Coaster Hero wrote:
spacemountainfan619 wrote:
I am IN LOVE with the fact that there is no opportunity for that "do i really want to do this?" thought before being launched. It just drops right into the launch section, at around 30 MPH. I repeat "THERE IS NO BLOCK BRAKE BEFORE THE LAUNCH!!!!" US parks, are you paying attention...SIX FLAGS I AM ADDRESSING YOU PRIMARILY!! That's how you increase capacity.
Well with hydraulic launch coasters there HAS to be a place for the train to stop so the catch car can attach, be it the station or after a switch track, or something else. Also, wouldn't a block brake increase capacity? Or am I wrong?
I would think it differs from ride to ride.
In theory capacity is completely determined by dispatch time. Therefore is you shorten the ride length (by removing a block) you ensure that there is more chance of that train stacking just before the station. That means there's no wasted time waiting for a train to enter the station to be unloaded/loaded/dispatched. If you're already getting stacking behind the station then removing the block will make no difference.
However, something that can be loaded as quickly as a Eurofighter (or X-Car) may be held in the station as it's waiting for the previous train to clear the next block. In that case a block brake would ensure that this train dispatches quick and therefore clears the station quicker to allow the next train in. Again this would require you to have trains stacked outside the station to be totally efficient, so I guess it often comes down to balancing both of these mechanisms.