Article: Movie World rollercoaster breaks down with eight on board

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Movie World rollercoaster breaks down with eight on board

Movie World rollercoaster breaks down with eight on board
January 9, 2013 - 3:02PM
Bridie Jabour

Eight people have been stuck on a Gold Coast theme park roller coaster for more than an hour following a mid-ride breakdown.

An electrical fault caused Movie World's Green Lantern rollercoaster car to stop after midday, and staff had to ferry umbrellas and water to the eight people in the car.

They were upright, but stuck halfway up the 33 metre ride, according to Movie World spokesman Darrin Davis.

"It was out of action for an hour and 10 minutes," he said.
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"It was just one car (of the rollercoaster) and a minor electrical fault caused it. It was fixed quickly."

The rollercoaster is one of Movie World's flagship rides and boasts the steepest drop in the southern hemisphere.

The car was re-started and all eight people were safely taken off the ride.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/travel/travel-news/movie-world-rollercoaster-breaks-down-with-eight-on-board-20130109-2cg82.html

[Gazza]

Roller coasters, like railways, have blocks.
Coaster cars are free wheeling, and have no onboard breaking, so rely on pneumatic pinch brakes or magnetic brakes.

So what they do is have a couple of brake blocks on the ride to allow multiple cars to cycle on the course at once. The car with 8 on board was held on one of these brake sections.

I'm guessing what happened is that the electrical fault makes the block section default to "closed" and as a result the pinch brakes close, so as soon as car speeds in it is stopped.