Wicker Man - General Discussion - Part Two

1.26 in this video

 

That's an anti-rollback, same as on the lift hill. It's there in case a train is running too slow and doesn't get all the way round - it's much easier to recover it from the top of a hill than the bottom.

 

Awesome, thanks.

It didn't make it's usual noise today. Mind you, it didn't when i went in July either.

Was very happy to see Wickerman open today. In fact, i didn't see any sizeable downtime on any of the rides today, which helped a lot, operations were very decent indeed.

 

Yeah it's just before the so-called"Boring Corner".

 

Yep, was just some re-tracking:-



Nice to see they got the job done fast, hopefully will ride smoother on that section now. Is it true the ride really is running faster this year?

 

Was on row 6 in July and it was absolutely flying, it was almost like a back row! I’d definitely say it’s running faster.

 

GCIs do get faster as they age. Case in point is Wodan. I first rode it back in 2012 when it was fairly new, and it was perfectly fine. 2015 saw me get several seconds of sustained airtime from the bottom of the first drop up the hill before slamming back down into my seat around the Blue Fire curve. 2017, though? Absolutely insane. I have no doubt Wodan will likely get even quicker as time goes on, and I'm certain that Wicker Man will be the same.

 

This is what all GCIs must be fitted with before next year;

 

To be honest I’m surprised they haven’t always had that sort of chain run design as most other roller coaster manufacturers use it for the very reason this retrofit is happening now.

 

I’m confused, which bit is the diagram referring to?

 

Didn’t Wodan only have a notable speed increase because they changed it from polyurethane wheels to steel wheels not long after it opened, and the speed increases that came subsequently were down to the coaster wearing in over time?

As far as I’m aware, Wicker Man has always run with steel wheels, so the speed increase that’s happened since opening is down to the coaster wearing in over time. A lot of coasters tend to get faster within the first few years of operation, and it’s not only wooden coasters that do this; I know Helix at Liseberg was said to have wiped something like 4 seconds off its ride duration between 2014 and 2016, and I know many have said that Thorpe Park’s 2 B&Ms have grown to become faster and more intense over time, and that’s just a few examples.

 

Yeah, I think the change in wheel compounds did have something to do with the increase in speed on Wodan. Though that was a while ago and my memory's a tad hazy on that front.

 

I presume then that this is a maintenance/reliability/longevity fix rather than a safety feature? If it were for safety it wouldn't be mandated for the future, it'd be an immediate requirement.

 

Well I assume that any GCIs without that by next season won't be allowed to open until they have it installed.

 

More likely won't be warranteed if not installed by next year.

If it were a safety feature they surely couldn't run the risk of a serious incident happening this year and being held responsible for running the rides knowing they are not safe .

 

Where did you find this image?

 

Someone posted it on a Discord server, not sure where they got it from.

 

What changes need to be done, I'm confused.

 

They need to add something to the trough that the chain runs in. I think it's to prevent the chain jerking, like it does on Wicker Man.

 

No it’s to prevent the chain falling down the lift hill into a train in the event of a chain snap.