Spike/switch-track coasters

[Leon_K]

Sorry if there already is a post thread on this topic, I might have missed it because I am not on this forum for a long time already and also not active on daily base. But there's something I have been thinking about lately and started to think about again after seeing the construction update on the new Parc Asterix coaster.

It seems like a lot of coaster designs from the last couple of years include the spike/switchtrack elements. I have never ridden one of these but somehow I don't really like the look of it. It feels like it makes the layout look messy. Maybe it's just on me and not a lot of people share this opinion. But now I am curious to something that is also an important factor on these elements: does it actually add to the experience of the ride? Or does i just feel more like a gimmick you could forget about? What do you guys think?

 

[Pokemaniac]

I don't think switch track swing launches were invented primarily for the ride experience, but for their engineering advantages. A conventional launch track needs to be quite long and entirely straight, taking up a lot of space and requiring a lot of launch components. The launch needs to hit the right speed while being gradual enough to remain comfortable, and thus it needs to be quite long.

Except with a swing launch, you can accelerate the train across the same track several times, which requires vastly less space. Instead of building a long 0-80 km/h launch, you can built it to launch 0-40 km/h, then do 40 to 60 on the return, and finally 60 to 80 when going over the track a third time. This lets a much faster launch fit into much less track, which gives a lot more flexibility in layout design. See Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando for a masterclass in using a swing launch to fit a coaster into a cramped plot. A swing launch will also uses fewer launch components, although it also wears each component more and the advantage may be offset by the track switch. Still, it's overall a very beneficial invention for coaster designers and parks with space issues. The fact of a different ride experience is just a happy side effect.

 

[toofpikk]

^ maybe a happy side effect but on some rides it helps increase the ride length, and reduce the total throughput in an hour, which takes the pressure off attendants and operators as they'll have a bigger window to dispatch a train without stacking.

 

[Leon_K]

I don't think switch track swing launches were invented primarily for the ride experience, but for their engineering advantages. A conventional launch track needs to be quite long and entirely straight, taking up a lot of space and requiring a lot of launch components. The launch needs to hit the right speed while being gradual enough to remain comfortable, and thus it needs to be quite long.

Except with a swing launch, you can accelerate the train across the same track several times, which requires vastly less space. Instead of building a long 0-80 km/h launch, you can built it to launch 0-40 km/h, then do 40 to 60 on the return, and finally 60 to 80 when going over the track a third time. This lets a much faster launch fit into much less track, which gives a lot more flexibility in layout design. See Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando for a masterclass in using a swing launch to fit a coaster into a cramped plot. A swing launch will also uses fewer launch components, although it also wears each component more and the advantage may be offset by the track switch. Still, it's overall a very beneficial invention for coaster designers and parks with space issues. The fact of a different ride experience is just a happy side effect.

Sounds like a logical explanation. Though it might be the case that this practical choice became a style choice now. Thanks