Thirteen, Intamin ''psychoaster'' - Alton Towers 2010

[Slash]

^ True but if they did do that it'd make Hex pretty pointless as that is the exact storyline for Hex...

 

[Waffleman]

I think that the height restriction will be approx 1.2, Corkscrew was and Alton are concentrating on family rides at the moment. Hopefully there are some nice fire effects in the room, and a consistent storyline. An uphill launch would be cool as well because as it is so small it'd be a god way of gaining some speed.

 

[The Grape Wizard]

i understand why they have been doing family things butAlton have been concentrating on familes for four years now, give the thrillseekers something!

 

[Aaron]

So OK... I was following this before, what changed for the planning permission to be approved?

I'm quite excited, but then I get excited about quite a lot of things... Ooo! a POST button... :lol:

 

[furie]

Looking at the layout, it's not a "thrill" ride. There's no way it can be. Like Treetops at Oakwood, the feeling of speed will be increased due to the closeness of the trees and ground.

So it will still be okay, but certainly nothing too thrilling. I'll be shocked if it's anything over a 1.3.

Erm, Az. The building was cut back a little bit to be a little less intrusive. And £50k was paid to the council for "road improvements" <cough>

A few other bits and bobs, empty promises, that kind of thing

 

[Aaron]

^ Oh fair enough that makes sense.

A bit of Merlin's Magic then

 

[Martyn B]

Is there no way that this could be a Wooden coaster?

I remember Alton released plans for a Vekoma Motorbike coaster, then went and built Rita...

 

[Inverse]

The plans that have been submitted and approved are not for a wooden coaster.

Although, as you implied, it is possible that Alton could completely change their mind. Then it could be wooden. But not on current plans.

 

[RobJackson85]

For this though would they not need another approval? Considering the slight hic-up in the approval of this I can't see Alton changing there mind.

 

[furie]

Yes, to make ANY changes, Alton would have to withdraw the plans and go through planning completely from scratch again.

What we've seen is what we're getting

 

[Martyn B]

Oh right, so these were definetly the plans that Alton submitted?

So by looking at this:

It appears the backwards section is basically just one big bend/curve?

This could be a really smale scale image of the layout, you never know there maybe tons of hills etc that we cant see as its 2d, but then I'm probably wrong.

 

[furie]

I've spent a bit of time studying the plans.

Here's how it goes down.

Out of station and 180 degree left hand turn to lift hill.

Up lift hill.

Drop off lift hill is a steep drop into a kind of undulating helix to the right through 270 degrees.

The coaster hills over the bottom of the drop then goes through a straight section with around four bunny hills under/through the trees.

The coaster then swoops left with raising, dropping and twisting track through the trees back to the station.

It enters the station at right angles to the way it left, I don't know at this point if it enters high or low. From what I can gather, it's high.

Something happens inside, including the switch track - this is the big mystery.

The train leaves the station building backwards at floor level and does an upwards wide helix into the switch track. Track switches and the train returns to the station.

That's the best I can do for now I'm afraid, it's about as accurate as you can make out on the plans...

 

[RobJackson85]

What furie says seems to tally up with the plans of what we see.

A user over at Towers Almanac also goes along those similar lines;

Just to put the rumours to bed, I've seen a copy of the plans and they match the ECC drawing.

There are a few extra bits and bobs to mention;

* The station building has two levels (ground floor and first floor), but part of the ride passes below the station at what would be basement level.

* The ride will have a capacity exactly the same as Corkscrew (1200pph).

* In terms of scale, the lift hill, station and final helix take up the area previously used by Corkscrew, all of the remaining ride area is on newly freed up land through woodland etc. The lift hill is about 2m shorter than Corkscrew's, but the overall level differences are about 5-7m greater than Corkscrew due to the valley sloping away and the underground/trenched section.

* The track will be painted brown.

* The theme seems to be haunted type (dark forest perhaps?) as the entrance gates to the queue line are similarly themed to aspects of Haunted Hollow.

I'll also try to describe how the ride layout goes:
The train exits the station at approximately ground level, ascends the lift hill, then descends the main drop. It enters the helix before going into an airtime hill, and then passes out into the woodland with a series of overbanked turns and airtime hills.
The train then returns to the station at first floor level, something happens within the station whereby the coaster enters forwards at the high first floor level but exits backwards from a tunnel at underground/basement level (approx 10 – 15m level difference), then passes through a 3m deep trench in a helix which rises back up to ground level. It then enters a switchback in order to pass into the station forwards again.

I also believe that the ECC layout is incorrect within the building, and that something much more interesting happens in there...

Hopefully we find out some more soon, but I won't bet on it - it'll most probably be near the end of the season before we get the important details.

 

[marc]

I was thinking something at work today.

I just wonder if they were going to use the same people that made Saw if they might think twice due to all the problems.

 

[furie]

While Gerstlauer are certainly possible, they have nothing in their product catalogue that really fits here.

We have:
Fast helix off standard lift hill and drop.
Switch Track
Backwards Launch
"something interesting" in the station involving moving the car into a different position in a tight space.

Gerstlauer currently do none of those things.

The Mack E-Motion coasters have turntables, lifts, standard chain lifts, car movement effects on the track, something called "flexible speed" which suggests mid course boosts or power or something, indoor and outdoor use.

However, they're essentially just family wild mouse rides, very similar to a beefed up Gerstlauer Bobsled. So I can't see how it fulfils Mr Barnes' promise of "something for the thrill seeker".

Premier do the helix off the drop, backwards launches, indoor sections and tricky track bits and backwards launches.

Both Premier and Mack rides have a throughput of around 1,100 pph - pretty close to what Alton are saying the new coaster will have. Gerstlauer are in the high hundreds on most of theirs.

It's certainly not a standard install ,and we're seeing something a little different, but I'd be shocked if it wasn't Premier or Mack as they already have the kit to do everything Alton wants in the special sections.

Details on the Mack E-Motion coaster:
http://www.mack-rides.com/lang-en/c123/default.html

 

[marc]

Yes I know what you mean Furie but look at the stuff they are coming out with at the moment, I would not put anything past them.

Was just a thought anyway.

When is it we find out?

 

[RobJackson85]

^ I don't think there is an exact date, mind you I could be wrong - my bet would be nearer the end of the season, as SW6 is proposed for 2010 Alton will like to keep us guessing!

 

[furie]

We wont find out manufacturer until construction starts and somebody actually finds out. Probably a park employee will hear the name of the company people are coming in from.

I think they'll keep what's inside the building a secret right up until the last...

 

[Inverse]

don't they usually build the building around the track? For them to keep it a secret, they'd have to either do it the other way around or but up a big tent to build under or something.

 

[TarkaTrax]

Hello, what's this my eagle eyes have spotted at the back of the Observer's travel section yesterday?

Clicky if you can't see image above.

1. Surely SW6.

2. It's a drop! And potentially only a short one by the sounds of it. Backwards? Upside down? Both? It'll have to be something interesting to be a marketable 'world's first'.