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[The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation

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Johno said:
I'm calling BS on secret element.
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yep me to i will be slated for saying it again but i really think its something TT presumed would happen when they saw the words world first and posted it as gospel after one of there members came up with the idea. Hey ho
 
I wonder whether TT will remove the annoying blue box from their images now that we know it to be a straight piece of track. Or will they maintain that Alton Towers have requested the images to be concealed?
 
I don't think Towers even asked them to censor the pictures, they just said it to build up discussion. I do find it funny that the box extends a bit further than where the track ends, so they were actually covering up nothing...

Anyway in other news more supports were moved today, aswell as some of those precast concrete stairs, and some more brake track was delivered.
 
Sammy said:
It's been a while, so I have cracked out the paint skills again!!

BDZefczCAAAwvCN_zps29135396.jpg


The track connectors show the route of the track pretty well really, you can clearly see the two swooping turns similar to the plans!

However, note the big arrow, the angle of that track connector screams over-banked/another inversion at the top of one of the drops! Something else to point that this isn't going to entirely follow the plans :D

Great to see more finally going up though, it's certainly one complex structure that they are building right now!
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Oooh very good spot there Sam! That track connector definitely looks like it is for a piece of track that could invert! The plot thickens, and the evidence for the plans not being entirely accurate grows!

:)
 
I think most of us knew from the start that this ride would be sitting on a concrete base. I knew since before scarefest last year.
 
It does appear that the ride is going to differ from the plans. It certainly does look like I will invert at that high point.

I really doubt the existence of a secret element - I am placing my bets on being the worlds most inversions (world beating?) and perhaps a new type of train (worlds first?)
 
Josh said:
I don't think Towers even asked them to censor the pictures, they just said it to build up discussion. I do find it funny that the box extends a bit further than where the track ends, so they were actually covering up nothing...
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Slightly off topic but thought I should note that TT initially had no intention to censor the photos or even tell Alton what they were doing. It wasn't until a few people (for which I was one of) suggested that it was courteous to tell them that they started adding the censorship, so I think it's only fair to assume the park did tell them to.

However that's not to say they told them exactly what to sensor. It could be that they just assumed that would be the secret bit.

Or possibly something special will be happening there but it hasn’t been built yet? It doesn’t necessarily have to be the track.


On topic, good find Sammy, that'll make for a very interesting Flying Snake Dive style of element if that is the case, which I'm all for :p
 
Tim said:
Josh said:
I don't think Towers even asked them to censor the pictures, they just said it to build up discussion. I do find it funny that the box extends a bit further than where the track ends, so they were actually covering up nothing...
Click to expand...

Slightly off topic but thought I should note that TT initially had no intention to censor the photos or even tell Alton what they were doing. It wasn't until a few people (for which I was one of) suggested that it was courteous to tell them that they started adding the censorship, so I think it's only fair to assume the park did tell them to.

However that's not to say they told them exactly what to sensor. It could be that they just assumed that would be the secret bit.

Or possibly something special will be happening there but it hasn’t been built yet? It doesn’t necessarily have to be the track.


On topic, good find Sammy, that'll make for a very interesting Flying Snake Dive style of element if that is the case, which I'm all for :p
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Spot on comment. Or could it just be they put the box there to build hype? Only there team will know. Glad we have a great team on here.
 
Why go to all that effort and cost however for all that concrete if it's nothing more than a brake run?

Also, not sure if it's me but if you look at the station building where that straight track comes out..... Is there another section of track up above it??
 
I think that large slab will form part of the queue and station and also act as one large single footer.
And also part of the main viewing plaza.
 
there is more track above it, i assume its either the station entrance or to the maintenance shed.

The concrete remains a mystery to me. I assume its for all the footers and possible heavy themeing and queue. The concrete has now added more mystery than the alleged SE that TT were hiding.

Off topic, the debate on TT is furious, its a great read. People say this image has been doctored!
 
The above track is where the cars finish and will enter the station, the track below it is after the indoor barrel roll :)
 
GaryH said:
Why go to all that effort and cost however for all that concrete if it's nothing more than a brake run?
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Even brake runs need securing walls. Clearly the land is more prone to slip than they thought, hence all the reinforcement. Given how the brake run is inside a cutting, you don't want to brake into a wall of earth!

Sam - I think it's more a banker curve than an invert, and looks pretty much spot on to the plans - if you zoom in really close to the CCDD section you'll see
 
It would be a greater than 90 degree bank though which seems odd to have, though I'm not making any assumptions about it until we see more.

The track in the plans never banks more than 90 degrees up at the high points so it does add a bit of mystery to things.
 
You know, in my mind I just love the idea of John Wardley ringing up Gerstlauer for the first time about this ride.



John: Hello Gerstlauer, we need a new coaster for Alton, something thrilling, and I'm just touching base to see if you fancy having a stab at it.

Gerst: Absolutely, what kind of specification do you have in mind? Would you be wanting a large ride?

John: Well, it'd be the longest coaster you've ever manufactured.

Gerst: Blimey!

John: Yes, oh and it would have plenty of inversions. Thing is I'd like 4 of these inversions interwoven within a ridiculously tight area.

Gerst: Ah!

John: Yes and it would require a station building that you will have to build supports actually right through, and it would also need a complex support system to combine interlocking drops over a building.

Gerst: Er!

John: Oh and it would also have also your trademark indoor drop and roll start, but I'd like that in a tight concrete trench instead of a nice open station building.

Gerst: Uhuh!

John: Oh also, I'd need two lifthills.

Gerst: Two?! Why?

John: Because I want the trains to duel

Gerst: Have you been drinking Mr Wardley?

John: But I'd need one of lifts to be vertical and one at a 45 degree angle!

Gerst: riiiiiight, why's that?

John: Just for teh lolz. Oh and whilst you are at it, can you design some new custom trains specifically for us? Oh and I need to know the exact clearances of the trains because I want to build a giant robot spider that this ride will whizz around!

Gerst: ...... *mutters ''he's lost it, he's cracked''*

John: Do you think you could manufacture that for me guys?

Gerst: .......but....but

John: I'll pay cash!

Gerst: We'll get to work right away!

*call ends* ;)
 
With the news of John Wardley retiring, if this ride is to be his swansong, it certainly looks like he's going out with a bang.

Duelling, possible launch, giant themeing, intense layout with multiple inversions. It's like every ride he's designed rolled into one (and more!)

I think we all get too pre-occupied sometimes with SW having to be new concepts, new ride designs, new features, but really we should be looking forward to whatever comes out of that mad brain of his!
 
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