How does Cold Weather Effect a Roller Coaster Ride?

[Galvan]

Seeing how right now at 1:03am on October 2nd 2003 its about 33 degrees outside. I was wondering how and if cold weather effects a roller coaster. Do the older coasters i.e. Demon,AM Eagle and Whizzer need to be "warmed up"? does the Weather, cold weather that is effect the ride?Post Here~Mike

[coasterswimgurl12]

yes, cold weather does effect a rollercoaster, but im not sure how either. but i know for a fact that Deja Vu is definatly effected by cold weather, which sucks because thats when the ride starts to get slower through the boommerang and the loop.

[da rcman2001]

They run slower in colder temperatures. Other things that affect it are the weight of the trains ( if they are full they will go faster), and if the track is wet or oily, it will go faster because theres less friction.

[greatamerica2003]

Lets think back to physics......When molecules are cold, they move slower than they do when they are warm. This explains a lot about how rides operate when there is a temperature change.Several factors contribute to the speed of a ride in the cold. Grease in the bearings of the wheels has just about solidified in the low temperatures, the wheels tend to stick to the rails until the temperature of the ride components rises (even though its a negligible change) Brakes tend to close quicker and open slower until they warm up. The brake pads are very cold so they stick to the brake fins on a coaster train, until the heat up.Friction heats all of these things up, from brakes to bearings to the track itself. When we get there early in the morning, there is a marked difference in the way a ride responds. Not only the coasters, but the flat rides as well. After about 45 minutes of continuous cycling the rides operate normally.And ALL the rides react differently to the weather, and they don't just have to be the older rides. The newer ones react to the weather as well.Deja Vu's weather problems are in its train and the wheel bearings. That explains the heaters.The rides do not have to be "warmed up" per-se prior to loading guests. There are no inherent saftey risks with running a cold ride.

[stolen_starz]

Very True. GreatAmerica2003, you either took chemistry or physics, or are just a logical thinker. But anything having to do with molecules is chemistry.. motion has to do with physics. Well I guess you could say that it's Physics since it's the motion of the molecules. I guess it's both now that I think about it. But yeah, you are right about how it's effected. I have taken physics and chem in college and what you said couldn't be more right.