originally posted on 12/28/2021 5:15:24 PM
The world’s longest wooden roller coaster, The Beast at Kings Island, Mason, Ohio, is receiving 2,000 feet of track refurbishment this winter.
The Gravity Group, which installed 600 feet of its new engineered precut track on the park’s Racer roller coaster last winter, is breathing new life into the ride’s first drop and track through the first tunnel and turn toward the second drop and 540-degree helix tunnel, while Kings Island’s carpenters are retracking approximately 1,090 feet of track in other sections along the 7,359-foot-long course.
The first drop will see a change from 45 degrees to 53 degrees. This change isn’t being made to add more speed or thrill elements to The Beast, but to come in lower in the tunnel to provide the proper parabolic arcs due to reprofiling of the track in that area of the ride. This change, along with The Gravity Group’s vertical track design, will deliver a buttery-smooth transition through the tunnel and onto the second drop.
Photo: Kings Island
The Beast helix crossover will see a redesign and installation of new bents. With the redesign, the forces through the structure will be more evenly distributed to the foundation and the rigidity of each bent more consistent, which will result in a smoother ride experience.
Photo: Kings Island
In the original design of The Beast, the upper and lower track in the helix were on top of each other. In order to simplify the geometry of the crossover, the lower bents will be upper bents until the tunnel.
The project began November 1 and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2022.
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