That video was well worth watching, shows what a nice guy John is :) as for Th13teen they delivered what they wanted to from their brief, so i'd say it was a success.

"bradpeet" wrote:

I still don't understand why the floorboards that drop with the car don't look as if they have broken - just a little more effort could have made it so more effective.

To be fair, they do when you are on the ride, when it is dark and you only have a few seconds to look, they do look broken. I suppose it was cheeper and easier to do it that way, and the floorboards may snap clean if it's the joints that fail :lol:

The one thing I would have liked to be slightly different on the ride is the station, I think it would have added more suspense and to make you wonder what was about to happen if you didnt see the people get off the train, instead you get on a empty train. In better terms really just like the haunted house/Duel. And im sure it could have easily been done as there is a big platform round from the outside bit as you shoot forward. I suppose they choose not to just to keep the ride moving all the time.

"Blaze" wrote:

So complex and clever; the backwards launch is powered by the recouperated energy created by stopping the hydrolics with magnetic brakes!

Where did you get that from :?. Wardley told our tour that the main drop was just caused by opening up the hydraulics and simply dumping all the fluid into a reservoir. Also, James told us that, unlike Rita, Thirteen has no accumulators, something you'd need to recuperate hydraulic energy. No mention of recuperation was made to us.

"Blaze""][quote=""bradpeet" wrote:

I still don't understand why the floorboards that drop with the car don't look as if they have broken - just a little more effort could have made it so more effective.

To be fair, they do when you are on the ride, when it is dark and you only have a few seconds to look, they do look broken. I suppose it was cheeper and easier to do it that way, and the floorboards may snap clean if it's the joints that fail :lol:[/quote]
Was just about to say that :P

Yes i think a trapdoor style effect around the track would be good but this way is just much more cheaper and more reliable i suppose.

"djtruefitt" wrote:

The one thing I would have liked to be slightly different on the ride is the station, I think it would have added more suspense and to make you wonder what was about to happen if you didnt see the people get off the train, instead you get on a empty train. In better terms really just like the haunted house/Duel. And im sure it could have easily been done as there is a big platform round from the outside bit as you shoot forward. I suppose they choose not to just to keep the ride moving all the time.

Personally I think the station should of been totally hiden from view for people queuing for the ride and not so 'open' as it has been created.

:)

I don't know if this was true or just the technician having a laugh;

We had asked if the hydraulics used the same fluid as Ritas. Apparently they don’t use the same hydraulic fluids but the staff had been told to treat it as if it was the same. This was apparently the cause for some of the rumoured hydraulic leaks and he was joking that the green smudges all-over the floor were made by there footprints and not added theme :P

"Islander""][quote=""Blaze" wrote:

So complex and clever; the backwards launch is powered by the recouperated energy created by stopping the hydrolics with magnetic brakes!

Where did you get that from :?. Wardley told our tour that the main drop was just caused by opening up the hydraulics and simply dumping all the fluid into a reservoir. Also, James told us that, unlike Rita, Thirteen has no accumulators, something you'd need to recuperate hydraulic energy. No mention of recuperation was made to us.[/quote]
I saw it somewhere on this site, possibly in the talk topic but I'm not too cure. I have read it somewhere, although, there is always the chance I read it wrong :lol:

"djtruefitt" wrote:

The one thing I would have liked to be slightly different on the ride is the station, I think it would have added more suspense and to make you wonder what was about to happen if you didnt see the people get off the train, instead you get on a empty train. In better terms really just like the haunted house/Duel. And im sure it could have easily been done as there is a big platform round from the outside bit as you shoot forward. I suppose they choose not to just to keep the ride moving all the time.

Plus the train does not stop in the back part of the station any more, but blasts through into the loading platform, with a blast of thick smoke.

"Blaze" wrote:

I saw it somewhere on this site, possibly in the talk topic but I'm not too cure. I have read it somewhere, although, there is always the chance I read it wrong :lol:

I suspect that's just rumour, then. Can see where it came from, though - if I remember correctly, boost one (the drop-track) is the only part of the ride that uses hydraulic instead of electric motors, so would be logical to assume that they could use accumulated energy from the drop.

It came from someone who said they were there, but I don't know if it's true or not :?

Makes sense to use accumulation, but drive tyres are drive tyres, so maybe just use motors like the rest of them.

"Blaze""][quote=""Islander""][quote=""Blaze" wrote:

So complex and clever; the backwards launch is powered by the recouperated energy created by stopping the hydrolics with magnetic brakes!

Where did you get that from :?. Wardley told our tour that the main drop was just caused by opening up the hydraulics and simply dumping all the fluid into a reservoir. Also, James told us that, unlike Rita, Thirteen has no accumulators, something you'd need to recuperate hydraulic energy. No mention of recuperation was made to us.[/quote]
I saw it somewhere on this site, possibly in the talk topic but I'm not too cure. I have read it somewhere, although, there is always the chance I read it wrong :lol:

"djtruefitt" wrote:

The one thing I would have liked to be slightly different on the ride is the station, I think it would have added more suspense and to make you wonder what was about to happen if you didnt see the people get off the train, instead you get on a empty train. In better terms really just like the haunted house/Duel. And im sure it could have easily been done as there is a big platform round from the outside bit as you shoot forward. I suppose they choose not to just to keep the ride moving all the time.

Plus the train does not stop in the back part of the station any more, but blasts through into the loading platform, with a blast of thick smoke.[/quote]

In terms of recuperated energy I would have thought they meant not from the actual hydraulic fluid itself, but the electric current created by the magnetic breaking system being fed into the electric motors that power the kick wheels.

"Kaz" wrote:

In terms of recuperated energy I would have thought they meant not from the actual hydraulic fluid itself, but the electric current created by the magnetic breaking system being fed into the electric motors that power the kick wheels.

That'd make sense, though it'd be the kicker wheels elsewhere on the ride, as those on the drop track are hydraulic motors.

It'd make sense that there's recuperation somewhere - after all, the operating costs on this beast have been kept as low as possible, e.g. the way in which the kickers on the main lift hill work (only coming on just ahead of the train, and switching off a little behind it).

The system the powers the drop track is also the same system the powers the hydrolic motors for the backwards launch (so JW said)

Also you wouldn't need accumulators as you dont need a quick burst of pressured fluid, the only time pressurised fluid is been put into the system is when the track is returned to the top, this is done at a steady pace so can probably run directly of the hydrolic pumps. The rest of the time its the high pressure valves that control the ride by releasing the pressure

TH13TEEN was having a really bad day today. Constant breakdowns around 2pm. Queue was 50mins but due to breakdowns we queued 2 hours 15. Will do trip report tomorrow if I have got time :D

Wow, on the video of the presentation evening when it showed the drop mechanism. Woah that drop is disappointing...

Surely you can't be serious :shock:

The engineering that went into it is incredible!

It dropped, free fall, which is what it was meant to do, i really dont get how its dissapointing

I just can't believe the real size of the drop mechanism. It is massive! :shock: Can't wait to ride when i go in August. What size will the drop mechanism be if an even bigger drop were to be made in America etc. meaning if the drop were to be 20ft or something. :P The size of our mechanism is huge and it only drops what 6ft, if I am correct. :D

After first riding Thirteen, I must admit I felt very cheesed off with what we got. But now, seeing what John had to say about the ride, the target market and the effort that Intamin went to creating the drop, I have more respect for the coaster. The ride is so much more complex than meets the eye! It goes to show that Thirteen was by far a prototype, and I can't wait to see what Intmain get going when they use this drop on some ride somewhere soon...

"D-Man" wrote:

The size of our mechanism is huge and it only drops what 6ft, if I am correct. :D

it drops 5 metres which is a little over 16ft