Subject:
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Re: Changing the subject... :-)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto
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Date:
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Wed, 26 Jun 2002 02:03:06 GMT
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Viewed:
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425 times
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"Larry Pieniazek" <lpieniazek@mercator.com> wrote in message
news:Gy8nM9.EI9@lugnet.com...
> really smooth. And big. Did I say big yet? The mags seem to stretch on
> forever out of the station before you get to the curveup, and the first
> inversion is just intensely high up there.
Actually, believe it or not, Xcelerator doesn't use linear motors or
magnetics to launch the train. The fins you saw on the launch track are
retractable - they're an integral part of the Linear Inductive Dynamic Brake
(a term I coined back in 1999 because no one on r.r-c had a name for them),
wherby permanant magnets on the train sandwitch the nonmagnetic fin to
generate a braking force. Prior to launch, all those fins (each one is on a
FESTO DNC (I think) cylinder) retract, permitting the train free motion. The
idea is that the fins come up after the train takse off - if it gets a short
shot, and rolls back, it hits the brakes and slows to a crawl, instead of
hitting the loading train in the station.
The launch itself is accomplished via a cable drive, connected to a skate on
one end that engages the train and a cable drum on the other. The cable drum
is driven by a bank of somewhere between 16 and 20 (I can't remember)
hydraulic motors, which are driven by a potential charge in giant nitrogen
accumulators. During the off-launch period, the accumulators build up
pressure - for a launch, they dump the fluid into the motors, driving the
drum, throwing the train forward. 0-130 km/h (0-80 mi/h) in about 2.3
seconds! Vavoom!
> There aren't actually very many track elements (the first inversion and • two
> back and forths and then back into the station, I think, but could be
wrong)
Nope, you're right! Ride time is 24 sec - Top hat, 2 overbanks, brakes.
Done!
> The cars look like the cars of Rock'n'Roll Coaster (Disney MGM) cars, that
> coaster is also a linear accelerator, but these care are a lot bigger. At
> least they seem bigger anyway.
Right - RnRC is Vekoma's SLM (Synchronous Linear Motor) coaster, Xcelerator
is manufactured by Intamin.
Iain
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Message has 1 Reply:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Changing the subject... :-)
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| (...) Well I am not sure if the blockbrake in this context is the lift hill drop or the mid track brake location but I had the front seat in the back car (they're 2 seat cars) on my middle ride, which was as close to the very back as my time budget (...) (22 years ago, 25-Jun-02, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
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