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[The Smiler] Spoiler Discussion

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Slightly worrying that it has stalled again. However I'm not that surprised. On Saturday morning, when the ride first started testing it was going very very slowly through the exit of the Batwing, it did look like it was about the roll back the first few times. Then after a few runs each train started passing through it slightly faster. By the end of the day it didn't look slow at all going through there. The Smiler at the moment seems to be a coaster that does take a while to warm up, and it does get faster throughout the day. This is noticeable when you ride.

EDIT:

Just seen a close up photo from the other topic on this forum. It is train 5 that has stalled, could this be due to a relative lack of running compared to the other trains? Pure speculation of course, I have no idea how much testing train 5 has done yet but it obviously won't have run as much as some of the others.

:)
 
I've always had concerns over the design of the batwing if I'm honest. The two halves are pretty much identical in size. You would expect the second half loop to be smaller in height due to friction forces acting on the trains, lowering their momentum. However both loops are pretty much equal. Therefore, if it just makes it over the first half, it will almost certainly not make it over the second half and will valley.

In this case though, I pray it's a case of wheels not being broken in on either the new train, or just new wheels that have been changed. It's the only plausible explanation considering it's been running relatively well these past 4 days.
 
Stevie said:
I'm just worried about how long will it be until those projectors are broke and that corridor is left dark and quite gloomy.
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But they aren't, they are working so enjoy it while it lasts.
 
Rob said:
Just seen a close up photo from the other topic on this forum. It is train 5 that has stalled, could this be due to a relative lack of running compared to the other trains? Pure speculation of course, I have no idea how much testing train 5 has done yet but it obviously won't have run as much as some of the others.

:)
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I thought train 5.1 had been running all weekend?
 
^ That's what I thought as well. I remember Stretchy saying how the ride was considerably smoother in train 5.1. Maybe the trims were acting a little too much during testing. If not, then I have no idea why it would suddenly stall after 4 days of relatively good operations.

Anywho, a crane is now on site.

970445_573427142688468_416790768_n.jpg


Credit to ATG
 
Alastair said:
Rob said:
Just seen a close up photo from the other topic on this forum. It is train 5 that has stalled, could this be due to a relative lack of running compared to the other trains? Pure speculation of course, I have no idea how much testing train 5 has done yet but it obviously won't have run as much as some of the others.

:)
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I thought train 5.1 had been running all weekend?
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I have no idea! I just assumed that the 4 trains that were running were trains 1 to 4 and that train 5 was the one not in operation. In that case this stall is more worrying than I thought.

:)
 
To my knowledge train 5 hasn't been used for guests yet as they've been testing it after ride close. I also believe they were trying new wheels to reduce the screech at certain points. It could be a combination of this which has caused the stall
 
Towers are saying on Twitter that they hope to have The Smiler open again tomorrow.

:)
 
Well this is all rather amusing.

So there seem to be two obvious options to me. 1) reprofile the track, or 2) fit heaters in the station like Colossus to warm the bearings and lube up. Obvioulsy the latter is the simpler option.


Oh, and regarding the projectors, on opening day, one of them was overheating and resetting itself. :p
 
Does anyone know if any other coaster at Alton has ever stalled? I vaguely remember hearing that Thunderlooper got stuck at the top of the loop once but I may be mixing it up with another shuttle loop.

I'm sure that Rita's had the odd rollback as well but I don't think that counts as a proper stall.
 
It was Turbine that got stuck at the top of it's loop, I believe. The odds of that happening must be astronomical! Pretty sure it's the only time it's ever happened.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Oh, and regarding the projectors, on opening day, one of them was overheating and resetting itself. :p
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Wonder if it was the same projector that I saw on Saturday that was working one minute then stopped then came back on after a while. The one you saw, was it the one at the far end of the first switchback once you come in from outside, in the normal queue (basically the one that projects on the corner of the wall that on the other side - is the baggage hold).
 
Didn't Corkscrew stall once with people on it? Pretty sure that made the news. Quite a while back though. And I think Thirteen has stalled once also.

:)
 
Oh dear.

Does the ride have to be tested completely empty, or could they use water dummies for the morning testing? It seems the ten minutes they would lose each morning moving the dummies could save a day's worth of downtime?

Alternatively, what can be done apart from wait for the wheels to break in with fingers crossed? Lube up that portion of track each morning? Could kicker wheels be added there as a long term measure?
 
Jon said:
Oh dear.

Does the ride have to be tested completely empty, or could they use water dummies for the morning testing? It seems the ten minutes they would lose each morning moving the dummies could save a day's worth of downtime?
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I think it does, simply because the ride (albeit extremely unlikely around now) might have to be dispatched with only a couple of people on it. It has to be able to complete the circuit empty.
 
I personally believe/hope that they altered the ratio of wheel compounds on the stalled train yesterday to reduce roar/screeching. If that is the case, it shouldn't be too hard to rectify.

I hope it's nothing too major.
 
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