B&M Lift Hills

[Hobbes]

I apologize if this has been asked before, but I did not see this question on the first couple of pages.

While watching POVs on YouTube the other day, I noticed something about the lift hills on B&M coasters. On older coasters (pre-2000), the track ties connecting the rails to the spine of the track are rectangular. This shape is different than the ties on the rest of the track, which are just standard shaped ties. However, in newer coasters (post-2000), this rectangular tie shape is gone. The ties on the lift hill are the same as the rest of the ride.

This difference can be seen on multiple ride types. For example, compare the lift hill on Apollo's to the lift hill on Diamondback. The difference is also seen between Bizarro (SFGAdv) and Hydra.

This leads me to two questions:

1. Originally, why did B&M shape the lift hill track ties differently than the rest of the ride?

2. Why was this distinction removed on rides built after 2000?

 

[BBH]

This goes back to their days at Giovanola, where, as visible on Goliath and Titan, they would use the rectangular-shaped ties at an interval of 6-1-6-1, with six rectangular ties for every single regular tie. (So one regular track tie for every seven total.) This pattern is visible on Apollo's Chariot and Raging Bull. Meanwhle, their older floorless and sit-down looping coasters (but never inverts) use one regular every five ties, so a pattern of 4-1-4-1.

Why they did this is beyond me, maybe perhaps because they provided extra support compared to a regular tie. (This is possibly backed up by the fact that sometimes, the gap between two of the ties on the newer coasters is filled in with another tie, so instead of a large gap it's three ties in the space of two normally.)

I don't know why for sure this is, but those are just some senseless ramblings on the topic. I'd love to hear other musings about this.

 

[Antinos]

I'm sure it has to do with structural reasons. I've noticed that the lift track spine on their older models are basically two I-beams with ties welded to them. Their newer coasters have a very thick spine which can support itself more than the old style. B&M is simply iterating and improving on their design, whether it's strength related, money related, or ease of manufacturing related.

 

[Coastin Eric]

I assume they just found a better way to support the chain that is more modern and such. Just a different way to do it!