Batman backwards this year??!

[jwlnroe]

ok so will they do this with all the trains or just one?? I love riding Batman but no way will I ride it going backwards its fast enough going forwards let alone not being able to see where your going lol.. anyone know anymore info on this??

[FParker185]

It will run 2 7 car trains rather than the current 8. Trains will consist of brand new chassis with the existing seats bolted onto them. It will be backwards for opening day and will last for a limited time, probably til early-mid summer I'd expect. When it's over with, Batman will close for approximately a week in order for them to remove all the seats and attach them to the old forward facing chassis and of course get those onto the track.

[ragingbull1331]

Has a B&M ever run backwards before?

[FParker185]

^Nope then, ^^ No other B&M has run backwards before, but from what I've heard the mini hyper at Universal Japan, Hollywood Dream will be running backwards this year and open before Batman.

Also, don't look now, but there will be a 3'rd. Click on the graphic "There's a sting in the tail"
http://www.thorpepark.com/rides/the-swarm.aspx

[Ace]

It will run 2 7 car trains rather than the current 8. Trains will consist of brand new chassis with the existing seats bolted onto them. It will be backwards for opening day and will last for a limited time, probably til early-mid summer I'd expect. When it's over with, Batman will close for approximately a week in order for them to remove all the seats and attach them to the old forward facing chassis and of course get those onto the track.

FParker, while I have known you to be a intelligent poster and usually right about these things, I need to ask, are you sure they are new chassis?

It makes no business sense to have two sets of chassis for a singe ride especially if this is going to be a limited time only thing.

Additionally, if they were going to provide new chassis I would think they would fit them to the ride and use all 8 rows?

My best theory on the 7 rows is that they are not going to change where the train parks and the 8th row will be too far back to safely load. Thoughts?

[DejaVu2001]

^ Watch the 2nd video in the No Coaster thread. The park specifically says all new chassis made by B&M and 7 cars. The new chassis is why it's a given that this one set of chassis will rotate around the entire chain.

For the 7 cars, that is an issue of the floor platen combined with the restraint platen. There is no way you can make an 8 car train fit into both of those facing backwards.

[Ilovthevu']

Yeah, there are a lot of Batman the Rides out there, and the Fiesta Texas's Goliath that came from SFNO.

One at:
SFMM
SFOG
SFStL
SFOT
SFFT as I said above
SFGAdv
+
SFGAm

With these new chasises, they probably aren't even buying new seats / harnesses. It would be a lot of work, but are they even transferring the wheels from the older vehicles these parks have to the new chasises? It would save a lot of money in wheels. How much is a wheel even? Even if each wheel was $20, and you have 96 wheels, that's quite a bit of money, and you are having 2 trains backwards.

[DejaVu2001]

^ They are only getting new chassis. The old wheels, bogies, seats, seat posts, and harnesses will be placed on to the new chassis.

[FParker185]

I don't know any other details other than they are new chassis, but I would think they'll come with the wheels/bogies. Would make conversion at the next park(s) go much easier and faster.

Would be cool if after every Batman in the chain has it's chance to run backwards (4 years if my math is correct with 8 of them around and the ability to do 2 per year) if the chassis ended up permanently at SFGAm

Also SF would kill for $20 wheels. Last I saw(year 2002) a complete B&M wheel was $1100.


Bottom price is just for the Nylon tire, top price is illegible but the caption on the directing page clarified it says $1100

[Muck Finnesota]

Would be cool if after every Batman in the chain has it's chance to run backwards (4 years if my math is correct with 8 of them around and the ability to do 2 per year) if the chassis ended up permanently at SFGAm

I think that's a great idea. They can dump it near the police car or junkyard area that the queue runs through and use it as theming.

[Coaster Justin]

I'd love if they did 4 seat forwards, 4 seat backwards trains.

[DejaVu2001]

^ They could never do that, as soon as any combination of cars are turned backwards, 7 becomes the maximum number of cars that can fit in the station. So it would have to be 4 and 3 or 3 and 4.

[Coaster Justin]

^ They could never do that, as soon as any combination of cars are turned backwards, 7 becomes the maximum number of cars that can fit in the station. So it would have to be 4 and 3 or 3 and 4.

I wonder why B&M only allowed 7 cars backwards instead of 8? Maybe something with the weight or mechanics.

[DejaVu2001]

^Mechanics. With backwards cars, an 8 car train can't fit over the floor while still within the mechanism that locks and unlocks the restraints.

[FParker185]

eh, might as well post this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... HXeRzknikc

[FParker185]

can't find the thread, but this is good enough, I mentioned and received questionable belief about the asymetrical bolt pattern that hold the seats onto the chassis on B&M inverts, finally got solid indisputable proof

[Ace]

Thank you I see what you mean now!

[Millennium310]

I'll be going this weekend for a private event. Does anyone think Batman will be running yet?

[DejaVu2001]

Maybe. If it is, expect only 1 train to be running.

[BURTONxBLUNT]

have they even test ran it yet? because i can maybe see it being open but they may train employees this weekend on batman since they have not yet. correct me if i am wrong

[DejaVu2001]

^ Best case scenario, namtaB tests late this week with 1 train

[BURTONxBLUNT]

ok well one more thing will batman have 2 trains opening day? i know its alot of questions but if its not going to have 2 trains definitely going to that ride first

[DejaVu2001]

No idea on that one. I'm sure they want it, but I'm sure they also want X Flight to have two. Hard to say without knowing exactly how far a long they are on each train.

[BURTONxBLUNT]

oh boy opening day will be an interesting one. i hope they are hard at work at successfully getting two train operations on batman it will be one he** of a line opening day with one train on batman

[DeathbyDinn]

The last update they gave was on April 17th when new seats came in. Wheel covers also weren't on yet, but those don't really matter. Assuming the chassis are already on the track it should be ok as the park said it takes two weeks to switch the ride from backwards to forwards. Hopefully the park will give some sort of update soon. I know they said they want it to be their big season starter, but some reassurance would be nice.