MattyMoo Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Have PM'd you, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiteknuckle Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Well, The Smiler's having some work done to it at least: http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/cbeebies-land-construction-25012014/12.jpg Is it just me or have they altered the second inverted drop? It doesn't look half as good as before, I'm sure it was twisty like the first one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Well, The Smiler's having some work done to it at least: http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/cbeebies-land-construction-25012014/12.jpg Is it just me or have they altered the second inverted drop? It doesn't look half as good as before, I'm sure it was twisty like the first one. No it wasnt, the second inverted drop was always more drawn out like that. I much prefer the 2nd one anyway as the hang time is awesome! EDIT: I like the fact with the track, is that they have either sanded of all the old paint on the track to repaint the thing, or its literally how bad the trains scratched the paint. Some people thought they were repainting part of the track gold lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Either that or they're fixing all the bolts in place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Inverted drop 1 Inverted Drop 2 you can see Jamie that the first drop is a lot more twisty and the second is alot more drawn out.Still the Photo in question it looked like they were sorting out the little bit just before the first drop. Any way great to see them giving it TLC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Doesn't that track look.... ORANGE! Looks almost as beautiful as Colossus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Friction causes objects to lose layers of paint, who knew? SteveJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 After barely 6 months...? Even Inferno looks better then that and its moving into its 11th season.. Smiler has barely managed half a season! Altitude and Inferno 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Different manufacturers, different wheel assemblies... The fact is that it's not actually rust in the same vein as an oil stricken Colossus, but clearly some paint has been taken off at points of high contact between track and train... The orange colouration is down to the now bare metal reacting to the air... Oxidising rather nicely if I say so myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 you can see Jamie that the first drop is a lot more twisty and the second is alot more drawn out.Still the Photo in question it looked like they were sorting out the little bit just before the first drop. Any way great to see them giving it TLC. Yeah, I think the angle of that photo makes it look different. With regard to the state of the track, I hope it get's a repaint. No one year old coaster should look like that already - it looks about 5 - 10 years old! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 It looked absolutely fine at the end of last season, so obviously the photo makes it seem worse than in person. (Not that I want to stop the enthusiast tradition of jumping to conclusions based on dodgy photos.) Surely repainting the rails just so it can be worn off again is the last thing it needs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'ugly Smiler queue line extension'... Photo from Tatenhill Aviation Cal, Tom and EC! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Ewwww. To be fair the main queueline is ugly anyway, so not much change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Implying that the temporary fencing wasn't ugly? Just kinda shows how poorly designed it was originally... Looks like the entrance with the extension will be a gate just off the 'main' entrance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtjammy16 Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 It looked absolutely fine at the end of last season, so obviously the photo makes it seem worse than in person. It definitely does, just got back from there yesterday and it just looks like the track has white stripes on it, isn't that bad SteveJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 The new extended queueline I thought was fine. It looks far better than temporary fencing and is actually far less claustrophobic than the main queue.It also means that they can fill the new extended part of the queue from 9am, for those wishing to ride first thing - even if it's not open. As it was, The Smiler opened at 9:45am on Sunday, which was 15 minutes early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I agree with Ricky regarding the paint scenario. I know it's not any oil painting, by in comparison SAW, heck, even Rage at Adventure Island and Cobra at Paultons are in a much more appealing state than Smiler. I'd say SAW is probably the closest for it's "worn appearance" but in places the Smiler does have a large amount of paint ran away; and like Ricky said for a ride which is less than a year of operating, it isn't that great. And before people say "Oh but it's used more" I would say SAW looks marginally better, and given their age; Rage and Paultons have probably had at least equal wear if not slightly more than Smiler in their lifetime. So how anyone can say Smiler isn't wearing down its paint rapidly, I'd like to know what makes you believe that. Equally, that queue extension does seem completely daft. I'll wait to see it in person to judge it, but give it a year or two and I think it'll just become another unused extension for the majority of time much like the one at the top of the hill on AIR, or a few of the TH13TEEN extensions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 The extended queue looks fine, although couldn't see a gate to cut it out which would be a bit of a pain. It seemed to get slowed down on the brakes on the first airtime hill, and almost stalled mid inversion on the following two inversions, or at least felt like that! Seen the train behind do the same too, then get out the exit shop to find the smiler is currently experiencing technical difficulties, like 10 mins after opening haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 There is a gate right at the start of the new extended queue that closes it off and there appears to be another gate part way round to close off the switchback section at the far end. I've ridden the Smiler 3 times via the main queue so far this season and thankfully not had to use new bit yet. I'd estimate the queue time with all extensions full to be around 150min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerfuffle Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Out of interest, why is the track going brown already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GladiatorFanKyle Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Just wondering does the smiler give as much airtime as SAW does? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Its because the track is either oxidizing or rusting. I'm just saying both because there was a discussion before hand because of this problem and I am just making both parties happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Oxidisation is effectively the same as rust developing (as rust is an Iron Oxide, the result of a chemical reaction between unsurprisingly, Iron and Oxygen)... The paint gets worn down from the running wheels on it, exposing the metal to the elements and boom, chemical reactions and rust appears... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 I know why it looks like it but I'm not sure why it looks so bad so quickly, its quite surprising really even last year when it had been open just a couple of months it looked awful, its track has not aged well atall, wonder what it will be like in 10 years time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.