Gravity Group To Retrofit #1 Wooden Coaster With New Trains

Santa Claus, IN – Holiday World & Splashin' Safari's Voyage roller coaster will be rolling smoother and faster for the 2010 season. The #1 ranked wooden coaster will be retrofitted this winter with new trains engineered by The Gravity Group, who also designed this record-breaking roller coaster.

The Gravity Group's brand-new Timberliner trains are expected to improve the ride experience on the #1 Wooden Coaster in the World – The Voyage.

"When the engineers at The Gravity Group told us they designed Timberliner trains with The Voyage in mind, they definitely got our attention" says Holiday World & Splashin' Safari president Will Koch. "The Voyage is extreme and we want to keep it that way season after season. These new trains will help a lot."

Koch says the Timberliner's wheels are engineered to steer through curves as they move along the coaster track, creating a smoother ride and less wear and tear on the track. The seats are ergonomically designed for greater comfort, including an exclusive seat-suspension design. The padded seats will also accommodate wider-hipped and longer-legged riders.

"Since the trains will 'track' better, riders will experience a much smoother Voyage," says Koch. "That also means there will be less 'rolling friction,' so the ride will quite possibly be even faster when it reopens in May." The Gravity Group's engineers tested a prototype Timberliner at Holiday World last spring.

The Voyage is 1.2 miles long and provides a record 24.2 seconds of "air time." This steel-structure wooden coaster, has been named the #1 Wooden Coaster in the World by Amusement Today for the past three years.

The Voyage's new trains with each have fourteen cars, seating two abreast per car, for a total of 28 passengers. The trains will be manufactured in Indianapolis and were designed at The Gravity Group's headquarters in Cincinnati.