Rolling Thunder (roller coaster)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Rolling Thunder


caption=Rolling Thunder's Entrance
location=Six Flags Great Adventure
section=Plaza del Carnaval
type=Wood
type2=Out and Back
type3=Racing
model=custom
track=Figure 8
status=Open
opened=1979
train manufacturer= Philadelphia Toboggan Company
manufacturer=William Cobb & Associates
designer=Don Rosser & William Cobb
height=96
drop=91
length=3200
speed=56
duration=1 minute
first drop angle=45
hourly capacity=1920 guests max
restriction=44
cost=$5 million
rcdb_number=132

Rolling Thunder is a racing wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. Rolling Thunder is the park's first wooden coaster, and debuted in the park's fifth anniversary. The ride has an adjoining entrance and a separate queue for each track. Coaster 1 can be reached by the right queue and Coaster 2 can be reached by the left. Guests who are not tall enough for 54-inch height-requiring coasters can ride Rolling Thunder as it has a 44-inch height requirement.

tructure & track

The structure and track is comprised mostly of 850,000 feet of Douglas Fir. In the past it had been treated with a pesticide not considered environmentally friendly and is slowly being replaced with southern yellow pine.

The track is made by bolting together seven layers of wood. In most places on the ride, two layers of southern yellow pine sit atop five layers of Douglas-Fir. There are older sections with 7 layers of Douglas-Fir (mostly on the lift) and refurbished sections with 7 layers of southern pine. A seven inch wide strip of steel is bolted onto the top of the layers of wood and a three-inch-wide piece of steel is bolted onto the side. The train's wheels ride on the steel.

Trains

There are four trains that are distinguishable by color: Red, Blue, Yellow and Green. In 2008, Red and Green run on Coaster 1 and Blue and Yellow run on Coaster 2. Each train has 4 three-bench Philadelphia Toboggan Company cars held together by hitch bars. Each car contains 6 seats. Each train can hold a maximum of 24 riders.

The trains use buzz bars that lock in one position. Ratcheting lap bars, which are capable of locking in multiple positions, are used on many new coasters today. Buzz bars are preferred by coaster enthusiasts for the extra room they provide in the seat. The ride is not considered an ACE Coaster Classic however, as seat dividers and headrests were added in 1981 to prevent people from standing on the ride while it is in operation.

Seat belts were added on the ride's 25th anniversary and guests often have trouble buckling the seat belts or sit on the belts after closing their locked lap bar. The seat belts can get caught under the seats because they are not designed to accommodate belts. The boarding process can take long due to the restraints being unlocked so that guests can latch their seat belts. Furthermore, guests who are overweight may not be able to comfortably sit in the seats.

There are three types of wheels used on the trains. Sixteen road wheels ride on the top layer of steel on the track. Sixteen guide wheels guide the trains around the turns on a separate steel track located on the sides of the wooden track. Sixteen upstop wheels ride on the bottom of the track only in moments of negative forces when the road wheels leave the track.

Brakes

Rolling Thunder uses skid brakes to stop the trains rather than modern fin brakes. The trains have brake pads underneath each car which slide against the brakes to lift the train's wheels off the track. The brakes are always in the up position unless the operator, in conjunction with the rear unloader attendant, advances a train. The road wheels can be heard spinning at the end of the ride and will continue to spin until the operator, in conjunction with the unload attendant, advances the train.

There are three sets of brakes. The trim and ready brakes are located in the tunnel at the end of the ride. The trim brake slows and stops the train and serves as a holding place for one train until the second train is dispatched out of the station. The train can then be advanced off the trim and onto the ready brake. The ready brake holds the train until the second train reaches the top half of the lift hill. The dispatch brake holds the train in the station while it is being unloaded and loaded for the next ride. The trains are stopped manually and will not always aligned with the queue stalls in the station. Therefore the attendants will have to direct the guests to their rows from time to time before the airgates are opened.

When the brake pads and wheels get wet, there is little friction to stop the trains and they will slide too far onto the brakes. For safety reasons, only one train can run per side in rainy weather.

History

To mark the 100th anniversary of roller coasters in the USA, Rolling Thunder's Coaster 2 side was renamed "Rednuht Gnillor" in 1984. The trains were turned around so riders would view the ride while riding backwards. During this season, Rednuht Gnillor's warning signs were placed in the back of the station and on the back of the lift hill so riders could see them.

Rolling Thunder was standing but not operating in September and October 2005 and through most of the Spring of 2006 due to the construction of the Plaza del Carnival section and El Toro.

ee also

*Incidents at Six Flags parks

References