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Texas Giant

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New Texas Giant
150px
The NEW Texas Giant.jpg
The New Texas Giant features steel track and overbanked turns
Previously known as Texas Giant
Six Flags Over Texas
Park section Texas
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Status Operating
Opening date April 22, 2011 (2011-04-22)
Cost US$10 million
General statistics
Manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer Alan Schilke
Model I-Box – Custom
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 153 ft (47 m)
Drop 147 ft (45 m)
Length 4,200 ft (1,300 m)
Speed 65 mph (105 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 3:25
Max vertical angle 79°
Capacity 1600 riders per hour
G-force 4.2
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Trains 3 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
New Texas Giant at RCDB
Pictures of New Texas Giant at RCDB

The New Texas Giant is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. The ride opened in 2011 after an 18-month refurbishment of the former Texas Giant wooden roller coaster. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the New Texas Giant stands 153 ft (47 m) tall and features a 79° drop stretching 147 ft (45 m). The ride also features multiple turns banked up to 115° and over 4,506 feet (1,373 m) of track.

The original Texas Giant was manufactured by Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers. For more than a decade after its opening in 1990, the Texas Giant remained popular, ranking in the Golden Ticket Awards as the number one wooden roller coaster in 1998 and 1999. However, throughout the 2000s the ride's popularity declined as a result of the ride becoming rougher. Despite maintenance attempts by the park, Six Flags Over Texas announced the ride's closure in 2009. Much of the original wooden structure was kept, with the track being replaced with steel.

After the ride's relaunch in 2011 as the New Texas Giant, its popularity returned, winning Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride of 2011 and ranking highly in industry polls. On July 19, 2013, a woman died after falling from the ride, resulting in modifications and additions to the ride's restraint system.

History

The Texas Giant was originally constructed by Dinn Corporation, with Curtis D. Summers as the designer.[1] The ride was made up of over 900,000 board feet (2,100 m3) of wood.[2] The trains were manufactured by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.[1] The Texas Giant officially opened on March 17, 1990.[1] At opening, the ride was the world's tallest wooden roller coaster, standing 143 feet (44 m) high.[3]

Following the ride's opening the ride had several modifications and renovations. This included reprofiling parts of the ride, shortening the seven-car trains to six-car trains, and performing maintenance on the wooden track.[4] Six Flags Over Texas performed over 1,200 feet (370 m) of trackwork on the ride in the 2008-2009 offseason, with the ultimate aim of improving the ride's smoothness. Although the maintenance did improve the ride, park officials needed a more permanent solution. Initial speculation indicated the ride would be removed entirely from the park; however, Six Flags Over Texas denied any intention or consideration to do so.[5] In March 2009, the park announced the closure of Texas Giant prior to a $10 million renovation.[3] Following Fright Fest for that year, the ride closed on November 1, 2009.[5][6]

File:SixFlags-TexasGiant-5909.jpg
Texas Giant during its renovation

Renovations began almost immediately and involved the removal of the all of the wooden track and modifications to some of the support structure.[5] On March 3, 2010, Six Flags Over Texas and Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) unveiled the steel I-Box track which would be used on the refurbished ride. The track was developed over the course of three years by RMC owner Fred Grubb, and Ride Centerline, LLC engineers Alan Schilke and Dody Bachtar.[7][8] The steel track was designed to be a replacement for any existing wooden track structure, with the rail shape, approximate weight, and dimensions remaining the same.[7][9] Schilke designed the layout for the New Texas Giant, giving specifications to Grubb for manufacturing at RMC's Idaho plant. There, two-dimensional plates of steel were machine welded to form the three-dimensional track parts.[7] The redevelopment saw much of the track get reprofiled; the lift hill was increased by 10 feet (3.0 m), the first drop was steepened to 79 degrees, and several overbanked turns (ranging from 90° to 115°) were added.[5][9] The renovated ride, dubbed the New Texas Giant, reopened on April 4, 2011.[6]

2013 accident

On July 19, 2013, a 52-year-old woman fell to her death while riding the Texas Giant. A park official released a statement saying, "We are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident and will utilize every resource throughout this process...When we have new information to provide, we will do so. Our thoughts, prayers and full support remain with the family." The ride was closed indefinitely pending further investigation.[10][11][12] On September 10, 2013, Six Flags Over Texas released a statement stating that the park has finished its investigation on the recent incident, with several parties ruling out mechanical failure. The New Texas Giant reopened on September 14, 2013 with all three trains featuring re-designed restraint bar pads and seat belts.[13][14] The incident saw Six Flags introduce seat belts as secondary restraints on other roller coasters within their chain.[15]

Characteristics

175px
175px
The Texas Giant before and after its renovation, showcasing the profile of the first drop and a turnaround. The renovated ride features a steeper and longer first drop, as well as several overbanked turns up to 115° (pictured).

As the name suggests, New Texas Giant is located within the Texas section of Six Flags Over Texas.[16] It was Rocky Mountain Construction's first installation of I-Box track.[7] New Texas Giant operates with three trains manufactured by Gerstlauer.[6][7] The trains are themed to 1961 Cadillac Devilles.[17] Each train is made up of six cars, each seating riders in two rows of two.[6] Riders are restrained through the use of an individual hydraulic lap bar and a seat belt.[6][13]

The table below compares the original Texas Giant, with the updated New Texas Giant ride. The original ride by Dinn Corporation was 10 feet (3.0 m) smaller than its Rocky Mountain Construction counterpart. As a result, the refurbished ride features a steeper and longer first drop, and thus achieves a faster speed.[1][6] Additionally, a 540° helix after the mid-course brake run was converted into a 180° turnaround resulting in the track length of the ride being shortened by approximately 400 feet (120 m).[1][18][19][20]

Statistic Texas Giant[1] New Texas Giant[6][18]
Years 1990–2009 2011–present
Manufacturer Dinn Corporation Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer Curtis D. Summers Alan Schilke
Track Wood Steel
Height 143 ft or 44 m 153 ft or 47 m
Drop 137 ft or 42 m 147 ft or 45 m
Length 4,920 ft or 1,500 m 4,506 ft or 1,373 m
Speed 62 mph or 100 km/h 65 mph or 105 km/h
Max vertical angle 53° 79°
Trains Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) Gerstlauer

Ride experience

File:New Texas Giant 06.jpg
An overview of part of the New Texas Giant's layout including the double up, 90° overbanked turn, and final tunnel

The New Texas Giant begins with a right turn out of the station. This leads directly to a 153-foot-tall (47 m) chain lift hill. Once at the top, riders drop 147 feet (45 m) at an angle of 78°. A double up leads into a 90° overbanked turn, a dip and a 95° overbanked turn. Another dip and rise leads the train into a 115° overbanked turn. The exit from the overbanked turn leads into a small air-time hill, which delivers the greatest negative g-force on the ride, before ascending up into the mid-course brake run. The train drops from the brake run and continues through a series of low-to-the-ground air-time hills and directional changes. This runs through three separate tunnels, finishing with the final brake run and short path back to the station.[18][19]

Reception

The original Texas Giant was well received, though its popularity had declined towards the end of its operation. Following its 2010 renovation, the ride's popularity returned.

In Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards Texas Giant ranked as the number one wooden roller coaster for 1998 and 1999.[21][22] Its ranking slowly declined to position 32 in 2009, its final year of operation as a wooden roller coaster.[23] Following its 2010 renovation, the New Texas Giant again ranked highly in the Golden Ticket Awards (this time amongst steel roller coasters), achieving ranks of 6 and 5 in 2011 and 2012, respectively.[24][25] The ride also won a Golden Ticket Award for being the Best New Ride of 2011.[24]

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters
Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Ranking 1[21] 1[22] 3[26] 8[27] 8[28] 10[29] 9[30] 12[31] 14[32] 20[33] 28[34] 32[23]
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Ranking 6[24] 5[25] 6[35] 8[36] 10[37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ US application 2011146528, Schilke, Alan; Grubb, Fred; Bachtar, Dody, "Rolling Vehicle Track" 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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