[Littlegiles]

I took a pic on sky tower but it's pretty dark. I'll see if I can lighten it up.

[chknwing]

watching that video, thats a little scary seeing how it practically fell down with just a little nudge.

[Chris]

A little nudge? Those excavator bulldozers weigh tons.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I'm curious...I was just on Rebel Yell this week and it looks like it hasn't been touched for forty years. Rode okay, but I wonder why TR has needed so much attention (previous rebuilding, the lift hill issue, etc) when RY just keeps on going.

Keep in mind Rebel Yell and Racer are both "little sisters" of Thunder Road. And as we all know the larger a wooden coaster gets, the harder it becomes to maintain (obviously there are countless other variables- climate, et cetera) Maybe the larger size of Thunder Road led to its earlier demise. Also, if it was the lift hill that did it in, do any of you remember how some trains used to get stuck momentarily at the very top of the lift lill(s), especially during the early 2000's. I remember distinctly the trains stalling as if they were struggling to get over the hill. Maybe that could have been associated with these lift hill problems?

Umm Rebel yell was built prior to thunder road and their layouts were pretty much identical. At least TR's death was quick,we still have to suffer with seeing shockwave SBNO until they start tearing her down after labor day..

[LocalYokel]

watching that video, thats a little scary seeing how it practically fell down with just a little nudge.

They use the claw to cut the supports in a pattern and then pull the track down. It wouldn't fall like that without the significant weakening.

[redrunner97]

Umm Rebel yell was built prior to thunder road and their layouts were pretty much identical. At least TR's death was quick,we still have to suffer with seeing shockwave SBNO until they start tearing her down after labor day..

Yeah but Thunder Road was taller than Rebel Yell and Racer. I think that was what the "little sister" comment was referring to.

[arby]

^^exactly. The video doesn't show the hours spent strategically breaking the main support beams. They edited the footage and only showed the highlights in an easy to watch short video.

[FamousAmos]

watching that video, thats a little scary seeing how it practically fell down with just a little nudge.

They use the claw to cut the supports in a pattern and then pull the track down. It wouldn't fall like that without the significant weakening.

If you were to watch the video of them tearing down the turnaround, you can see where they had cut the supports.

[Chris]

They edited the footage and only showed the highlights in an easy to watch short video.

[kirkgun]

I wonder if the reason that TR didn't last as long as the other (nearly identical) siblings was due to the trains that TR ran for the first 5 years. Those older, and much heavier trains certainly accelerated the wear and tear on the structure (and possibly the foundations also). That's why they shortened the original trains, and then simply replaced them after 5 years. The stage may have already been set at that point for pretty short life span.

[chknwing]

^ that sounds plausible if not for the fact tr was just rebuilt.

[tarheel1231]

^ that sounds plausible if not for the fact tr was just rebuilt.

I think he might be talking about the lift hill damage.

[gabed]

Gone.

image.jpg (797.64KiB)Viewed 3702 times

[tarheel1231]

If the cost of rebuilding Thunder Road's lift hills is what did it in, why would they have to rebuild it in the first place when other parks aren't usually replacing lift hills on wooden coasters?

[fishels]

Can someone post a working video please? The other one is private.