I get that they have connections that keep them on the track. I’m talking about insane ones that aren’t always consistent, like the Top Thrill Dragster or Kingda Ka. These huge roller coasters have very minimal instances of accidents, yet aren’t even consistent at getting over the apex (instances of rollback and having to try again). So my question is how are these made to be reliable and how are they maintained even when in use a lot?
In: Engineering
In my younger years, I worked in a theme park on multiple coasters.
To put it as ELI5 as possible, big coasters use computers to detect where a car is and brakes to stop them. Just like trains, they use a block system to identify parts of the track a train is and stop another train entering that section. That’s why on some coasters you might suddenly hit a straight bit of track and slow s little bit. These are called “trim brakes”. If a car is in the section ahead you’ll come to a complete stop, otherwise you’ll slow a tiny bit and continue. The lift hill is also used as a block section, so you might stop right at the top of the hill for a short while. It’s not broken, it just means it’s not clear to be able to run the section amd come to a safe stop before encountering another car.
Coasters used to use physical clamping brakes, but now use magnetic braking more often. Ones like you mentioned, the launch coasters like Top Thrill Dragster, will launch, then immediately behind metal fins will pop up. These are part of the magnetic brakes, so if it rolls back, they will slow it down before returning in to the station. Do a YT search for launch coaster launch and you’ll see these fins pop up behind the car.
Even more modern coasters use LIM or Linear Induction Motors. They are permanently up and can be used to propel or brake a car.
These are white fins in the middle of the track. If you look at a POV of Tautatis coaster, there’s a part where it uses LIM to increase its speed over multiple passes after a track switch. If the switch failed, these same fins would be able to stop it. Otherwise the same fins propel it too speed it can make it over the hill on its second pass.
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