Mysterio Ka Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Went into college today and we spent a PSHE form time watching the traumatising videos with girls at the back of the class yelling 'thas ***ked up!' and people gasping. By the end of it though, they came to the conclusion that the ride stopped at the top of the first bat wing inversion, then the emergency breaks that were on the carriage were released and that allowed the guests to smash into the empty car. They also concluded that one person died, and there have been amputees. Seriously? I mean, seriously? I knew the media hyped stuff up but the amount of BS just from what the class talked about is ridiculous. It's truly disgusting what some newspapers do to get the top story, and it just shows how disrespectful they are. Kerfuffle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AstroDan Posted June 3, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 The Alton Towers social media effort has been first class. They've tried to respond to every query. Nick Varney has also been excellent. Matt 236, EC!, Liam T and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Not sure if this has any credibility, but someone is claiming that they heard a "clank" on three of the ride's inversions three hours before the incident. If the train was missing a component or damaged in any way then this could possibly explain why it stalled. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-rollercoaster-crash-passenger-5818351?ICID=FB_mirror_main Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 It's truly disgusting what some newspapers do to get the top story, and it just shows how disrespectful they are. Print media is a dying industry, the only way they make money is if people buy the paper, and the only way they can sell the paper nowadays is to fill it with fear porn and over inflated scare stories of how the sky is falling in and we're all doomed, editorial restraint went out the window years ago. I haven't bought a paper or magazine for about 15 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Not sure if this has any credibility, but someone is claiming that they heard a "clank" on three of the ride's inversions three hours before the incident. If the train was missing a component or damaged in any way then this could possibly explain why it stalled. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-rollercoaster-crash-passenger-5818351?ICID=FB_mirror_main It's not unusual for an empty train to stall there though... unlikely but it's happened quite a few times since it's been open and testing Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 It's not unusual for an empty train to stall there though... unlikely but it's happened quite a few times since it's been open and testingYeah agreed, I'm aware that it has stalled there several times, the "clank" has probably got no relation to it (in fact, that ride "clanks" a lot usually, if it was a first time rider it may have been nothing out of the ordinary). Just thought it was worth posting the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam T Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I'm just catching up with the news as I've been away for the past couple of days, sadden & shocked. My thoughts are with those all involved with yesterday incident, friends, families, workers... I stood disbelief when I received the text, it was only Sunday I was speaking about getting back on The Smiler, I'm very shaken by this. The media coverage has been disgusting, air helicopter zooming in on those poor helpless guest. Words cannot express how distressing this has been for the park, the families, the guest having the witness the incident, the community & Merlin. Lets hope the park can re-open as quickly as possible... as for the future of The Smiler. Ian-S, Mer, pognoi and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Does anyone know if Gerstlauer themselves have been at the park today? I'd be surprised (and appalled) if they haven't to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 It would seem from the H&S report that Gerstlauer have got someone over there assisting and Gerstlauer are cooperating in their investigations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 This accident has effected me more than I thought it had at first. To think that I'm 19 and people younger than me can operate a machine like that does scare me a little. Even now, I would never want that sort of pressure and responsibility! Makes me not want to sit on the back or front row of anything not made by B&M when I go to Germany next month! (I know that's such a "stupid general public" thing to say but if it can happen in a UK park like Alton, it makes me thing it can happen anywhere if one little thing cocks up....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I'm just catching up with the news as I've been away for the past couple of days, sadden & shocked. My thoughts are with those all involved with yesterday incident, friends, families, workers... I stood disbelief when I received the text, it was only Sunday I was speaking about getting back on The Smiler, I'm very shaken by this. The media coverage has been disgusting, air helicopter zooming in on those poor helpless guest. Words cannot express how distressing this has been for the park, the families, the guest having the witness the incident, the community & Merlin. Lets hope the park can re-open as quickly as possible... as for the future of The Smiler. A helicopter is standard, you shouldn't let that upset you. After all, a helicopter was hovering over a Chinese cruise liner which sunk on the very same day as the Smiler incident. The difference is that the Cruise liner may have cost 500 lives, the Smiler incident only 16 and majority weren't life threatening injuries. It's interesting how when something is closer to home and within the realm of own experience, how much more affecting it can be. This accident has effected me more than I thought it had at first. To think that I'm 19 and people younger than me can operate a machine like that does scare me a little. Even now, I would never want that sort of pressure and responsibility! Makes me not want to sit on the back or front row of anything not made by B&M when I go to Germany next month! (I know that's such a "stupid general public" thing to say but if it can happen in a UK park like Alton, it makes me thing it can happen anywhere if one little thing cocks up....) You have to bear in mind that at 19 you can get married, be a parent, drive a car, drink alcohol. And trust me driving a car on the M25 during rush hour is harder and more scary then pressing a dispatch button on The Smiler. The only ride I've ever come across that takes physical skill to operate correctly is Rattlesnake. I'm not saying a 19 year old is mature enough to deal with an emergency on this scale but when I think about it, I've also met 45 year olds who wouldn't have been able to deal with this situation. When it comes to it, would I go to Alton Towers and ride the Smiler again? In a shot. This is a freak accident and doesn't make me question whether Merlin (Or any park with the exception of Bakken) run their rides properly. Merry-go-girl, Liam T, Mer and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Yeah I do understand that, but just because you can get married at 18, doesn't mean I think everyone should! I would personally feel more safe in the hands of people slightly more experienced but that's just me and my opinion! (Sorry if this offends anyone here as I know half the kids either do it or dream of doing it) Also, what's wrong with Bakken haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobF Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I agree with ricky I think a block reset will be the most likely cause off the crash, which may have triggered the lift hill. but all ride cars should be accounted for before coducting such a test as the stalled car would be wiped from the system like it didnt exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Also, what's wrong with Bakken haha To say you're worried about 18 year olds operating rides is daft, they do get trained for a lot of hours on the rides, pass medicals and have to do a written test (or at least they did, it may have changed since)... There's also a lot of 18 year olds who are more mature than 24/30/45 year olds as well... Towers also don't tend to have that many 18 year olds operating the big rides (same for Chessie and Thorpe I'd say, don't see many 18 year olds operating Stealth), so it's a rather unfounded fear... Of course, you usually cannot train for an incident like this, indeed, the odds on this event happening are the reason everyone is so surprised that it has happened... I'd still be more worried about riding an Intamin with a lap bar because they've chucked plenty of people out of them than riding a Gerst... Merry-go-girl and Mysterio Ka 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Smiler might be gone for good according to reports, can't c&p it right now but let me make this post and edit it with source in a min. (Unless someone beats me to it) EDIT: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11650536/Alton-Towers-to-remain-closed-as-bosses-consider-scrapping-The-Smiler.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 From what I know Nick Varney is not considering scrapping The Smiler and that article is quite clearly fudging his words. At no point does he or anyone actually say they are considering scrapping it or even allude to that. HermanTheGerman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Mae Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 On the subject of young ride ops, I've met two of the Smiler ones and trust me, they were nowhere near 18 (I mean that in the nicest possible way to them! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 On the subject of young ride ops, I've met two of the Smiler ones and trust me, they were nowhere near 18 (I mean that in the nicest possible way to them! )It is required by law for an OPERATOR to be at least 18. Unless you mean they were way OVER 18? The age of the operator is also pretty irrelevant since their most primary function is communication and supervision, rather than any direct control of the ride (apart from dispatch). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Mae Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I meant way over :') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markfranklin Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Apologies for my lack of understanding, but I just wanted to ask a question to someone with knowledge of the technical side of things. So on Smiler - and other similar rides - the computer system ought to prevent a train from entering a 'block' if another train is already in that section. My question is, how does such a system work on rides such as Dragon's Fury and Spinball? With these, it seems that several cars are sent in a 'production line', and there aren't defined 'blocks'. So is there a risk that a car on one of these rides could stop/stall, and if so how could the system prevent the next one along from hitting it? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Smiler might be gone for good according to reports, can't c&p it right now but let me make this post and edit it with source in a min. (Unless someone beats me to it) EDIT: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11650536/Alton-Towers-to-remain-closed-as-bosses-consider-scrapping-The-Smiler.html As Bill said, there is nothing in there that states that Varney is considering scrapping it... Newspapers pretty do make up anything, a similar situation here was one paper I think claiming it was down to human error because Varney said they were "considering it as a possibility", which is the correct thing to do... Gotta sell those papers/get those hits somehow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 To be fair to myself... I only read the headline I won't be making that mistake again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 how does such a system work on rides such as Dragon's Fury and Spinball? With these, it seems that several cars are sent in a 'production line', and there aren't defined 'blocks'. So is there a risk that a car on one of these rides could stop/stall, and if so how could the system prevent the next one along from hitting it? Cheers Rides like Fury, Rattlesnake, Saw and Spinball have multiple block brakes (it's just like RCT3!! Yay) which allow multiple cars to be on the track, one in each block section.Fury for example has 5 block brakes out on the track (including the second lift), these are the flat sections that the cars travel straight through. Should the power fail, all brakes lock shut and each car is stopped out on its nearest block point. The ride also has multiple speed settings depending on how many cars are on the track, so with maximum number of cars the chain lifts and drives will all speed up slightly to ensure staff can still send out cars every 10 seconds without having to wait longer for the next block to be free. I also *think* there is a sensor before the horseshoe on Fury that the car must pass in order to send the next one. This way even if the car ahead magically stalls despite the laws of physics, the one you've just sent is guaranteed to have not made it past the lift hill - therefore can be easily and automatically stopped. Usually these systems are watertight and that's why The Smiler's case is so bizarre BenC, OldFarmerDean, HermanTheGerman and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markfranklin Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Thanks for that electricBill A very informative answer. A colleague and I were pondering over the Smiler issue and wondered: Suppose test car sent out, stalls in Block 2. Passenger car sent on it's way, but computer stops it on the lift hill (correctly, because it recognises there is a car stuck within the next block). Car stays stuck on lift hill for 10 minutes (as was reported somewhere), engineer does some form of block reset, so the computer system clears its memory and believes the track is clear of obstructions, which in turn releases the passenger car? MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 A colleague and I were pondering over the Smiler issue and wondered: Suppose test car sent out, stalls in Block 2. Passenger car sent on it's way, but computer stops it on the lift hill (correctly, because it recognises there is a car stuck within the next block). Car stays stuck on lift hill for 10 minutes (as was reported somewhere), engineer does some form of block reset, so the computer system clears its memory and believes the track is clear of obstructions, which in turn releases the passenger car? That's the same theory my Dad and I came up with, if it's something simple like that, that happened, only one real question remains, well two, did they know that a block reset would effectively restart the ride without someone pressing 'go', and either way, why did thy do the block reset without first doing a proper count and account on the cars and visual inspection of the track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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