Diamondback's track is bending on drop!

Well, I was watching videos of Diamondback on YouTube when I came a across this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8zlgXL4 ... re=related

Is this normal, I have never in my life seen a track bend like that!
Was this done on purpose?

Woah! That's a little discomforting, but I'm sury B&M knows what they're doing.

its designed to do that, if you ever go to Cedar Point, look at Wicked twisters towers or TTD's slope going up the tower.

All coasters flex like that, including steel ones. That's what, shown here, the little area in between the track connector and support is for. It's probably just the angle of that shot that makes the flexing seem so violent. But if there is actually a problem they can always add another support.

[gouldy]

what a silly head.

if it didn't do that, it would simply sheer and fall to pieces, I know that I would rather have it flex!

Steel is supposed to bend and flex, it's one of it's best properties and a material used in construction.

Yup, even steel coasters bend and flex all the time. Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCr_c8ube_c

[gouldy]

^ wow, that's quite excessive. I thought that Spinball Whizzers chainlift and first brake run were bad. But that loop continues to wobble from one car until the next!

That's pretty ridiculous haha. Fahrenheit entering the pretzel loop does the exact same thing.

this is sort of a bad example, and I am too lazy to post a vid, but if you take a look at Maverick's horseshoe roll (i think), you can see the track bend a pretty good amount. It does not bend quite as much as Diamondback because it is so heavily supported, but thats just to show that all steel coasters, and actually all coasters for that matter, do bend. It's also a lot of force being applied on the track. A train that weighs a couple tons ripping through a turn at 3.5 G's is a crap load of force. If the track didn't bend, I would be surprised.

Rattler...Jesus. I had no idea it did that. That's incredible. I knew Spongebob, Wicked Twister, etc. swayed; they're supposed to. But Rattler, that's much more than I'd ever expect.

The rattler bend is awesome, especially in the back row.

But yeah, most steel coasters do it at some point or another. I know Poltergeist, as much as its supported, sways at the high turn after the 3rd inversion.

everything flex's, if it didnt think how uncomfortable it would be to ride. togo, prifari ect. they make there structures riged thats why there painful as well as the lack of good design work.

the most flexing i seen is on the big one in the pleasure beach, the lift and drop had been designed to move 6 meters each way for the wind. thats one hell of alot. on a windy day you can stand underit and watch it rocking. its pretty scary

[gouldy]

it's nothing compared with what skyscrapers are designed to do.

True sky scrapers bend in excess of 10 meters.

I was in the Sears Tower observation tower on a windy day once. It literally felt like a boat it swayed so much. It was pretty cool, but scary to stand near the window and look down as you swayed.

The Gateway Arch is fun to be in on a windy day.

This is known as structural engineering.

Yes, it is.

I call shenanigans on a 20 foot sway on The Big One. Rattler is easily the worst I've seen with track swaying, and that's not even close to how much you said The Big One sways. I'd have to see a video or some kind of document/blueprint to believe that one.

[nutznboltz]

I see this happening all the time when I am at my Six Flags, The Boss track moves big time when the trains are in the helix, I love watching the track do that, it always freaks out first time riders..heh heh

^Oh, The Boss does it big time on the helix, but you mainly notice the supports doing it. EK bends a little too.

Originally posted by dcs221

I call shenanigans on a 20 foot sway on The Big One. Rattler is easily the worst I've seen with track swaying, and that's not even close to how much you said The Big One sways. I'd have to see a video or some kind of document/blueprint to believe that one.

ill try and get some video of ti swaying as im down there for a few days in a couple of weeks. it has been mde to sway that much though as blackpool is known for the winter months having very visious storms and high winds battering it. if it sways more than 1 meter though they close the ride.
each of the suppoerts on the big one is split in 3 and is designed on not only the steal movement but near the top it has a hydrolic piviot to allow such movemet. when you compare it to ratteler this is swaying extreamly slowly in the wind where as the rattler is moving very vilently, its a diffrent type of flex to be designed into a tower. think about how thin those supports actually are and how much they support up 250ft or so, its a very thin structure for a very large coaster.

[Coasterkidmwm]

It's not like it's intamin and will need emergency supports like half of their rides.

Originally posted by corn4ahead

its designed to do that, if you ever go to Cedar Point, look at Wicked twisters towers or TTD's slope going up the tower.

You know that Wicked twister serious had on of its tower dissassembled this off season because it gets warped.

I hadn't thought of looking when I was there, but I'm sure TTD's sway is wicked. That train is around 7 - 7.5 tons (including riders), and at that speed and force, there must be substantial give in the structure for swaying.