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[The Smiler] Construction Updates / Ride Speculation Part 2 *SPOILER FREE*

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pluk said:
A ride it first winner (BenC on TPM) has had an email stating the planned Wednesday afternoon ride is very unlikely to be able to happen and instead they are riding before everyone else on the Thursday. Whatever it is they are still tinkering with they are clearly cutting it very fine!
not good :-[
 
It looks like magnetic fins have been added to the trims on the airtime hill(s) (not sure if it's one of them or both). I'll have a look tomorrow but if it is indeed the case then they've chosen to add them very late on.

:)
 
Rob said:
Must admit I find it slightly strange that they are working on that now just a few days before opening and after lots of testing. Still I doubt it is anything to worry about at all.

:)

I wouldn't be too shore about that, you should see the photos on the other forum! Most of us noticed the gap at the top of the support, but instead of sorting it properly it looks like they just packed the gap. Trouble is that since testing has started everything has slipped. Either Gerstlauer or the HSE have seen it needs looking at before it opens to the public, probably the reason for the delay for the preview rides.
 
Whilst Gerstlauer are still around they might as well add the fins to the trims, no reason not to really.

I'd imagine that the ride is pretty much programmed now so Gerstlauer will know when the trims should be used if the ride ever overspeeds.

In regards to the competition, getting the ride finished for Thursday is the priority, organising members of the public to enter what is still effectively a construction site will just cause issues.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
Well it's time for my final SW7/The Smiler construction update! I hope you enjoy, I shall be ending this update with a selection of different overview shots from different areas of X-Sector.

To start, you can see that more footers have been painted black. They were painting more throughout the afternoon:
P1160229_zpsb4d2fab4.jpg


Yellow cameras have been added to the pre-vertical lift area:
P1160230_zpscaccb61c.jpg


P1160231_zps342463fd.jpg


P1160232_zpsc9adbe39.jpg


P1160253_zps87dbb83b.jpg


What could be yellow chevrons in one of the fenced off ride areas:
P1160233_zpsc6ab875b.jpg


More work on the queue line:
P1160234_zpsb128ed71.jpg


From another angle:
P1160237_zpsf91bf63b.jpg


Here you can just about make out yellow strips in the bottom of the pit:
P1160238_zps1f57b7e2.jpg


More 'theming details' around the pit, I doubt these will actually remain blue:
P1160243_zps9d9d3934.jpg


Some of the path dug up two days before opening:
P1160239_zps0cd2a1d8.jpg


A look at the hole:
P1160271_zpseab4a3d6.jpg


And this is what was inside the hole:
P1160283_zps8c3735dd.jpg


Fencing down the steps is complete:
P1160240_zps2a7cfb3f.jpg


Welcome to The Smiler:
P1160252_zpse39fd9f8.jpg


Magnetic fins have been added to the trims on the second airtime hill:
P1160241_zps6f7b032e.jpg


P1160256_zps41c32b27.jpg


Here are the trims retracted, let's hope they stay like this:
P1160258_zpsea717b79.jpg


Fins have not been added to the trims on the first airtime hill:
P1160254_zps37ee3d7a.jpg


The return of outdoor seating:
P1160242_zps97a2c2b1.jpg


More work on the Rehydrator:
P1160244_zpsb3802b59.jpg


The bottom of the site looks complete:
P1160245_zpsdb5ac7e6.jpg


You can just about make out the inside of the shop here:
P1160288_zpsb2054026.jpg


Another hole has been dug near to the shop:
P1160248_zpsf43326d1.jpg


A look at the station and shop:
P1160249_zpsf2ef535a.jpg


SW7:
P1160250_zps9a8808d1.jpg


More yellow stickers/painting on a support, I'd imagine this may create another work/phrase when viewed from a certain angle in the queue like the SW7 lettering:
P1160295_zps5d12dfce.jpg


The reflector thingy for the sensor that sets of the first ORP:
P1160255_zpsf1a5059e.jpg


It looks like a storage 'box' has been placed/built near to the queue line shop:
P1160257_zps8a9181f0.jpg


P1160281_zps0e62ea1f.jpg


Work on the drainage in the queue area:
P1160262_zpsfa6a94ff.jpg


P1160267_zpsac319615.jpg


A look at the optical illusions on the seat backs of the trains:
P1160263_zps115a0aa8.jpg


The wiring of all the cameras on the entrance has been tidied up:
P1160268_zps97be2f9b.jpg


A close up of one of the cameras:
P1160294_zps438a47c7.jpg


Another look at the entrance:
P1160269_zps19b817b6.jpg


P1160270_zps5f354660.jpg


Some nice paving/gravel landscaping work in the transfer track area:
P1160280_zps5645608d.jpg


Yellow fire exit doors:
P1160296_zps85a49417.jpg


The first drop:
P1160297_zps8187489e.jpg


A nice look at the final inversion:
P1160298_zpsf9d37f75.jpg


Now for some overview shots of The Smiler.

A couple of overview shots from the top of the site:
P1160300_zpsa0a837db.jpg


P1160299_zps094b9873.jpg


Looking up towards the top of the site:
P1160292_zps6bc80ca3.jpg


The 'Staffordshire Knot':
P1160291_zps0b1280c5.jpg


An overview from the bottom of the site:
P1160287_zpsd8b9a7f2.jpg


A complete mess of steel:
P1160286_zps9ee29f5d.jpg


P1160285_zpsbb344e2b.jpg


Marmaliser overview:
P1160264_zpsff385c32.jpg


P1160265_zpseab6292f.jpg


P1160266_zpsd9e29c84.jpg


And an overview from Blivvy's merge point:
P1160247_zps6ecaf65d.jpg


Finally, here are some photos to show how the ride looks set within X-Sector:
P1160260_zps92631e01.jpg


P1160259_zpsced8854c.jpg


P1160279_zps974882f1.jpg


P1160278_zpsbe739395.jpg


P1160277_zps2b6f1b35.jpg


P1160276_zps07bf5854.jpg


P1160275_zps8a9fb676.jpg


P1160274_zpse1f567ef.jpg


Ah there we have it. I hope that you have all enjoyed my updates over the past few months. It's been great to see the ride progress from a patch of land with a tent on it to what it is today. I'm still gutted that I'll be missing the opening day considering how much I have followed the construction.

As usual, all photos were taken from areas of the park fully accessible to the public. Please do not replicate my photos without permission. TowersStreet may use them if they wish.

:)
 
Great Pictures Rob as always and thanks for your perseverance with the updates. Really appreciated.

It really is going to be a close call with construction and opening in less than two days. I have a feeling that more work will continue in the nights after the opening. It has to.
 
Would like to thank you rob for your time and effort gathering these great photos :)
 
We owe you, Rob :) I think you'll get to Towers and freeze when you realise there is no more construction photos to take :p
 
A few other points from today:

- There is still quite a lot of work to do between now and 10am on Thursday morning, I reckon they have their work cut out.
- Most people still seem to think that the vertical lift is a vertical drop which I do find amusing.
- I'd say it's almost certain that The Smiler will open with only 3 trains on the track. Unless they have managed to get the other 2 trains onto the track when no-one was around then there are only 3 currently on the circuit. Queues will be bad!

:)
 
Rob said:
I'd say it's almost certain that The Smiler will open with only 3 trains on the track. Unless they have managed to get the other 2 trains onto the track when no-one was around then there are only 3 currently on the circuit. Queues will be bad!

So how exactly does that duel?
 
Dueling has never been confirmed, only rumoured and theorised. I'm not sure that the ride system is programmed to duel. Obviously it will every so often but I reckon it will be by chance more than anything else. All depends on the dispatch speeds that the staff can get.

:)
 
I'm not sure it's going to be programmed to duel - as it depends heavily on dispatch and could effect throughput badly, which is a shame. It almost certainly won't on opening if there are only 3/5 cars on track...

EDIT: Oh and I must say, such a massive huge thanks to Rob for all your hard work and amazing pictures throughout the duration of the whole project. The updates have been consistently brilliant and an absolute asset to the site. So thank you Rob :)
 
Lets just hope that it is running at all on Thursday before we start hoping that it will be dueling.

As much as I love this Dueling Rumor, it has never been confirmed by the park, and would depend heavily on dispatch times.

Ian
 
Can I just say a huge thanks to Scott. If everyone could use that size font between the weekday drinking hours of 19:30 and 23:00 it would help me out enormously.

Seriously tho, thanks Rob. Another great update. The landscaping is excellent and the whole area is looking much more complete now. Am feeling very optimisitic. :)
 
Novas said:
Can I just say a huge thanks to Scott. If everyone could use that size font between the weekday drinking hours of 19:30 and 23:00 it would help me out enormously.
oops... Didn't mean to make it quite that big ;)
 
Just a quick post to say thank you to Rob for the splendid updates and I think he deserves his own title of 'TST Photographer' or something like that.

Now, for your next project, go and take some photos of those lodg.... Oh right, yeah.
 
Rob, your updates have been amazing throughout this whole project. Thanks for sharing your time and photography skills with us.
 
Thank you Rob for your stream of great quality photos of the construction.

Rob said:
And this is what was inside the hole:
P1160283_zps8c3735dd.jpg

It look like a resin filled MV cable joint box.
 
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