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

[Slayed]

Lol, wtf? Is it me or did nearly all those in Mushy's second list not have a lift directly out of the station anyway!

Having had a good look at some of the track on the plans, it's lovely and twisty - some of the transitions look a little mental! It may only have about a 70' first drop, but with the turn straight after a bit like Piraten's little brother, and with lapbars and nice open cars it should be a fun experience, even without the goings-on in the station. Good family choice methinks .

What theme would I like? A 'ghost coaster', with the train having a runaway feel and a shedload of ghostly effects in the station .

 

[marc]

^I think it will ride the same way as that one in Bakken which was not bad, a good family coaster.

 

[#pmbo]

I'm also looking forward to what Alton have planned. Sometimes a family coaster is better than a thrill coaster in some respects and how well everything is done. I think Merlin will make a successful coaster, whether enthusiasts like it or not :lol:.

 

[Martyn B]

I wish people would take photos FROM Rita. Nice high angle to see down that deep hole.

I wish there was a better point to view the area of the ride from. Rita seems to get in the way of half the photos.

Some people are just never happy, are they?!

And you do know that Rita's crests her twisty hills at about 30mph, it would be too hard to photograph properly from there, and then no doubt you'd moan that it wasn't a very good picture.

Also, consider your self lucky that pics can be taken from Rita's station, I bet soon they'll block the view off.

 

[Swat]

I'm surprised they haven't blocked it off before the track was erected.

 

[Dave]

Well almost impossible when Rita is there and its a major ride.
Plus I'm sure Alton Towers are going to be annoyed if every enthusiast tries to take photos of the site from Rita and have camera's flying off the ride becoming missiles.

 

[Rush]

Sorry if this has been mentioned/revealed before.

I'm rather interested in the trains. As far as I'm aware we don't know what they'll be like and the design of them could be the world's first element. They haven't been revealed and they haven't been sighted either.

 

[Ormerod]

Perhaps train related?.

But to be honest I don't actually stand by my speculation because there's no evidence of any World First yet so I could be way off.

 

[tks]

After riding Rita, you can see where the track comes back from the woods clearly, and the "make the train go backwards feature" has a large ditch leading into the helix. I would've taken photos but i'm not a goon.

 

[Blaze]

If seeing the track going vertical made you spontaneously orgasm, I urge you to look away now:

Credit to "luke excell" of Towers Times.

This pretty much confirms drop track. Feeling smug right about now! Also, it seems to confirm there will be no backwards launch with the drop. It it high enough to get around the helix without it. It will simply roll out backwards. Good news for necks. Also, look at the sharpness and steepness of the track. That will have some mega backwards airtime, Irn Bru style.

Added:

Also from TT: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/v/a/vac3/nonus.html
Loads of coaster related patent is on here. Makes for interesting reading and may have the world first element in there somewhere. Intamin have atleast one dummy company, called Raw Tex, all of their patents are here: http://v3.espacenet.com/searchResul...ct=false&locale=en_gb&page=0&return=true&sf=a You may need to translate. Never head of some of the companies on the first site, maybe they are dummy companies, too. Most interesting is the one about a way to make track appear broken or missing.
That said, lots of patents are filed after the ride is made. B&M Flyer cars were patented months after Air opened, and the same for the Dive Machine.

Did you know: B&M are the only company allowed to build a ride with a vertical drop that goes below ground thtough a tunnel? Or that Vekoma are the only company allowed to make a duelling/racing coaster with side-by-side interlocking-double-corkscrews? Interesting reading

 

[Ollie]

Is that bit of track going down there where the train goes backwards into the helix or is it where it comes back into the station?

 

[Blaze]

It's where it goes backwards into the trench the backwards helix is in.

The return track is straight.

 

[Dave]

Just a question. If they reverse it half way through the ride dosen't this mean the train will enter the station in reverse? Thus meaning they need two reversing sections

 

[Inverse]

^ There's a second switch section outside. What ever turns the train about inside is what we don't know.

 

[Blaze]

The second switch is at the end of the wide backwards helix through the trench. It is about level with the station, although I expect it to be hiden from view until you ride it.

 

[Martyn B]

Though I haven't paid too much attention to the plans, I thought the train enters the building from the side, thus making that piece of track pictured on the last page, the return to the station?

And by looking at this, I am right?

Also, is it just me or does the lift hill and drop look a bit too long bare in mind its only 70ft? (especially when compared to the turnaround?) Is it not possible for there to be 2 drops on the straight section?

 

[marc]

I also think its the return to the station, remember this is a family coaster and that drop looks a bit much to be taken backwards.

 

[Blaze]

No.

The train enters the top of the building alongside the station (there is a turn on the roof bringing it into line, the other layout plans show this). Then the mystery section makes it go backwards into a helix in a trench, which may be covered over, and ath the end, directly behind the station, it hits the other switch and travels forward, returning to the station.

The lift and drop are not very sharp. The lift is possibly going ot be quite fast because of this. It's probably all they were allowed to do. The station can't go any farther back and the layout follows the path the trees have naturally left, they probably would not have been allowed to knowck them down so had it designed to fit between them.

 

[Martyn B]

Whilst what you say can make a bit of sense, it seems to exit the building at an odd angle.

And the main reason for me beliving its the return to the staion, is that the bit of track pictured on the other page is a too low to be the main backwards drop when the train enters towards the top of the building.

 

[Blaze]

Actualy, what you say could be right, looking at the plans again, it sems to be turning already before leaving the building. The only thing is, the train wouldn't have the momentum to get over it without a launch if that was the case. I'm not sure where the track is, it could be well sithin the building, before the turns into the helix, which is what I think it could be, I'll have another look at construction pics, I think the built up bit is not the whole building. I saw something on TT that shown that the only bit being built on was the rectangle at the top with the mystery section.