Question about upstop wheels on woodies......

> I was just curious about whether or not they
> had metal track under there for the upstop
> wheels to run on or if they just ran right
> on the wood. I would assume that there would
> be tracking under there because otherwise
> the wood would be torn up. Can anybody
> answer that question for me? Thanks Iceman

Yes woodies are tracked on the top, side and bottom part of the wood. Older woodies didnt have wheels on the bottom. Instead they used a small peise of metal that would slide right across bare wood. I am sure that this was changed due to maitenence.

Hope this helped

Mike

> I was just curious about whether or not they
> had metal track under there for the upstop
> wheels to run on or if they just ran right
> on the wood. I would assume that there would
> be tracking under there because otherwise
> the wood would be torn up. Can anybody
> answer that question for me? Thanks Iceman

Yes the underneath track on all woodies have steel track. Infact on most woodies in theory you could run the car upside down but there are problems with: The wheels alignig to the track(upstops would be to short) the car hitting the track. People falling out in some cases. You get the idea. But the upstops would be just as good a support.

Yes woodies are tracked on the top, side and
> bottom part of the wood. Older woodies didnt
> have wheels on the bottom. Instead they used
> a small peise of metal that would slide
> right across bare wood. I am sure that this
> was changed due to maitenence. Hope this
> helped

Personally, I liked the older trains a lot more. The Eagle at SFGAm actually had the upstops extended so that it could safely "fly off the track."

Personally, I think that the upstops were changed to wheels because the metal on metal would've been pretty ugly for the track itself, not so much the coaster cars. I agree that it has to be because of maintenence somehow...

mrdan

> I was just curious about whether or not they
> had metal track under there for the upstop
> wheels to run on or if they just ran right
> on the wood. I would assume that there would
> be tracking under there because otherwise
> the wood would be torn up. Can anybody
> answer that question for me? Thanks Iceman

Actually wood coaster have steel track under noeath only in areas were they are needed. For instance, the Lift, Bottom of drops, station... to name a few do not have metal tracking under neath. This is done as a cost savings measure and does not impair the safety of the ride. The crest of the lift has underneath tracking because of the extra pull from the back car as is ascends the crest.

Name withheld due to cinfidentiallity. Iworkthere

Actually wood coaster have steel track under
> noeath only in areas were they are needed.
> For instance, the Lift, Bottom of drops,
> station... to name a few do not have metal
> tracking under neath. This is done as a cost
> savings measure and does not impair the
> safety of the ride. The crest of the lift
> has underneath tracking because of the extra
> pull from the back car as is ascends the
> crest. Name withheld due to
> cinfidentiallity. Iworkthere

I'll second that and don't think there is any confidentialty concern here. Understeel, as it is known in the trade, is put on the obvious places during construction. These would be the places where negative G's are predicted. After the ride runs for a while, the underside is inspected and more understeel is added, often for several years after the ride breaks in. You can tell where the understeel is because it is held on by bolts that come up from the bottom and right through the two-layered "lip" of wood. Although these are almost impossible to see from the train, even in the front seat, sometimes they can be glimpsed from good vantage points. As to the underwheels chewing up the wood, this will happen eventually, but the telltale sign that more understeel is needed are shiny black marks under the lip caused by the underwheels running on the wood. Phoenix at Knoebels has tons of understeel, although probably still on less than 40% of the ride. When walking the track over the low hills, you can see that the top steel is rusted (since the wheels never hit it), while the understeel is worn smooth.