PDA

View Full Version : What's with the Cranes at DCA?



splbound
05-09-2002, 08:07 AM
From my front yard I can see a very tall crane looming over Screaming at DCA. When I drove to the store last night at about 6:30 I could see a shorter one on the other side of the track as well. It appears that either a large portion of the track is being repaired/replaced, or they are putting in something very large in that area? Anyone know what is going on?

This is not to be confused with the cranes over at the Flick construction area.....

Nigel2
05-09-2002, 09:10 PM
Well they could be building more storage areas that are already there but that is still unusual anyway.

corrinhorn
05-09-2002, 09:19 PM
I think it might be for TOT, because if you go to the Blast show, you can see the hole for it...

Nigel2
05-09-2002, 09:41 PM
Yeah, but they probably wouldn't put them over by CS, plus have they started installing supports yet?

corrinhorn
05-09-2002, 09:46 PM
Maybe the Cranes are there for storage until they are ready to use them???:confused:

Nigel2
05-09-2002, 09:48 PM
I think Spl is closer to the truth since they may have been doing work on the coaster last night, but who knows?

corrinhorn
05-09-2002, 09:58 PM
Maybe, I was just throwing out an Idea, I know that they are working on the TOT, so I don't know...it seems logical, but I haven't been to the park for a while so I guess I can't really say

TerryTiger
05-10-2002, 08:00 AM
I was there Wednesday afternoon and everything was normal. Went to a movie at DTD and when I was leaving (about 7 PM) saw the cranes flanking the 2nd lift hill. My guess is a coaster train got stuck in the loop or didn't make it thru the loop so needed to be lifted off the tracks. I'd be interested to know if the cranes are still there or gone by now.

justagrrl
05-10-2002, 08:20 AM
I was under the impression that the train can't get stuck mid loop?

driftwood714
05-10-2002, 11:37 AM
It can't.

TerryTiger
05-10-2002, 09:01 PM
Originally posted by justagrrl
I was under the impression that the train can't get stuck mid loop?

It's not likely but it is possible. It happened somewhere back east last year when a wheel assembly broke on a train and it came to a screeching halt upside down in the loop.

TP2000
05-10-2002, 10:52 PM
I know the answer!

I was at DCA tonight and Screamin' had a big sign in front of it that said "This Attractions Closes Today at 8:45pm". DCA was schedlued to close at 9:00pm. I asked the Screamin' CM why and was told "For maintenance on the track". I told the CM that sounded "ominous", and she offered to have her manager who was neaby come and explain. I said sure, why not. The manager guy came over and very bluntly told me that there would be some welding going on that night and they would be bringing giant cranes in as soon as the Park closed. One crane would be "backstage", but one crane would need to be "onstage". As soon as the Electrical Parade ended that night, they would need to drive a large crane down the boardwalk and park it in front of the loop to help with the overnight welding.

I then asked why 15 minutes early would make a difference, and the manager guy said that they have it timed down to the exact minute and they actually need those 15 minutes to get it all done by morning. They will be working on it all night long, and this has been going on all week.

Um, okay.

Sure enough, when we were leaving Downtown Disney around 11:00pm that night there were was a HUGE crane up behind Screamin's big hill and loop, and another smaller crane up in front of the loop. You could see this clearly from the Downtown Disney parking lot.

This was Friday night, May 10th, at around 11:00pm.

Al Lutz had some stuff on his update a few months ago about how messed up Screamin' is. Is it really that bad? Or is major welding and early closures on a 15 month old roller coaster common?

TP2000
05-10-2002, 11:02 PM
By the way, I live on a hill in Villa Park and can see Disneyland and DCA great from my deck using a telescope. After thinking about it, I just peeked through the telescope after I posted this last message and I focused in on Screamin'.

Sure enough... the cranes are moving slowly on both sides of the big hill and loop, the coaster is flooded with searchlights, and I can even see the sparks of a welders gun near the loop through the telescope.

They are doing something to the track on the loop using welding torches tonight, it's very easy to see.

Nigel2
05-10-2002, 11:17 PM
Mabey an inspector is coming soon so they are just making sure it is as strong as it could be

JeffG
05-11-2002, 02:40 AM
Al Lutz had some stuff on his update a few months ago about how messed up Screamin' is. Is it really that bad? Or is major welding and early closures on a 15 month old roller coaster common?

Repairing stress-related cracks is a standard part of roller coaster maintenance. This really isn't anything that unusual. Considering that they kept the ride operating when they knew these repairs needed to be done, I can't imagine they were anything other than routine preventative maintenance.

The process is probably a bit more dramatic at Disney than at most other parks since they stay open every day year round and are so hesitant to do this kind of maintenance when guests are present in the park.


-Jeff

Matterhorn Fan
05-11-2002, 06:35 AM
Originally posted by TerryTiger
It's not likely but it is possible. It happened somewhere back east last year when a wheel assembly broke on a train and it came to a screeching halt upside down in the loop. You must be referring to the Zoomerang at Lake Compounce. This came up in another thread: Click Here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?threadid=773). You'll have to watch the newscast on the page that I posted a link to (I just checked and it's still there) in order to see exactly what happened since the photos aren't that great. Unfortunately, the pictures on the link that Ralph posted seem to have been taken down (the same thing happened on the Boomerang at Knott's about a week or so earlier).

I wouldn't call that upside down, but it's darn close.