CoastinBear
Roller Poster
I managed to get a day off work yesterday and headed down to Margate. Given the torrential rain I encountered on the journey, around 7/8am, it's not surprising that day-trippers would be put off. It was also a school day and, I believe, it was not planned for the park to be open at all yesterday. It was probably only us die-hards who got the notification that the scenic would be open again after the best part of a decade, the threat of demolition and an arson attack after it originally closed.
My first impression, seeing the first test runs of the day, was "How much slower can they make the train go?"; it looked like they were going round the track with each of the brake operators in turn, making sure that they can operate (or in this case over-operate) the brake and still make a full circuit without stalling/roll-back. I also though "those trains are ugly". The bright pastel blue cages ruin the look of the trains. Perspex rather than the metal latticework would he been much better, but it is clear that they are needed on the right-hand side of the train, as clearance is just a few inches as the train travels under the lift hill support structure.
Thoughts on the restraint system:
The lap bars actually require effort to pull down - it feels like they are using some kind of hydraulic system - and they stay in the position you leave them throughout the ride. This actually encourages you not to pull down the bar too far, which I was more than happy not to do due to my rotund frame... The seat belt goes over the shoulder, but is not an inertia reel, just a "pull through the slack" job. The anchor points are the top outside edge of the back of the seat and the bottom of the middle of the back of the seat, which is at the hip level as there is a 6" gap between the seat and the back of the seat. The actual buckle is therefore closer to waist level - a relief, as I didn't appreciate the idea of scrabbling around to find the buckle at seat level when put into a seat with someone I don't know ;-) Although they slow down the loading process a little, I didn't notice the belt at all during the ride. I can see why they have been fitted, though, as a single lap bar, that doesn't even sit on your lap, is fine for an adult, but with an adult sitting with a child, there will be a much bigger gap with the child, who is more likely to wriggle about - and this is a family ride, rather than a thrill-seeker's delight. The important thing for me was that the belt was only noticeable when putting it on/taking it off - I didn't notice it during the ride.
The cage:
Ugly as sin, would have been much better with some solid, transparent material instead of the metal lattice, but some of those uprights are very, very close to the train - an elbow resting on the edge of the seat (as I used to do on the old Scenic) would be at risk, never mind reaching out an arm (which was always a risky thing to do).
The ride experience:
Slow, slow, quick quick slow. It has been testing with the "two seater" train for most of the summer, but only more recently with the proper train, which only arrived a few weeks ago. Also, it has only been running as a proper attraction, with random rider loads, for one day. It is certainly in a new stage of teething troubles - until Thursday, the brake operators had a fixed load to practise with (there is quite a team of new brake operators now, as well as one or two "originals"). It looks like the random loads, together with the intermittent rain, was making the variation in manual braking required more of a problem for the newbies. The biggest problem that I could see was that although the brake operator could vary the braking force, they have absolutely no control whatsoever over those magnetic brakes. I know that the braking force the magnetic brakes apply depends on the speed of the train, but there are other factors in play - on a Woody in particular. Several times, the maintenance crew had to push the train into the station as the train passed over the magnetic brakes after the turn through the structure at the end of the ride. It looks like the magnets themselves come in half-metre lengths, so there isn't much chance of "fine-tuning" the length of each brake section.
Most of the day, there was no airtime, but about 7.00pm something happened - whether it was the rain, the train finally warming up - something - the speed increased noticeably. By that, I mean noticeable by someone who knows their woodies, and has spent most of the day riding the Scenic. A marginal increase, but enough to give a little lift on the two main double dips and create lateral forces going into the turns. I was sitting on the right-hand side of the train and was getting thrown to the left as we entered the turn. I get the feeling that after the ride has had a chance to settle in and the train(s) have been properly broken in, we'll get that speed back again.
The one thing I noticed - almost everyone I rode with loved the ride. Families with kids, groups of teenagers, older people (like me ;-)) - they were all disembarking with big smiles on their faces. It rode full all evening, on an evening where the scare mazes were the main attraction and numbers attending were low. With Dreamland, people know they are getting "vintage". They come to the park expecting a lower thrill level than Alton Towers - and the Scenic fits into that scheme of things perfectly. I enjoyed riding it simply because it was a bit of history - a rare type of coaster, lots of happy memories, a long struggle to save it and quiet satisfaction that it is now running again.
My first impression, seeing the first test runs of the day, was "How much slower can they make the train go?"; it looked like they were going round the track with each of the brake operators in turn, making sure that they can operate (or in this case over-operate) the brake and still make a full circuit without stalling/roll-back. I also though "those trains are ugly". The bright pastel blue cages ruin the look of the trains. Perspex rather than the metal latticework would he been much better, but it is clear that they are needed on the right-hand side of the train, as clearance is just a few inches as the train travels under the lift hill support structure.
Thoughts on the restraint system:
The lap bars actually require effort to pull down - it feels like they are using some kind of hydraulic system - and they stay in the position you leave them throughout the ride. This actually encourages you not to pull down the bar too far, which I was more than happy not to do due to my rotund frame... The seat belt goes over the shoulder, but is not an inertia reel, just a "pull through the slack" job. The anchor points are the top outside edge of the back of the seat and the bottom of the middle of the back of the seat, which is at the hip level as there is a 6" gap between the seat and the back of the seat. The actual buckle is therefore closer to waist level - a relief, as I didn't appreciate the idea of scrabbling around to find the buckle at seat level when put into a seat with someone I don't know ;-) Although they slow down the loading process a little, I didn't notice the belt at all during the ride. I can see why they have been fitted, though, as a single lap bar, that doesn't even sit on your lap, is fine for an adult, but with an adult sitting with a child, there will be a much bigger gap with the child, who is more likely to wriggle about - and this is a family ride, rather than a thrill-seeker's delight. The important thing for me was that the belt was only noticeable when putting it on/taking it off - I didn't notice it during the ride.
The cage:
Ugly as sin, would have been much better with some solid, transparent material instead of the metal lattice, but some of those uprights are very, very close to the train - an elbow resting on the edge of the seat (as I used to do on the old Scenic) would be at risk, never mind reaching out an arm (which was always a risky thing to do).
The ride experience:
Slow, slow, quick quick slow. It has been testing with the "two seater" train for most of the summer, but only more recently with the proper train, which only arrived a few weeks ago. Also, it has only been running as a proper attraction, with random rider loads, for one day. It is certainly in a new stage of teething troubles - until Thursday, the brake operators had a fixed load to practise with (there is quite a team of new brake operators now, as well as one or two "originals"). It looks like the random loads, together with the intermittent rain, was making the variation in manual braking required more of a problem for the newbies. The biggest problem that I could see was that although the brake operator could vary the braking force, they have absolutely no control whatsoever over those magnetic brakes. I know that the braking force the magnetic brakes apply depends on the speed of the train, but there are other factors in play - on a Woody in particular. Several times, the maintenance crew had to push the train into the station as the train passed over the magnetic brakes after the turn through the structure at the end of the ride. It looks like the magnets themselves come in half-metre lengths, so there isn't much chance of "fine-tuning" the length of each brake section.
Most of the day, there was no airtime, but about 7.00pm something happened - whether it was the rain, the train finally warming up - something - the speed increased noticeably. By that, I mean noticeable by someone who knows their woodies, and has spent most of the day riding the Scenic. A marginal increase, but enough to give a little lift on the two main double dips and create lateral forces going into the turns. I was sitting on the right-hand side of the train and was getting thrown to the left as we entered the turn. I get the feeling that after the ride has had a chance to settle in and the train(s) have been properly broken in, we'll get that speed back again.
The one thing I noticed - almost everyone I rode with loved the ride. Families with kids, groups of teenagers, older people (like me ;-)) - they were all disembarking with big smiles on their faces. It rode full all evening, on an evening where the scare mazes were the main attraction and numbers attending were low. With Dreamland, people know they are getting "vintage". They come to the park expecting a lower thrill level than Alton Towers - and the Scenic fits into that scheme of things perfectly. I enjoyed riding it simply because it was a bit of history - a rare type of coaster, lots of happy memories, a long struggle to save it and quiet satisfaction that it is now running again.
