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RMC launches Family Hybrid Coasters

richardcrete

Mega Poster
RMC has launched its Family Hybrid Coasters ! IBox Track, Class 3 restraint, 3 standard models and custom layout are proposed.

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CrashCoaster

CF Legend
Sorry to double post but on another note, RMC have officially discontinued the Topper track in favour of a newly developed track type called 208 RetraK, which is a combination of IBox and Topper track (but all steel) that is supposed to keep the wood coaster aesthetic but still reduces maintenance costs. It bears quite a resemblance to the Gen 1 IBox track seen on NTG. The new track is being currently placed on Tremors as a test:-

https://www.rockymtnconstruction.com/wood-coaster-refurbishment/
 
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Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
So when the UK finally gets an RMC.... it’ll be one of these 😅

You can just hear the executives now:

“We can finally give the enthusiasts the RMC they’ve always wanted... for a great price!”
Or it could even have happened the other way 'round. Imagine the phone call:

"Hello, this is RMC, you're speaking with Rocky"
"Hello, my name is Merlin. I represent a major chain of amusement parks in the UK, and I would like to make an order."
"Ah, yes, let me get a pen to write it down. Merlin, was it?"
"Our customers have been clamouring for us to 'build an RMC', as it were, for the past five to six years. We have been threatened with boycotts in social media and simply see no other way to resolve the situation than to give in to their demands."
"Good call, good call. We have plenty of coasters on offer. Do ya want Europe's first monorail coaster, maybe? The first inverting wooden coaster in Britain? The first launched wooden coaster outside the USA? The first T-Rex coaster in the world? Or just a regular, no-nonsense, fantastically good hybrid coaster?"
"No, sir, we would like to place a special order."
"Aha, yes, you've called at the right moment. You see, we've been thinking for a while about where Arrow went wrong with their fourth-dimensional coasters, and-"
"No, I mean: What would it take for you to add a children's roller coaster to your portfolio? I would personally prefer something I can ride without spilling my tea, but as long as you make it cheap and family friendly we will take whatever you can offer."
"Uh, that's not what we-"
"I can offer thirteen million pounds."
"Deal!"
 

MouseAT

Hyper Poster
These things look fab. Nothing too mental, nothing world beating, just good solid fun for the whole family. Yes please!

On another note, RMC have officially discontinued the Topper track in favour of a newly developed track type called 208 RetraK, which is a combination of IBox and Topper track (but all steel) that is supposed to keep the wood coaster aesthetic but still reduces maintenance costs.
I guess that's RMC giving up all pretence of being a wooden coaster manufacturer from here on out, then. That's not to say that we won't get great rides, but clearly wooden coasters are going to become far more of a niche from here on out.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I guess that's RMC giving up all pretence of being a wooden coaster manufacturer from here on out, then. That's not to say that we won't get great rides, but clearly wooden coasters are going to become far more of a niche from here on out.
With RMC leaving that market segment, that's ... 25 % of the industry actors gone from one day to the next? Are there even any more active woodie manufacturers than Gravity Group, GCI, and Martin & Vleminckx out there these days?

RCDB suggests the answer to be "indeed not". Barring a couple of relocations of old Australian wooden wild mouses to Indonesia, the last wooden coaster to be manufactured by anybody other than the abovementioned four was Flying Turns, built in-house at Knoebels. Other than that, three manufacturers built their last woodie in 2008: Intamin's T-Express in South Korea, PTC's Ravine Flyer II in the US, and Gerstlauer's Mammut in Germany. It really looks like there are only three wooden coaster manufacturers left in business these days.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
With RMC leaving that market segment, that's ... 25 % of the industry actors gone from one day to the next? Are there even any more active woodie manufacturers than Gravity Group, GCI, and Martin & Vleminckx out there these days?

RCDB suggests the answer to be "indeed not". Barring a couple of relocations of old Australian wooden wild mouses to Indonesia, the last wooden coaster to be manufactured by anybody other than the abovementioned four was Flying Turns, built in-house at Knoebels. Other than that, three manufacturers built their last woodie in 2008: Intamin's T-Express in South Korea, PTC's Ravine Flyer II in the US, and Gerstlauer's Mammut in Germany. It really looks like there are only three wooden coaster manufacturers left in business these days.
In fairness, GCI and Gravity Group are still seemingly getting a fair amount of business, so I don’t see traditional woodies dying out by any means, especially mid-size ones. Maybe we won’t see too many more absolute behemoths built (I’m thinking the size of ones like the pre-fabs, of nearing 200ft), but I still see a fair demand for mid-size woodies continuing long into the future, personally.

Besides, GCI and GG are still producing some pretty substantial rides; look at things like Python in Bamboo Forest, Wood Coaster and (seemingly) Bombay Express from GCI, and things like the absolutely massive Chinese woodies that GG are providing, so I don’t think large(ish) woodies are necessarily a dead breed just yet!

As for this RMC family coaster; looks like terrific fun! It looks quite comparable to Gravity Group’s family woodies, which are incredibly well received coasters for their target market, and I could definitely see a park like Paultons going for something along these lines! I must admit that I always thought a family RMC could prove very interesting, so I’m frankly thrilled to see that they’re giving the family market a go!
 

FarleyFlavors

Mega Poster
Pouring one out for topper tracks. The woodies were some of the best RMC's
I'm a tad gutted by this news too. Admittedly I haven't been on an RMC that was built after 2016, but of the eleven I've ridden, Wildfire, Outlaw Run and Lightning Rod are my favourites.

Not massively convinced by this statement from the company either...

208 RetraK allows parks to maintain the aesthetic of traditional wood track
Yeah, right.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
In fairness, GCI and Gravity Group are still seemingly getting a fair amount of business, so I don’t see traditional woodies dying out by any means, especially mid-size ones. Maybe we won’t see too many more absolute behemoths built (I’m thinking the size of ones like the pre-fabs, of nearing 200ft), but I still see a fair demand for mid-size woodies continuing long into the future, personally.
Not dying, but they are becoming more of a niche. We are long past the days when coasters could broadly be divided into two large categories, steel and wood. For instance, nowadays there are fewer wooden coasters built than spinning coasters - by a factor of almost ten. RCDB counts 45 woodies built since 2010 (16 of them in China), but 401 spinning coasters in the same time frame (for which an opening year can be determined. There could be about 60 more).

And yeah, the absolute behemoths appear to be practically extinct already. The last one to be built was T Express in 2008. We can legally have members on CF that are younger than that. That being said, it's a question of material purism. Hybrid behemoths are thriving because of RMC. Using a fair amount of steel makes it possible to build huge coasters that look practically wooden, and that's good enough for me. I'm not that picky.
 
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