Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[KDCOASTERFANI prefer to mate with donkeys over humans!]

Maybe I understand the "end of its service life".

The track is more like the used on the Schwarzkopf coasters. The sum of the coaster type + Age + steel oxidation + stress on the track, gives as a result a short life period of the coaster. I don´t know if its expensive a replacement of a track segment, but surely it is.

Now The Big Bad Wolf is under construcction on the coaster heaven!!

I hope that Nessy stands for many more years with us.

That's the thing:Nessie is some 31 years old as of now so shouldn't it have passed the end of it's "service life" long before BBW even did? Both rides are made of steel after all & the track requires the same basic maintenance such as paint on a regular basis to help slow down oxidation but the park simply didn't want to put forth the cap ex to maintain it any further & chose the easier option....to just get rid of it.

[B-RadGI'm wickedly obsessed with Ron Toomer]

^Last I checked, Loch Ness Monster wasn't slinging a train that can swing around at 50 mph over tight turns and quick banking changes that yank on the track and supports. Loch Ness Monster is a much more conventional coaster that requires little maintenance, is good on parts, and doesn't put too much stress on the track. By that logic, Corkscrew at CP and VF, Carolina Cyclone, Demon (CGA/SFGAM), Dragon Fire, Dragon Mountain, and DL's Viper would be gone by now because they're all older. But they're sit-down coasters that have been tried & proven reliable, Big Bad Wolf was one of those things they were still trying to get right. Bat was the initial prototype, that went after two years. Big Bad Wolf was the second prototype, and it lasted 25 years, which is pretty darn good.

[KPfreak519Have I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

Maybe I understand the "end of its service life".

The track is more like the used on the Schwarzkopf coasters. The sum of the coaster type + Age + steel oxidation + stress on the track, gives as a result a short life period of the coaster. I don´t know if its expensive a replacement of a track segment, but surely it is.

Now The Big Bad Wolf is under construcction on the coaster heaven!!

I hope that Nessy stands for many more years with us.

That's the thing:Nessie is some 31 years old as of now so shouldn't it have passed the end of it's "service life" long before BBW even did? Both rides are made of steel after all & the track requires the same basic maintenance such as paint on a regular basis to help slow down oxidation but the park simply didn't want to put forth the cap ex to maintain it any further & chose the easier option....to just get rid of it.

Just because Nessie is older then BBW doesnt have to mean anything. Im no engineer but I am positive the constant swinging of BBW's trains puts A LOT more stress on both the trains and track of BBW then Nessie's trains put on it; meaning BGE has probably dumped A LOT of money into maintaining BBW over the years; basically BBW wears away at a much faster rate than Nessie does.

[snowboard83Holy crap you have a HUGE donkey!]

I'm under the impression that a coaster isn't going there - an entirely new section is being planned (according to some of the numerous and varied rumors out there). It sucks, but I'm sure it's not just an anti-Arrow thing going on. If BBW is at the end of its service life as initially stated by Arrow (25 years), then it is simply time for BBW to go (can you imagine the legal implications if something went wrong after the service life came and went?).

Unfortunately, coasters do NOT last forever and the added costs of maintaining them beyond their service life is not a reasonable option given the economy, and again, not to even begin getting into the legal aspects.

Does anyone actually know if Arrow, or any coaster manufacturer for that matter, gave/give their coasters an End of Service Life date?

I did some thinking today about the wolf, and one day when I was at the park I asked a maintainence guy about the wolf, and he stated that the park could no longer get parts for it. I thought this was bologna because there are other suspendeds in the world, however an extremely important aspect of the wolf was indeed unique; ITS BRAKES. The ride was a very unusual mix of traditional Arrow brakes and a very unusual different brake system that may have been a prototype for Arrow suspendeds themselves after the Bat brake fiasco. Could that be a big part of the reason? Hmmm.

Speaking of The Bat, does anyone know where to find a picture of The Bats' brakes anyhow? Have never seen them, and am very curious.[/b]

[SpideyfreakHave I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

http://rcdb.com/627.htm?p=4444

They are just traditional Arrow brakes. And they gripped on the part of the car that swings? That just looks like a disaster. I can only imagine the stress the chassis went under!

[snowboard83Holy crap you have a HUGE donkey!]

^^^oh wow, duh, forgot to check rcdb out lol, thanks friendly neighborhood spidey

[SpideyfreakHave I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

^Everybody gets one.

[Homeboy23Beware of the freeze-dried donkey!]

That's the thing:Nessie is some 31 years old as of now so shouldn't it have passed the end of it's "service life" long before BBW even did? Both rides are made of steel after all & the track requires the same basic maintenance such as paint on a regular basis to help slow down oxidation but the park simply didn't want to put forth the cap ex to maintain it any further & chose the easier option....to just get rid of it.

You believe that.

Anyway, it is sad to see it gone but I can't wait to see what replaces it. Either a ride or new land.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

The Bats' brakes

Aren't those on the Batmobile: "Robin! The Joker has tampered with the Batbrakes!"

BBW was a very expensive ride to maintain, and it beat itself up every day it ran. Yes, Nessie is older, but it is a more "conventional" ride. Plus, I think that Nessie really is the park's "iconic" attraction (more so than the Wolf).

[KDFANThe best thing about TPR is the donkeys.]

I've heard a rumor that InBev wanted to keep it put in the document from Arrow when they bought the ride it said it should run for 25years