It boggles the mind where Vekoma was (quality-wise) 10 years ago and where they are now.
Attraction Siren's Curse
- Thread starter caia
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My friend is at the park and she said four hour lines all day but it just got stuck in the tilt position and was paused for five minutes. This scared a ton of people and they started running out of the queue terrified! LOL
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Pretty good for a brand new piece of tech like this. I’ve been here all weekend (I’ll follow up with a full review later- simply a fantastic ride), it’s got stuck on the tilt section (while flat) a few times for a few minutes, then they’ll send a few empty cycles, then resume loading guests. Haven’t seen a major breakdown yet.
Video from yesterday of a Vekoma tech manually returning the train back to the pre-tilt position after being vertically stuck for ten minutes.
Nobody was evacuated. Apparently, the drop pin pump read an error so they reset it and after another 5-10 minutes they restarted the ride and sent the riders off.
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Nobody was evacuated. Apparently, the drop pin pump read an error so they reset it and after another 5-10 minutes they restarted the ride and sent the riders off.
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I read somewhere that was the first issue they've had with it in 5000+ cycles.
Manufacturer technicians typically stay on site at a ride opening for 3 weeks up to a month after opening and are there for the duration of the ride construction.
On the flip side, given how unique, how new, and how prototype this coaster model is, there should be concerns. We don't know if it's mechanical failure or something else. The worst case is what if it's weight related with overall and balance creating this issue. Not only would that create issues with loading and unloading but there would always be fears of getting stuck in a position where you can't evac people.
I wish I could link a reference, but I cannot remember where I heard this, maybe an IAAPA interview or something? However, Vekoma brought the balancing issue up. On the prototype tower, they tested various scenarios to ensure they can always bring the track back to horizontal for evacuation.
Yes, but this can be anything, most likely a PLC fault that maintenance can't clear quickly. New rides in general have higher evacs the first few years, especially if it's a prototype. I worked at Verbolten in 2013 and we still have over 20 evacs that I personally participated in. At least 10-20 more that I heard about but did not participate in. Got really good unlocking with the battery packs, got 3.5 trains with one, setting the record at the time, but that's a story for another time. Dont even get me started on how many evacs I had to do for Flume the year it got a controls upgrade...
Point being, it's not surprising that such a complex ride would have shutdowns that results in evacs.
Hell, even new, non-complex rides have shutdowns that require Evacs. Or even rides that recieved a controls system upgrade—I was at BGW during the time Catapult received a new panel and as such, a new PLC/controls upgrade. It wasn’t uncommon for us to go down at least once or even twice a day due to the PLC throwing faults at us, something that didn’t happen prior to the controls upgrade. Regarding complex rides, Pantheon j think certain takes the cake for being one of the more problematic rides, though Pompeii also gives it a good run for its money.
Anyone with a mechanical knowledge have any idea why they would tie down the front of the train for an evacuation? Also to say.... the maintenance guy sitting in front of the train. I would think the train would fall forwards than backwards?
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If the normal means to stop a train aren't sufficient enough to embark/disembark the train, it must be lashed as a primary or secondary hold.
If a train is valleyed, for instance, there's nothing to stop it from rolling when weight starts to shift which is unsafe in an evacuation scenario.
Regardless, it's generally a good maintenance practice to lash a train when you don't want it to move.
Is the person in the orange vest not wearing fall protection? That is definitely closer than six feet to the edge.
Honestly, I am not sure. Maybe it's for guest assurance? I doubt that strap is enough to hold the train unless they did that to each car.
Very good point, I do remember now that Vekoma brakes fail open which would mean only the small set of drive tires are holding the train in place. I'm sure it's not seen in the video, but I would hope the back of the train is also tied down. The maintenance guy certainly isn't concerned given he's sitting in front of the train
Wow— that guy in the orange vest at the end has to harness or fall protection. This seems like a HUGE safety/OSHA violation on video:
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