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The Smiler - General Discussion

Galactica's fly-to-lie is the most intense part of the ride, I kind of find it has a little bit of a rattle to it, possibly similar to when others experience a rattle on The Smiler, which I can't comment on because I've never felt it.
 
Matt N said:
Out of interest, which half of Smiler do people think is more intense?

Strangely, I actually think the first half feels more intense than the second; my head is always spinning on that brake run before the vertical lift hill, and I often feel a little bit strange in that bit, whereas I don’t have the same feeling on the final brake run.

I know this might be a controversial opinion, but out of the 74 coasters I’ve done, I honestly think Smiler is possibly one of the most intense. I’d say it feels like Alton’s most intense coaster to me, personally, and if you like your rides intense, relentless and packed with g’s, I don’t think there’s anything else quite like it, and I honestly think Smiler will be one of your favourite coasters.

For me, however; I prefer more fun, rerideable coasters that strike a nice balance between thrills and rerideability, so Smiler isn’t my favourite coaster.
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To be honest, i was a bit like that on my first couple of rides - but then i got it on a quiet day.

Managed to get 7 rides in an hour that day, and after the first couple i found it be very reridale indeed
 
pluk said:
Tatsu is deeply unpleasant in places like the pretzel loop, the flying style is much better suited to smaller gentle flowing layouts. At least it's an interesting inversion though, unlike any of The Smilers.
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I’ll agree with that - Tatsu is a beast of a ride - it’s so intense it’s becomes uncomfortable
 
Leah Washington has pop up, in the midlands air ambulance 30year anniversary exhibition- mission critical.

Sent from my SM-A217F using Tapatalk
 
Carry on discussion about the trim brakes from the 2021 disc topic
I’m not sure which would be safer for the brakes to get stuck in both ways has its advantages and disadvantages, too slow obviously is a stall risk but completely safe if appropriate action is taken after. Too fast could over stress the structure.

@Steve74 ive continued discussion in here.
 
Most of the Smiler structure looks permanently stressed.

On a well engineered ride (not suggesting you can count Smiler there), the structure shouldn't be able to be stressed by any forces that the ride can put upon itself, either routinely or by exception.
 
Apologies for bumping an old subject... but spurred on by a mate telling me they would no longer go on any rollercoasters after the accident, I wanted to put him straight!

THE SMILER CRASH - No Stone Left Unturned
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It's taken a couple of months, but I've put together what I hope will be the definitive video series on The Smiler Crash in 2015. These videos use information from the HSE reports, witness statements and sentencing remarks to hopefully put to bed all those inaccuracies in the videos current on t'internet...

Part 1 is available now and covers essential background information. This includes basic coaster train and block section theory, but also information about The Smiler's control system and Alton Towers park operations
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Parts 2 and 3 to follow as soon as they are ready.

Part 2 - Timeline as set out in the HSE Factual Report, with schematic animations showing the locations of trains and personnel in the lead up to the crash. I will also address some issues raised by this report

Part 3 - The Aftermath of the accident and HSE executive conclusions, leading to why Merlin Attractions Operations Limited were fined £5m for their part in the accident.

I hope you enjoy them!
 
Excellent video @Nemesis94. Normally when I watch these kind of videos I find myself saying "no" or "that's not how it works", but your video was informative and, most importantly, factually correct. I look forward to seeing the other two videos.
 
I’m going to wait till part 2 and 3 are ready so I can watch them in one go. Make your friend watch this video I couldn’t resist watching part 1, first of very good. I hate to say this but there’s an issue with how you’ve explained the 4 modes. My train has been moved in mode 4 a few times and at every block section it came to a complete stop.
 
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spinba11 said:
My train has been moved in mode 4 a few times and at every block section it came to a complete stop.
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The reports don't detail the exact way Mode 4 works, only that it brings the trains back to Ground Level, starting with the train furthest through the ride circuit (and without dispatching a train from the Station).

The principle I have demonstrate is the same as you have experienced, and will suffice for Parts 2 and 3. It may be the operator has to press the Start buttons every time a train reaches the end of a block, but I do not think I need to overcomplicate this explanation.
 
Apologies for the delay, every time I've uploaded this video and checked through it, I've spotted something new. It's also taken time for the relevant proof-views to feed back to me. Anyway, without further ado...

THE SMILER CRASH - Part 2
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This is the accident timeline, and shows what was really happening in the lead up to the crash.

Part 3 will hopefully follow around this time next week, when I go into the report's conclusions and address the main issues that lead to the accident.
 
Train 3 is clearly visibly on CCTV at the base of the lift at 13:40 (search YT for the video im not giving the link as the crash is shown on the video). What I want to know is why wasn't it spotted.
 
spinba11 said:
Train 3 is clearly visibly on CCTV at the base of the lift at 13:40 (search YT for the video im not giving the link as the crash is shown on the video). What I want to know is why wasn't it spotted.
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Also wouldn't it have been visible on the electronic layout diagram?
 
spinba11 said:
Train 3 is clearly visibly on CCTV at the base of the lift at 13:40 (search YT for the video im not giving the link as the crash is shown on the video). What I want to know is why wasn't it spotted.
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In Part 1 of my series: 25 CCTV cameras around The Smiler, displayed on just 2 TV screens. Images cycle between cameras: small images around the outside, one larger on in the middle. If you take your time and survey the ride circuit, you would (hopefully) eventually spot it. However, Electrical Technician A only believes there are 4 trains on the system, 3 at Ground Level, 1 at the top of Lift 1... he's satisfied he knows where all the trains are, so it is highly likely he did not even look at the CCTV.

Skyscraper said:
Also wouldn't it have been visible on the electronic layout diagram?
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Electrical Technician A believes this is a carryover error from the 'lost' train that failed to engage with Lift 2.

Ethan said:
As @spinba11 has pointed out its pretty obvious and visible in CCTV that the train was there. So my feeling is there is more to this than 'human error'
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As above, Technician A already believed he knew where all trains on the system were located, so why bother checking the CCTV. Technician A makes the errors, but it is the systems Merlin have in place that are the real issue... more in Part 3.
 
I’ve been in the cabin and can’t remember the CCTV screen layout. I would of thought the PLC would of alert the operator when train 3 didn’t arrive at the base of lift 2 even before train 4 got stopped at the top of lift 1.
 
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