July 25, 2012
They are located on opposite sides of the state. One is steel, one is wood. The first was built in the 50’s, the second in the 70’s. What are they? The sooperdooperLooper at Hersheypark and the Comet at Waldameer. What do they have in common? Both coasters received magnetic brake retrofits from Velocity Magnetics this year. What else do they have in common? They were great projects to be a part of.
The sooperdooperLooper at Hershey was a challenge because there were a lot of unknowns. We added new brakes and new trains at the same time, and the trains we replaced were not the originals, so a lot of on-site measurement and work had to be done before the project even started. However, the brake application went well and we even made the entry into the station brakes that much smoother. The braking application itself was an easy one; we swapped out the old Schwarzkopf brakes for actuating and static brakes that stopped the train without friction. The only tricky part was keeping the air gap aligned. The air gap is the space between the fin and the magnetic brake and the closer the fin is to the brake, the more braking force is applied to the train. The SDL is unique in that the brake run is actually a span across the creek. This resulted in a lot of structural vibration as the train crossed the track, so we had mount the brakes as precisely as possible. Check out several pictures from the project at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rideentertainmentgroup/sets/72157630555669258/ .
Waldameer saw the debut of Velocity’s newest invention- a magnetic braking system that replaces skid brakes. Using a single-sided brake application the classic wooden Junior Coaster is slowed by the magnets and then stopped by a propriety material mounted on a new braking frame. The result is a smooth, comfortable stop that offers the feel of a classic wooden coaster.
Magnetic brakes are all about improving the safety factor and the guest experience. On the Schwarzkopf ride they definitely improved the experience because the old system had to provide a harsher stop in order to offer the safety factory. However, this was not the case at Waldameer. The classic “skid brake” technology the ride came with worked great; we just gave it an updated system. While the maintenance team will notice the difference, it is our hope the guests ever will.