Racer 75

[Crunchewy]

I have heard about re-tracking done in recent years which is why I was soo surprised at the rough ride our group experienced. We rode on a very hot day for october. Maybe the roughest moment we hit was a transition between old track to new track, or vice versa IDK. I'm glad they are making an effort but I wonder if separating the years of track re-work is less effective then a full off-season re-track. Another factor are probably the PTC trains. I expect, and look forward to getting beaten up by a Grizzly bear every trip. I'd ideally like to get a different experience from this ride though.

I think you hit it on a bad day. I don't find it rough. It's pretty smooth, with some bumpiness on the return trip (I believe where it has not been retracked yet). Even that is really not bad at all, at least not the times I've ridden it. I agree they should have done a full retracking in one go.

 

[bill s]

but I wonder if separating the years of track re-work is less effective then a full off-season re-track. Another factor are probably the PTC trains. I expect, and look forward to getting beaten up by a Grizzly bear every trip. I'd ideally like to get a different experience from this ride though.

Doing a bit at a time is less expensive, obviously, and being a wood coaster makes there little advantage to doing it all at once. The work they did for 2009 could not wait any longer, I'd go as far as to say the alternative would have been to close the ride. Comparatively, the rest was in great condition. That section of track is already getting rough again, showing it needs retracking more often.
At a much later time they rebuilt part of the drop structure, which goes beyond even retracking. I don't understand why, probably they didn't like the look of something and they were retracking anyway.
Retracking all at once would have avoided needing to close the south side for retracking during the 2017 season, however. Few noticed though.

As to the PTC trains, Racer has no fast curves so they don't damage the track as bad as on some. They could be better but I wouldn't trade them for Millennium Flyers' on THAT ride, with their autotightening bars without a return spring and no wheel seats that allow the newbs to absorb the bumps for you.

RE: ending the backwards train in 2008, I don't know how they weighed the reasons but I don't think you're going to ever hear it was because the ride was borderline unsafe even riding forwards. I know both RY and Grizzly hurt me that year (NOT Hurler). The way I then learned to ride RY was to push down hard with my feet at an exact split-second as it entered the rise into the turnaround -- try that backwards. It still had a kind of random bounce to it that seemed that might work for 100 rides and then on ride 101 it might just snap you.

Currently, the ride that really needs work IMO is Grizzly. It took on an oscillatory bounce or "pogo" -- different than washboarding -- late 10/2018 that persisted all last year and takes the front row from the smoothest row to one of its worst.

 

[Jonesta6]

All I remember from backwards RY was I had a lot of fun on it when I was 12 or 13.

However, having read one of Dale Brumfield's blog posts on it (at least I think it was Theme Park Babylon where I got it from), the train only ran backwards because someone at the park under Paramount was like - if we turned the cars around and turn the chain dogs around, I bet it'll still run... So they did it.

Likewise, the only 2 likely reasons it was turned back around was that CF questioned the manufacturer about it since it wasn't a standard feature for that model and they said that operation wasn't recommended, and CF's safety/liability/insurance teams couldn't approve the ride for continued reverse-train operation based on the manufacturer's opinion.

 

[horsesboy]

All I remember from backwards RY was I had a lot of fun on it when I was 12 or 13.

However, having read one of Dale Brumfield's blog posts on it (at least I think it was Theme Park Babylon where I got it from), the train only ran backwards because someone at the park under Paramount was like - if we turned the cars around and turn the chain dogs around, I bet it'll still run... So they did it.

Likewise, the only 2 likely reasons it was turned back around was that CF questioned the manufacturer about it since it wasn't a standard feature for that model and they said that operation wasn't recommended, and CF's safety/liability/insurance teams couldn't approve the ride for continued reverse-train operation based on the manufacturer's opinion.

That matches pretty much exactly with what I have heard over the years.

 

[Jonesta6]

I can't believe it's been over a year on this thread.

But hear me out, looking at the comments on the KI Racer's retracking post on Facebook:

If the park ever wanted a relatively cheap attraction to market for an off-year where they're not adding anything major (like many seasons pre-pandemic), they work with a manufacturer that can allow for the return of reverse trains.

There's an incredible amount of nostalgia for reverse trains, and assuming there's no major reprofile of the track, this could be a huge win.

 

[Mushroom]

I swear PTC unveiled trains a few years ago that are specifically designed to run backwards, although I can't find any record of it online. If that's a real thing, CF should definitely consider that as an easy way to add another "attraction" to the park, with built-in nostalgia.

 

[b.mac]

I swear PTC unveiled trains a few years ago that are specifically designed to run backwards, although I can't find any record of it online. If that's a real thing, CF should definitely consider that as an easy way to add another "attraction" to the park, with built-in nostalgia.

The new trailered PTC 360's. So far the only park that has them is Idlewild.

 

[Jonesta6]

I wonder how much that'd cost KD to install them on one side... Can't be that much more than the major retracking at best, right?

 

[bill s]

Was racing on Sunday! So good. Also my first ride on South for nearly 2 years; actually it's a bit too smooth. However my second ride still didn't race, maybe the operator decided to run an empty train to let someone off, since they were running 2 trains a side. I would certainly rather wait a bit to get a race.

Since supposedly they couldn't race them due to the pandemic, I thought, pandemic's over, haha! But it was back on Wednesday (late), only running North. Worse, intense rotten fish smell on the brake run and exit. May have been a hint of it Sunday but was on the far side and didn't sit long on the brake run. Exercise caution. KD fix this seriously! also pretty please almost always race it, maybe 1 train a side...

 

[RollyCoaster]

Trash is directly behind the arcade. It’s usually from folks not cleaning the actual trash bins very well, not the compactor. I’ve noticed it pretty bad myself :/

 

[Jonesta6]

My mindset when visiting the park is I don't really expect high quality anything, so the bar is pretty low.

That being said, after hearing that Irvine Ondrey reprogrammed the lift for racing the other year ago, it's still a bit disappointing that the ops aren't trying (guessing it's a pandemic restriction like @bill s mentioned)

 

[Le Moose]

Trash is directly behind the arcade. It’s usually from folks not cleaning the actual trash bins very well, not the compactor. I’ve noticed it pretty bad myself :/

It smelt so bad on Wednesday (June 23rd.). It smelled like dead fish and methane.

 

[Nibbins]

I have a question.
My understanding was that new coasters have to pass an inspection to make sure nothing is close enough to the train for the passengers to touch.

How do Racer 75 and Grizzle get away with having stuff close enough to touch pretty much at any spot during the ride?
Are these just grandfathered in when the rules were changed?
Have there ever been injuries?

I saw 2 guys reaching over the center railing and shaking hands on the Racer 75 lift hill last weekend when they actually had the trains racing each other.
I assume that would be possible at any point after the lift hill as well until the turn.

 

[Zachary]

Many older rides don't have clear rider envelopes. As far as I know, there aren't any state requirements at play here—it is just that modern rides are developed with more guest stupidity prevention in mind.

Da Vinci's Cradle at BGW is another good example of a VA ride without a clear rider envelope.

 

[I305Evan]

Twisted fails its "clearance" test because of how close the operators booth is to the track. I am sure this was deemed as "not important" because operators can stop the train and also the train is runny at relatively small speeds which also reduces injury. If this was elsewhere in the track, then I am sure they would have to visit the drawing board if further injury could be caused.

Woodstock Express has a strange issue which I believe the buzz bar restraints are to blame. Kids, for some reason, LOVE to put their feet/ hands outside the train car as the train is rolling into the station. There are these black flaps to encourage all body parts to be put back inside, but if they don't, then their feet can get stuck between the car and the station floor.

But as Zachary said, I don't believe there is anything requiring these clearance tests. Besides, every train has different clearance levels. Such as an arrow train which makes it extremely difficult to out of the sides of a car vs Intamins that are very open vs. New Texas Giant's train which have a piece of plexiglass restricting outside movement.

 

[Gavin]

Twisted fails its "clearance" test because of how close the operators booth is to the track. I am sure this was deemed as "not important" because operators can stop the train and also the train is runny at relatively small speeds which also reduces injury. If this was elsewhere in the track, then I am sure they would have to visit the drawing board if further injury could be caused.

This came up during commissioning, and it’s why that side of the booth has a smooth piece of plastic instead of the corrugated steel like the rest of the booth.

 

[b.mac]

You can thank me for that, I loved making the farting noises out of the station LOL.

 

[CoasterAuditor]

I just want to note the back car on this the whip over the turnaround drop is a hidden gem at KD at least on the left side. Definitely caught me off guard today.

 

[zachclarke]

Last night's full moon rising over Racer and I305

 

[rswashdc]

First ride of the year on this, and despite slow one train operations, I can say this ran about as smooth as I can remember in years. If they’ve been doing track work it’s really showing as last year there were still several spots that felt like pile driving. Usually this is a ride I’m not too big on, but if it stays in this condition for awhile, I could see doing it more often.