica will shut down if a train takes too long to get round, not sure if Thirteen is the same).

It's obvious that Merlin have become far more cautious this year, just look at all the weather delays Thorpe now gets on top of their baseline levels of chronic breakdowns, this policty is to the significant detriment of all guests. They need to find a more appropriate balance.
 
It was very cold first thing this morning so I assume that is linked to that. It's due to warm up significantly though so I would expect all rides to be operating shortly.

:)
 
It is 11am and 4 major coasters are down, there's just no excuse for that.

This is a park that said only last year that they wanted to become a 365 day park in the next 5 years :rolleyes:

If they're using cold weather as an excuse in October, I'd hate to see what they come up with in December & January. [Spoiler alert: it's not very cold at the minute]
 
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