My understanding is that intamin used to provide the track and the fact that it is done in house now is less a result of a deal between the two parties and more the result of reverse engineering.
I've been told by the carpenters themselves it's basically been done from the get-go due to the concerns about overseas shipping delays.
El Toro was not completely retracked last year. They did the bare minimum to get the state to clear it.
The "pothole" is NOT near the end of the ride, it is at the first turnaround after the initial drops. Allegedly this is where the coaster actually derailed last year, then the train dragged through the rest of the course before stopping near the brake run. That incident could have been so much worse, but they were lucky.
Also allegedly, GA recently laid off a bunch of their existing maintenance team, so that's an extra bad look. The park's maintenance has been horrific for years, and it's only going to get worse with all the cuts.
The odds of Six Flags putting the money into the ride to fix it correctly (and keep it up) are slim to none. If it reopens, I'd bet another incident will happen, and that will be the end. The coaster has felt unsafe for years (to those of us who remember how it was when it opened), and now it's actually unsafe.
And Toro is the only one that gets attention, but that's far from the only questionable coaster there. It's a mess.
The "pothole" is NOT near the end of the ride, it is at the first turnaround after the initial drops. Allegedly this is where the coaster actually derailed last year, then the train dragged through the rest of the course before stopping near the brake run. That incident could have been so much worse, but they were lucky.
Also allegedly, GA recently laid off a bunch of their existing maintenance team, so that's an extra bad look. The park's maintenance has been horrific for years, and it's only going to get worse with all the cuts.
The odds of Six Flags putting the money into the ride to fix it correctly (and keep it up) are slim to none. If it reopens, I'd bet another incident will happen, and that will be the end. The coaster has felt unsafe for years (to those of us who remember how it was when it opened), and now it's actually unsafe.
And Toro is the only one that gets attention, but that's far from the only questionable coaster there. It's a mess.
Beyond the shipping time from overseas, I can’t imagine prefab wood track doing well in the environmental conditions of being at sea, vice just fabricating it locally where the wood is already acclimated.
According to this interview, employees had reported a rougher than normal ride to maintenance on what sounds like multiple occasions yet nothing was done. But I'm sure there is much more than what this employee is aware of.
Wow. That's some pretty harsh words against some damned hard working people that I'm gonna assume you don't know at all.
Could end up being neither considering its sisters also fell apart at about 15-18 years old. Maybe it's just a service life thing.
Source? Not trying to be contrary, but I haven't seen any stories about Balder or T Express having incidents or falling apart.
Not sure about T-Express but Colossos at Heide Park was closed for several years as they had to spend €10 million to completely retrack it. Balder is rotting and has been closed for over a year as it has to undergo a complete retracking itself.
I totally forgot that Colossos was an Intamin. Could there be some sort of defect in the machinery that produced the original track for those coasters? I feel like that would explain why they need to be retracted.
Was it the track or supports?
The track is marine-grade treated lumber held together with glue and not screws or nails as is common with regular woodies - though I believe in ElToroRyan's video on the subject the plate metal for the wheels is nailed in, which could be a source for rot.
But if it was supports, it could be that the park just didn't replace beams they should have?
The track is marine-grade treated lumber held together with glue and not screws or nails as is common with regular woodies - though I believe in ElToroRyan's video on the subject the plate metal for the wheels is nailed in, which could be a source for rot.
But if it was supports, it could be that the park just didn't replace beams they should have?
To me, this is the issue with not doing a massive number of a coaster you develop. They aren’t common so it becomes more expensive to replace parts. So then they need to do it themselves and might not do as well.
To me at least, woodies shouldn’t have a theoretical “service life” in you can easily replace anything. For all the prefabs to have similar issues at the same time is not a great look IMO.
To me at least, woodies shouldn’t have a theoretical “service life” in you can easily replace anything. For all the prefabs to have similar issues at the same time is not a great look IMO.
The issue with prefabs is that each piece of track and support are custom milled to precise shapes and dimensions.
While totally possible to replace support pieces, it seems that the one factory in Germany that Intamin used for their original production is required to make new ones.
The SFGadv team had figured out how to make their own track pieces and supposedly replaced some every off-season. It's unknown if they also did their own support fabrication though.
While totally possible to replace support pieces, it seems that the one factory in Germany that Intamin used for their original production is required to make new ones.
The SFGadv team had figured out how to make their own track pieces and supposedly replaced some every off-season. It's unknown if they also did their own support fabrication though.
Pretty much what I heard too about the prefabs and what was supposed to be an advantage to them. So when you do track replacing, it’s harder because of the way the contours were designed to work together made it difficult to replace one without the other. So when those tight tolerances get messed with, problems arise. Add in that the structure was designed with the milled wood and smoother ride in mind then the more shake and impact from not having the tighter tolerance can cause structural issues in the long run.
There’s a reason why prefabs didn’t take off the way they needed to (tight tolerances) but it’s also why prefabs didn’t work out the way they should (clone layouts means easier replaced tracks). In a way it really is a shame that they went this way, because El Toro at it’s peak was an ELITE coaster.
I would love to see the layout unaltered and have Titan track laid on it So we can get back to what El Toro was. But it really comes down to what the perception of the ride is after all these issues.
I got to ride this in the spring and I walked off questioning why everyone classifies this as one of the best. I thought it was rough then. I got to ride Son of Beast too with the loop back in the day and I didn't think that was as bad as El Toro. The roughness coupled with ejector air just didn't make a good experience for me. I think titan or rmc (unaltered) layout would be best. Heaven forbid there is an issue at the top of one of the ejector air hills due to the forces being placed on that lumber.
It runs on past perception. When it was newer it was awesome and very smooth for what it was.
It would seem odd if the specs for each piece weren’t included with the purchase. Having to get replacement pieces from Germany would take weeks at a time between fabrication, shipping, and acclimation. There are certainly plenty of woodworkers or cabinet/furniture makers in central NJ that have the tools and skills to custom build track pieces.