Originally posted by alias1236
I didn't know there were 3 cables. Do they all launch the train at the same time or are they spaced along the track?
Yepp. Theirs 2 cables that are hooked up to the front of the catch car. Those are hooked up to the hydraulic motors. The 3rd cable is on the opposite end of the catch car, its hooked up to a electric motor thats just simply used to pull the catch car to the start of the launch track.
They dont all launch at the same time. The first side of the station dispatches the first 2 trains, they get lined up on the launch track. Once their both in their proper block segments, the first train advances onto the advance wheel, and it drops down while the track opens the magnet and lets the launch dog hook onto the train. Thats where the roll back comes from, when the advance wheels are lowered, the train has nothing to keep it in place until its hooked onto the catch car. But anyways, the first car launches, and once it reaches the end of the launch, the catch car is closed and is slowed down behind the track. Then it waits a few seconds, just in case anything should happen, like a rollback. If it is going to roll back, the catch car stays at the end of the station, and the ride locks the brake fins. If not, it just waits a few more seconds so the accumulators can get started loading up the nitrogen/hydraulics. After that, the brakes on the catch car release and the electric motor pulls the catch car back to the end of the track, and the process repeats.