DaptoFunlandGuy

...and how is the lock on scooby released? My money is on either a key, or a switch. I've also made the assumption that the button to release the brakes on Arkham must be held in for the entire time the train takes to clear the brake run (the button holds the brakes open and closes the second the button is released) - this is consistent with many other coasters i'm familiar with. If my assumptions are in the right ballpark - it seems to me that it would be 'safer' to cross Arkham than scooby. (one additional point on safety between the two also - Scooby requires the operator to step across the live track - there is a greater risk of slipping \ falling through the track itself, becoming stuck, wedged, or mangled by kicker wheels. Arkham is like walking across a very narrow street with high gutters. deceptively flat, and unimpeded.

I'm making a very big assumption on the direction those footings go... and assuming that it is leading into (ie: before) the loop

yeah I get that scooby has an actual control input that locks the track out. It's necessary for the operation of the ride in its current setup - but it still relies on an operator to put input in - making each as infallible as the other.

Assuming the pieces i saw being brought in were the lead-in to the loop, I would suggest the tabs face in the direction of travel.

Which piece @Ryande16? You mean piece number 50? I would assume it would be right next to the first piece #49. I didn't stick around to watch them drop it - the first piece took a good 20 minutes and i'd already stayed much longer than I had planned.

but the flaw exists in both Arkham and Scooby - (assuming Arkham requires manual input to advance beyond brake - why isn't this answered yet!!!???!!!???) - each of them requires an operator to do or not do something to prevent a collision. An operator could just as easily release the track from the final brake on Arkham as they could accidentally not engage the crossover function on scooby. So saying scooby is different because it has a crossover switch is bunkum, and giving a blanket 'nobody should cross the ride path ever' doesn't work when we already know that Scooby requires it, and Arkham (or as i've said earlier, possibly when it was Lethal) has done it. So unless you can bring in something like pressure switches, or pedestrian sensing fire eyes as an automatic, operator-not-required safety function on scooby, the same flaws you decry on Arkham also exist on Scooby.

You're welcome @Glubbo. I'm usually stuck at work watching on from the Parkz forums, but decided to take the month of April off, just because i could (no plans whatsoever) - so when I heard footings went in yesterday, I thought i'd take a trip down. word of warning though - remember it is school holidays. I had good intentions of finally trying out Arkham's VR today, but the 45 minute wait time was a bit much (it was back into the themed asylum 'rooms' prior to the ramp). I did manage a quick trip on Doomsday thanks to the single rider line... but that was about all i did - apart from shooting a few action shots of Superman. As for the 'loops' revelation, I very much believe that these guys don't understand the finer aspects of coaster elements - and anything that does a full circle (helix, loop, roll etc) would likely be classed as a loop to them - hell Dreamworld uses that logic on the Wedgie.

so you're saying scooby is a death trap waiting to happen then?

I'm very well aware of risk management. What i'm saying (and we still need @Spotty or the like to confirm) is that if the ride is still set up for multiple trains, and requires manual operator intervention to advance the train from the final brake run to the station, then the block would be both cleared, and secured for pedestrian access immediately after the train departed the station. the hazard WOULD be eliminated by having the same 'crossover' compliance that scooby does... ensuring the control room operator is aware of the crossing, and doesn't advance the train beyond the final brake run until the operator crossing is clear.

As you can see in my above post, the new road is now open, with the main driveway closed. And here is what it looks like overhead - the main driveway is now blocked (at the red line) with traffic directed to turn right and follow the fenceline. Yellow line is the limit of guest parking - and there is a traffic warden (ops cast member) directing guests \ deliveries \ construction traffic - yellow line for guests, orange line for deliveries, and the gateway to the construction storage area is about the same place. Green line at the bottom is where fencing has been removed so vehicles can gain access to the site. The temporary fencing lining the north side of the driveway (west of the red line) was in the process of being removed today, so the driveway area is likely to remain closed until construction is complete.

Photo upload complete! Here are some better quality shots of today's action: The crew were just finishing zip tying this to the fence as I drove in: Here's a shot nobody has seen before... heaps of track laid out in the carpark! But what colour is it? Took a few coaster-nerd close-ups to capture some of the details. On the right hand side, you'll note piece number 50. More on this later: Random close-up Mack crates that escaped the spray-cans: What would appear to be station footings were on a flatbed this morning. By lunchtime, the truck had moved into the station area: Station area footings already in place: Track pieces getting a light sanding to the joins: Another random footing picture - i took this because it was interesting that it seems like the numbering system didn't quite match up at some point... Over the far corner, near the highway: Halfway down MW driveway - these pieces all seem to line up perfectly for an incline. Looking at the footings around it, it would appear to be the entry into a loop: Its hard to make out, the the tallest footing in the above picture looks almost identical to that in this picture of the loop on Flash (the one where the two cranes cross over near the ground (to the right of the guy in the foreground)): The first piece is lifted from the storage area to be taken into the ride envelope: And the lucky winner is....Track piece number 49: At this point, the dogman notices something about the track - the connection points have small nodules (if it was made of wood i'd call it a dowel - to make a dowel joint) at one end of the track piece. Just as they are about to set the piece down, they pull back and swing the piece 180 degrees, to put the nodules at the opposite end. It was hard to hear them over the machinery, but by the sounds of things, these nodules all need to point in the same direction: And it's in, and ready to be lifted into place: Remember track piece number 50? From the third photo in this post? TADA! That's all I had time for today. I daresay that more pieces will make it in there this afternoon. Overheard: This was repeated by several people at different places around the site. Fairly confident someone dropping by tomorrow might capture that moment! Grain of salt time. He wasn't in a dippin' dots uniform, but I was a bit surprised given everything has been kept so hush hush that this sort of info would get shared at random through a construction fence. The two loops business is especially dubious, but the way he described what he called the 'second' loop, sounded more like an overbanked curve. The then went on to call out an element as a 'third loop' which sounded more like a helix. Thats all from me - much as I would like to, I won't be down tomorrow - so anyone who hasn't been down yet, head down tomorrow and park right near the driveway entrance for a good chance to see the first pieces lifted into place...

Track piece #49 is the first track within the envelope. Looks for form part of a loop. Second piece is going in now... Second piece is #50

that's a very different situation.

so the important fact missing from this discussion is whether the ride system advances the train into the station automatically. If it does, then a risk exists. If it requires manual operator input to advance the train, then its perfectly ok to do it. We need @Spotty

yeah but didn't they change their water heating infrastructure this season?

I don't think we've ever seen a single construction topic on these boards take 123 pages before we have actual ride pieces installed.... thank god for something new to discuss.

At the risk of derailing the thread - call it curiosity here - but IS Arkham programmed to bring the trains straight back into the station? I know in the Lethal days, as it was programmed two-train operation, the final brake run wouldn't advance automatically. I know some other coasters where the final brake run is a dead man brake, and the operator has to hold the release button in to allow the train to clear it. I must say I don't remember WHEN i've seen operators do it, but I have - and it may very well have been in the old lethal days... but for me, I can't see them reprogramming the entire ride logic when the trains were upgraded - sure it'd need adjustment, but why take out code if you don't need to? That said - if a single-train coaster has departed the station to a degree where anti-rollbacks prevent the train from re-entering from the front, even if the brakes are automatic-park enabled, you've got a fair bit of time to take the one-step-down-two-steps-over-one-step-up journey across the station - and even if you somehow got stuck halfway across, the train re-enters at a snails pace, and there is plenty of distance between the floor and the cars that you aren't going to get hit. I really don't see the problem with doing it, TBH, as long as you have agreed procedures to do it. Worst case, if you stumble \ get stuck, the operator can always hit the e-stop at the final brake run, but really, chances of that happening are beyond minute.

I've seen plenty do it. During single train operation, once the train has cleared the station, there really is zero risk. Sure they could trip and fall, but with the floor lowered, they'd be in no danger of collision. So long as they didn't do it near the front \ rear edges, I can't see why they couldn't. I've seen track crossings at Scooby too. The operator gets the attention of the control room, crosses their arms over their chest and waits for permission to proceed. You can cross a live track provided certain safety points have been met. Given Arkham has the floor, I really can't see the issue.

sounds like i need to make a trip down there tomorrow to poke around.

I usually like to sit in the back on Arkham (or Arnhem as it's now known). I place my stuff in a box that i have a sight line to. When we arrive back in the station, i'm usually pretty quick to disembark, and i have my hands on my bag before most people are out of their seats. You do realise, they can walk across the lowered floor right?

What isn't? The only figures we have for this ride are from RCDB, which has shown incorrect figures for this precise issue in the past, and updated them once construction was complete.

Chances are, you're going to have your bag, wallet, phone, keys, sunglasses etc - you're not just leaving a credit card in the box. Besides - one train operation - not really a problem, hey?

I disagree. Cash handling in theme parks is something where a lot of faith is placed in the operator. Many skill games and such have no registers or surveillance of any kind. You need to trust your staff - and it would be a surefire way to lose your job if you were pocketing it - plus way too many ways to get caught with constant staff and guests within close proximity... so i doubt anyone would risk it, ESPECIALLY since the VR software is probably capable of downloading how many times it has played - which would be an easy way to audit VR usage.

Yeah I can't see how anyone could have the described bloody injury with OTSRs like that. it does sound a bit overblown doesn't it?