Rolling Thunder (roller coaster)

Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder's Entrance
Location	Six Flags Great Adventure
Park section	Plaza del Carnaval
Coordinates	40°08′21.70″N 74°26′3.40″W
Status	Operating
Opened	1979
Cost	$5 million
Type	Wood - Out and back - Racing
Manufacturer	William Cobb & Associates
Designer	Don Rosser & William Cobb
Model	custom
Track layout	Figure 8
Height	96 ft (29 m)
Drop	85 ft (26 m)
Length	3,200 ft (980 m)
Max speed	56 mph (90 km/h)
Duration	1 minute
Max vertical angle	45°
Capacity	1920 riders per hour
Height restriction	3 ft 8 in (112 cm)
Flash Pass Available
Rolling Thunder at RCDB
Pictures of Rolling Thunder at RCDB
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Rolling Thunder is a racing wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. Rolling Thunder is the park's first wooden coaster, and debuted in 1979 during the park's fifth anniversary season. The line for the ride begins at an adjoining entrance and has separate queues for each track. The queue to the right of the entrance leads to the Coaster 1 track and Coaster 2 can be reached by the queue on the left. Guests who are not tall enough for 54-inch (137 cm) height-requiring coasters can ride Rolling Thunder as it has a 44-inch (112 cm) height requirement.

Structure & track

The structure and track is mostly built from 850,000 feet (259,080 m) of Douglas Fir. In the past, the Douglas Fir had been treated with pesticides which are not considered environmentally friendly and the track and supports are slowly being replaced with southern yellow pine.

The track is made by bolting seven layers of wood. In most places on the ride, there are two layers of southern yellow pine, which sit atop five layers of Douglas-Fir. Older sections of track still have 7 layers of Douglas-Fir (mostly on the lift) and there are refurbished sections of track with seven layers of southern pine. A 7-inch-wide (180 mm) strip of steel is bolted onto the top layer of wood track and three-inch-wide pieces of steel are bolted onto the sides.

Unlike most racing coasters, Rolling Thunder's tracks are not always next to each other, they separate at several points in the ride. After the first drop, the left track goes over a big hill, followed by a small hill, whereas the second track reverses this. On the turnaround at the back, the left track rises up and makes a level turn, while the right track rises and falls while turning. The hills on the return segment are also staggered. The trains are not always raced.

Trains

There are four trains that are distinguishable by color: Red, Blue, Yellow and Green. In 2009, Red and Blue run on Coaster 1 and Green and Yellow run on Coaster 2. In July 2009, the Blue train has been transferred to Coaster 2 and the Green train has been moved to Coaster 1. Each train has 4 three-bench Philadelphia Toboggan Company cars held together by hitch bars. Each car contains 6 seats. Each train can hold a maximum of 24 riders.

The trains use buzz bars that lock in one position. Ratcheting lap bars, which are capable of locking in multiple positions, are used on many new coasters today. Buzz bars are preferred by coaster enthusiasts for the extra room they provide in the seat. The ride is not considered an ACE Coaster Classic however, as seat dividers and headrests were added in 1981 to prevent people from standing on the ride while it is in operation.

Seat belts were added on the ride's 25th anniversary and guests often have trouble buckling the seat belts or sit on the belts after closing their locked lap bar. The seat belts can get caught under the seats because they are not designed to accommodate belts. The boarding process can take long due to the restraints being unlocked so that guests can buckle their seat belts. Furthermore, guests who are overweight may not be able to comfortably sit in the seats.

There are three types of wheels used on the trains. Sixteen road wheels ride on the steel layer on top of the track. Sixteen guide wheels guide the trains around the turns on a separate steel track located on the sides of the wooden track. Sixteen upstop wheels ride on the bottom of the track only in moments of negative forces when the road wheels leave the track (when the trains are cresting hills).

Brakes

Rolling Thunder uses skid brakes to stop the trains rather than modern fin brakes. The trains have brake pads underneath each car which slide against the brakes to lift the train's wheels off the track. The brakes are always in the up position unless the operator, in conjunction with the rear unloader attendant, advances a train. The road wheels can be heard spinning at the end of the ride and will continue to spin until the operator, in conjunction with the unload attendant, advances the train.

There are three sets of brakes. The trim and ready brakes are located in the tunnel at the end of the ride. The trim brake slows and stops the train and serves as a holding place for one train until the second train leaves the station. The train can then be advanced off the trim and onto the ready brake. The ready brake holds the train until the second train reaches the top half of the lift hill. The leave brake holds the train in the station while it is being unloaded and loaded for the next ride. The trains are stopped manually and will not always aligned with the queue stalls in the station. Therefore the attendants will have to direct the guests to their rows from time to time before the airgates are opened.

When the brake pads and wheels get wet, there is little friction to stop the trains and they will slide too far onto the brakes. For safety reasons, only one train can run per side in rainy weather.

History

To mark the 100th anniversary of roller coasters in the USA, Rolling Thunder's Coaster 2 side was renamed Rednuht Gnillor, the backwards spelling of "Rolling Thunder," in 1984. The trains were turned around so riders would view the ride while riding backwards. During this season, Rednuht Gnillor's warning signs were placed in the back of the station and on the back of the lift hill so riders could see them.

Rolling Thunder was standing but not operating in September and October 2005 and through most of the Spring of 2006 due to the construction of the Plaza del Carnival section and El Toro.

Accidents

In 1981, A Six Flags Great Adventure employee, fell 42 feet (13 m) from the roller coaster, while it was going through a series of tests that the park goes through daily. Nobody saw the employee fall from the ride. He was 1 out of 5 employees testing the ride. The ride was later closed that day, so the police could investigate. The ride was going 35 mph (56 km/h) during the testing.