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Can someone give the rundown on wooden coasters and their trains.

like what's the best and what sucks? PTC and Gerstular or whatever what are they?

and GCI(Great Coasters International) CCI (Custom Coasters International) and whoever else. What's the best.

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PTCs are the best trains that are still in operation today. They give a smooth ride, and are very comfortable.

Gerstlauer trains aren't horrible but they can be painful, and they don't have any padding, so when theres lats they can hurt badly if you ram into the side of them quickly [;)]

Millennium Flyer Trains I heard were uncomfortable, but not too bad. I don't know thAT much about these tains.

The best trains of any coaster in the world would probably be the NAD trains, like on Thunderbolt. Nothing made today will compare to them.

Ah yes, woodie trains.

The cadillac of woodie trains, at least to me, the all time best are the National Amusement Devices trains, still in operation on a few woodies, (Thunderbolt at kennywood, Blue streak at Ceauneaut lake, Big Dipper at Camden). They have a buttload of padding, no seat dividers, very high lapbars, making for the greatest air experience, and most of all, they are most all chromed, and very heavy, making for a very fast, solid ride. Of the currently manufactured trains, PTC makes my favorite, though I don't know if ptc's are very reliable mechanically compared to some(I have just heard rumors), but they have alot of padding, are pretty fast, because they are heavy, and have a cool look, that is never out of style. Phoenix, Boulderdash, Raven, Shivering Timbers, Grizzly east, and many more woodies, most actually, run PTCs. Next in the line is The Guerstlauer trains, which I find very uncomfortable, because there is basically no padding, so you(and your family jewels) feel every single bump on the ride. The lats are painful to me also, as youi are slamming into an unpadded metal bar. On the upside, they are the most sturday of the trains, because they are all basically one big welded piece of metal,, and they have cool open fronts. Gci makes the millinnium Flyers that run on all the neweest GCIs, from Roar west to lightning racer, to ozark wildcat. They are very good to look at, like a snake making its way around the track, but I fear they arent very fast, as Lightning racer slowed by the end. I like the padding on them very much, but I think the lapbar is too restrictive. On the bottom end is Morgans, which have absolutely no padding, and are mostly fiberglass and plastic, making for a painful, slow ride. THe 2 Fred church coasters in California have them, as does dragon coaster at Rye playland, but all 3 of those coasters use them pretty well, all things considered. Most other coasters with them arent so lucky. All I can say is ouch.

There are other woodie trains also, these are the main ones, but usually the older the train, the better it will be, they were built heavier back then, and with almost non existant restraints, like Jackrabbits wonderful trains with no locking lapbars. YOu just float and float. Jackrabbit's trains are origional from 1921 as far as I know also.

HOpe this is some help.

As far as woodies themselves go, I don't much prefer GCI, because I think they lack force and airtime, and don't feel as wooden or out of control as I like, but osme love them for their endless graceful swoops and photogenic turns. CCI is the newage savior of wood as far as I am concerned. With masterpieces like Boulderdash, Timbers, Tremors, Raven, Legend, and the bunch like cornball express, no modern designer has come anywh3re close to them for me. THeir coasters usually have insane air, amazingly powerful lateral forces, and are sometimes plainly the best n the world. But My favorite comes from the roaring 20s, Herb Schmeck, quite possibly the most insane man to ever live. He brought us amazing twisters, many of them cracked ribs with the intense lats(Idora Wildcat), though there are no origional Schmeck twisters left, Grizzly at PKD is a great example of what he did. Phoenix is his crowning Glory as far as I am concerned, with 17 moments of air, and 8 ejector hills, I consider it my #1. JOhn Miller came before schnmeck, and his specialty was steep drops that went all the wya to the ground. HIs coastters usually have insane air and sometimes great lats, but are pretty simple. My favorite John MIller is Screechin EAgle at lesourdesvill lake, with so many amazing places of air, and very steep drops. Big Dipper at SFWoA is another good miller. There are more, like andy vettel, who made great twisters, Vernan Keenen, who made the Coney Island Cyclone, and John Allen that made many awesome family coasters, and some intense coasters, like the uncomparable Mister Twister at etlich gardens, and the legend of terror, Harry Traver Himself, with one of his coasters reportadly killing 28 people in its brief life span.

I know more, but dont have the patience to type it all out.

OOOOO how could I forget the master of the turn, Fredrick Church! Amazing twisters like the Airplane coaster, the famed Bobs, and many more dotted the country, all with graceful swooping turns and so I have heard, amazing lateral forces.

its what GCI wishes they could do [;)]

Thanks a lot that helped! nightride you should write a book or something. LOL

But seriously this should be put in a rollercoaster history section.