July 21, 201312 yr comment_163759 Typical Gerstlauer and their poorly manufactured rides, not as if any other manufacturer ever has this problem...
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163761 According to some on TST (who themselves are going off of what's been said on Twitter), this has caused a gap in the track. If true - uh oh! Was meant to be on park today; lucky I'm not!
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163765 Pic credit to @Ben_M_To_The_C on Twitter. You can see a slight gap in the join.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163767 Well its definately the track, I think it will be closed for a few days. Looks like the damage is on the first or second (not to sure from the pic) dive loop before the first bunny hop hill. I have never heard the track splitting because of a bolt. Yep its going to be down for a few days.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163770 Doubt it will be a few days, looks like there fixing it right now..
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163775 Few hours? Although to be fair the track didnt actually detach like it has here, I cant see it taking too long though.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163782 To my untrained eye it looks like a fairly major problem, be amazed if it reopens quickly. Even if it is an easy fix in itself surely the track joins shouldn't be under that sort of pressure where they want to pull apart when 'released'? You'd have to ask how much strain the remaining join would be under if a train were to pass over it in that state, and where its total failure point would be. If it gave way completely the result would surely be catastrophic, with an at height and at speed derailment possible? I would imagine this is the sort of thing the H&S executive would want to look at and sign off before it reopens, rightly in my view. Of course, it is possible that picture is massively deceptive!
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163784 It was meant to be open late afternoon, obviously missed that time. Therefore I imagine it'll be open tomorrow.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163785 When the tracks at London Waterloo warped last week, all trains on the London and South Western Mainline were cancelled because the rails had expanded by up to 4 inches and some points. However, the whole thing was open and working again the next day. The thing just needs to cool to a size that will allow the bolt to be re-fitted. A few test runs will give the green light and we're back up and smiling again. That is, if the expansion hasn't cause permanent damage to the parts I.e. the one bolt. In which case they should really have spares in the workshop.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163787 To my untrained eye it looks like a fairly major problem, be amazed if it reopens quickly. Even if it is an easy fix in itself surely the track joins shouldn't be under that sort of pressure where they want to pull apart when 'released'? You'd have to ask how much strain the remaining join would be under if a train were to pass over it in that state, and where its total failure point would be. If it gave way completely the result would surely be catastrophic, with an at height and at speed derailment possible? I would imagine this is the sort of thing the H&S executive would want to look at and sign off before it reopens, rightly in my view. Of course, it is possible that picture is massively deceptive! Heat expansion on the metal is the issue here, with the built up pressure already existing within the structure built up to cause the bolt to sheer (as designed when embracing high levels of stress/strain) and ping off into the sunset... New bolt, bit of cool-down and I'd imagine we'll be alright to go... As Sidders said, the best comparison are the warping train lines...
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163788 It's the first incredibly cool day we've had in over a week. So temperature could well be a big influence.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163791 I was about to say it's not been hot today so that doesn't seem right, but then it could well be the change in temp rathe r than the temp itself so maybe. The way it has parted from the loss of one bolt still doesn't seem right to me, but as I sayI know nothing of these things.
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163793 I was about to say it's not been hot today so that doesn't seem right, but then it could well be the change in temp rathe r than the temp itself so maybe. The way it has parted from the loss of one bolt still doesn't seem right to me, but as I sayI know nothing of these things. One bolt holds a plane engine to the wing... Temperature shock is the most likely cause yes, especially given the severe temperature change we've had since Friday... EDIT - One hell of a close up from TST...
July 21, 201312 yr comment_163801 Surely lots of bolts hold the engine on (so if one breaks it doesn't fall off? That's sure what it looks like out the window!) whereas this one bolt fail looks like it could cause a really serious issue?
July 22, 201312 yr comment_163813 From what I was told from an aerospace engineer one bolt is the case, just as a precaution in case of the engine catching fire for whatever reason... #weirdengineeringfacts
July 22, 201312 yr comment_163822 According to Towers Times on facebook, The Smiler is still closed but has a crane on site.
July 22, 201312 yr comment_163856 Now looking at that image, I remember seeing on my visit to alton towers on the 18th july, that a bolt on the breakrun to a support before the second lifthill was missing. I wonder if that one was missing on purpose or not.
July 23, 201312 yr comment_163903 It was mentioned on heart radio when I was listening earlier and they made it all sound very unsafe, just great for a ride thats already struggled with opening.
July 23, 201312 yr comment_163904 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-23415889 Press have said The Smiler is going to be closed indefinately until the ride can be deemed safe again by health and safety officials but alton towers have said they are working as hard and as fast as they can to re open it again.
July 23, 201312 yr comment_163924 I'm more interested to find out WHAT Gerstlauer have been called tbh...
July 23, 201312 yr comment_163925 Wouldnt surprise me, the fact the rides been closed 2 days and theres been a crane on site indicates there may be more to this than just a bolt pop.
July 23, 201312 yr comment_163926 A popped bolt is one thing, but a gap in the track is a different story tbh. The 2 track pieces obviously don't naturally sit together - the bolt is constantly under a massive amount of stress in order to force the track in to a position that it doesn't want to be in! Surely a single bolt shouldn't be responsible for forcing those 2 pieces of track together... Maybe they'll have to re-align some more of the track?
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