Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

"magnetic goodies and tires in the brake run"

Not to mention refreshments...

I really can't wait to see the trains for this ride---especially after the report that they're like nothing we've seen before.

Eric

The big question is, what will happen to the ride when the steel starts to rust?

Great pictures, BTW.

Cant wait to see how this turns out! Hopefully one day Ill get out there but the ride "looks" like its going to be awesome!

^^ My guess is they would replace the piece...

The big question is, what will happen to the ride when the steel starts to rust?

Huh? Why is that a BIG question? It happens to all steel coasters.

The big question is, what will happen to the ride when the steel starts to rust?

 

Great pictures, BTW.

That's what paint is for? I don't get the question..

What will happen when the wood starts to rot?

What will happen when the trains get dirty?

What will happen when [fill in the blank]?

What will happen when the wood starts to rot?

 

What will happen when the trains get dirty?

 

What will happen when [fill in the blank]?

Ducks fly together?

I really think that if all works out as planned, the new Texas Giant will be one of the most intense, highly ranked steel coasters. It's layout is more unique than most true steel coasters, and it looks like it has a great mix of both negative and positive G's.

What will happen when the river finally decides to flood the entire park and it looks like Six Flags New Orleans?

With that important question aside, my only experience on Texas Giant was bone bruising and back breaking so I am seriously excited for this new coaster to finally open. That first drop looks insane and the rest of the ride looks like some quality airtime will be experienced.

Great pictures!

Jimmy "Splash down would be freaking awesome!" Bo

What will happen when the river finally decides to flood the entire park and it looks like Six Flags New Orleans?

 

Jimmy "Splash down would be freaking awesome!" Bo

One of the locals at the park Saturday said that the creek levels have been much higher after a rain ever since they built the Cowboy's stadium just upstream. It seems that a lot of land that used to help soak up the water is now parking lot.

That's probably true, since the flooding Saturday seemed quite abnormally high for the amount of rain that day. I've been at SFOT on rainy days before, but never saw the creek flood as quickly as it did this weekend.

 

One of the locals at the park Saturday said that the creek levels have been much higher after a rain ever since they built the Cowboy's stadium just upstream. It seems that a lot of land that used to help soak up the water is now parking lot.

 

Parking lots produce a lot of water run off in even moderate rainfall, and I have a sneaking suspicion they possibly drain storm water their lots right into the creek rather than a storm water management pond. (Or supposing there is a pond, it's far too shallow and it's overflowing too quickly.)

The big question is, what will happen to the ride when the steel starts to rust?

 

Great pictures, BTW.

And you're thinking it's going to corrode any more than a typical steel coaster because...?

The track is painted (rust protection there). And the ledgers appear to be galvanized or have some kind of anti-corrosion coating (rust protection there).

The big question is, what will happen to the ride when the steel starts to rust?

 

Great pictures, BTW.

 

And you're thinking it's going to corrode any more than a typical steel coaster because...?

 

The track is painted (rust protection there). And the ledgers appear to be galvanized or have some kind of anti-corrosion coating (rust protection there).

The ledgers are galvanized according to SFOT management, mentioned at Coasterthon last weekend. They were waiting for the last batch of them to be delivered after being galvanized, but "nearly all" the track was on site.

These are probably the most promising construction pics I`ve EVER seen in this forum. That ride will be a total blast if my eyes don`t fool me. Congrats to all of you who live somewhat close to that thing...

George "being totally jealous" T.

Looking at this shot on Screamscape today

http://www.screamscape.com/html/sfot_3.htm

It appears that the additional support for the overbanked turns might not be buttresses on the outside of the turn, but rather ties back into the center of the turn. This is the same technique used on the Boardwalk Bullet to be able to push the track right to the edge of the lot without having structure go out into the bay or into the road (or the Starbucks!)

Looking at the steel supports for the overbanked portion, it looks like the track could end up being enclosed inside the structure kinda like the flying carpet used to be. That would be beyond awesome.

http://www.guidetosfot.com/features/giantreinvented/

The last picture on the October 2nd update makes me think that there may still be a double helix. The trip reports from Lone Star Coasterthon indicated the first loop of the helix would be a dive into a low to the ground turn. That looks like the 2nd leg of the helix (the outer leg), which would be awesome. Any thoughts?

^Your link doesn't work.

^ It did just work for me. Try it again and see.

http://www.guidetosfot.com/features/giantreinvented/

 

The last picture on the October 2nd update makes me think that there may still be a double helix. The trip reports from Lone Star Coasterthon indicated the first loop of the helix would be a dive into a low to the ground turn. That looks like the 2nd leg of the helix (the outer leg), which would be awesome. Any thoughts?

I'm pretty sure those supports are for the first helix. At LCST, you could tell that the track will dive through the lift structure to a low-level turn, but then rise up dramatically in order to fly over the lift hill. I think that's what you're seeing in that picture.

I looked as best I could for any evidence of a second helix looparound, but didn't see one. When one of the folks asked the maintenance guy if the layout would be different, he said, "Yes." When asked if the finale would remain as it was before, he said, "no comment." He also gave the NC response to questions about whether the track would be shorter than the original layout, what the trains looked like, and pretty much every other question he was asked.

One of the few answers he gave was in response to "how much does that magnetic brake (that he had on display) cost?" to which he replied, "a LOT."

Am I the only one drooling at every one of those construction shots? Wow, this is going to be terrific! I can't wait to see if other parks jump onboard and renovate coasters with this technique... *that's your turn Cedar Point!*

The track is painted (rust protection there). And the ledgers appear to be galvanized or have some kind of anti-corrosion coating (rust protection there).

I believe the ledgers are treated the same way that coasters like The Voyage are (supportwise).

I believe I have read most of this thread, but am curious if this is truly the first ever attempt at this sort of retrofit/upgrade? Has any other old wood coaster been upgraded in this manner?

I'm guessing not, but what a unique way to breathe life back into an old structure -- although it does seem like quite a bit of money/planning/effort must have gone into utilizing the existing structure vs starting with a blank slate. Perhaps that additional cost is offset by the marketing/PR possibilities made possible by it being a redesign of a "Texas Classic"?

Looks almost fake, when you look through all of the pictures - here's to hoping that there aren't a ton of growing pains once it opens!

^The closest thing I can think of is the conversion of wood to steel of Seabreeze's Bobsleds coaster.

^ good call, I had forgotten about that. Let's hope that the Giant reno turns out a bit smoother than the Bobsled did!

I'm interested to see who will be the next one to adopt this style of renovation. Another one of the SF chain? Cedar Fair? I'd really like to see some other coasters redone this way, namely Son of Beast. How about reinstalling that loop!