Steel Dragon 2000
| Steel Dragon 2000 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Data | |
| Location |
Nagashima Spa Land ( Kuwana , Japan ) |
| Type | Steel - seated |
| Drive type | Chain lift hill |
| Routing | Out and back |
| Manufacturer | Chance Morgan |
| Designer | Steve Okamoto |
| opening | August 1, 2000 Reopening: September 3, 2006 |
| length | 2479 m |
| height | 97 m |
| Departure | 94 m |
| Max. speed | 153 km / h |
| Travel time | 4:00 min |
| dare | 6/7 cars, 3/2 rows of seats / car, 2 seats / row of seats |
| elements | 97 m high hill , 77 m high hill, 64 m high hill |
| Inversions | 0 |
Steel Dragon 2000 ( Jap. スチールドラゴン 2000 Suchīru doragon 2000 ) in Nagashima Spa Land in Japan Kuwana is a steel roller coaster of the manufacturer Chance Morgan , which was opened on 1 August 2000.
This gigacoaster opened in 2000, the year of the dragon on the Chinese calendar . It opened shortly after Millennium Force at Cedar Point , which was by then the tallest closed-loop roller coaster in the world. In addition, at 2,479 meters, it still holds the record for the longest roller coaster in the world.
Trains
Steel Dragon 2000 trains each have six cars. Six people (three rows of two people) can be seated in each car. Originally, trains from the manufacturer Morgan ran on the railway, these were replaced at the start of the season on March 15, 2013 by new trains from the manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard . The new trains have seven cars for four people each in two rows of two people.
Takeover of the design from Mamba (Worlds of Fun)
Two years before the opening of this roller coaster in the amusement park Worlds of Fun roller coaster Mamba opened. This roller coaster, also designed by Steve Okamoto , is very similar to the Steel Dragon 2000 , which is why it can be assumed that the Steel Dragon 2000 was further developed from the design of the Mamba . The clearest matches include two large hills after the first drop (first descent) and a clockwise helix that directly adjoins the second hill. With the Steel Dragon 2000 , a second helix then follows counterclockwise. Then there is a reduction brake on both roller coasters , which is located next to the first hill. This is followed by several small hills in a row, which are located next to the lift on both roller coasters.
Before Mamba and the Steel Dragon 2000 , Steve Okamoto had designed the Wild Thing and Steel Force roller coasters . All of these four roller coasters have certain similarities in appearance.
Facts
- Steel Dragon 2000 is the largest roller coaster with a classic chain lift . Due to the length of the lift hill and because it was probably not possible to manufacture such a long chain for roller coasters at that time, two chains were installed. One for the lower half of the lift hill and one for the upper half. In addition, two trains can safely occupy the lift at the same time. With the current technology, roller coasters with a similar height can also be produced with just one chain. The Leviathan roller coaster in Canada's Wonderland amusement park , for example, has the highest lift in the world with just one chain at a height of 93 meters. With Leviathan, it only takes 42 seconds from the entrance to the elevator to the trains crashing down the first exit.
- For safety reasons, more steel was used for this roller coaster than for other roller coasters due to the risk of earthquakes . This resulted in costs of more than 50 million US dollars .
- On August 23, 2003, Steel Dragon 2000 had an accident. One of the trains lost a wheel during the journey. During the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the track remained closed and was only reopened on September 3, 2006.
Web links
- Entry on the amusement park website (Japanese)
- Steel Dragon 2000 in the Roller Coaster DataBase
Individual evidence
- ↑ Presentation of the new trains on the Nagashima Spa Land website (Japanese). Retrieved March 19, 2013 .
- ↑ List of the ten highest roller coasters in the world at "Rollercoaster DataBase" (lift + launch / catapult + steel cable)
- ↑ Leviathan's driving video on YouTube
Coordinates: 35 ° 1 '52.2 " N , 136 ° 43' 48.3" E