Ouch....

Zazu · Post by **Zazu** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 11:33 am

Cheshire wondered,

I wonder if they will close all the Thunder Mts. until the investigation is over.

Big Thunder at WDW closed in mid-August for a long-scheduled 3-month rehab.

BirdMom · Post by **BirdMom** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 3:19 pm

Something to consider about this accident: the cab that disengaged from
the train cars was about as old as the park itself. They kept the cabs
from the old Mine Train ride and refurbished them to used as the lead
cars on Thunder. So this could very well be a case of cheaping out to
save money (not having to fabricate new locomotives, plus a historic tie
to the area's past) ending up costing them big in PR and liability issues.
Maybe the metal coupling gave way (which is what the news reports
sound like to me) - the locomotive went on and the passenger cars fell
back down the incline at C-lift. Of course, unless you're actively working
there, the majority of us won't hear any of the gruesome details - which I
suppose is just as well for outsiders...

I feel bad for the families involved, and I know that the crew that was
working at the time of the accident will probably be having nightmares
for months. I can remember Dolly's accident over at the Matterhorn -
the guys who had to pull the sled off of her had some pretty vivid
descriptions that they tried to impart in a humerous manner, but bad
accidents are just that - bad. We had a problem over at Mansion where
a happy heart wandered out of his omnimover in the graveyard - the ride
was stopped and the lead prepared the crew beforehand for blood and
guts - thank goodness it didn't come to that.

Freak · Post by **Freak** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 8:13 pm

BirdMom wrote: Something to consider about this accident: the cab that disengaged from
the train cars was about as old as the park itself. They kept the cabs
from the old Mine Train ride and refurbished them to used as the lead
cars on Thunder.

The cabs were from the Nature's wonderland trains? Wow. I think the
company involved with this (Vekoma, same people who are making
Space Mountaing) and Disney should have made replica cabs of
them....That could be a contributing factor of why it happened.

Freak · Post by **Freak** » Tue Sep 09, 2003 12:24 am

Okay yah I know its a double post. Anyways, I read the OC Register and
read some eyewitness accounts of what all went on. Seems that
BirdMom may have been right. The train somehow derailed and the
track was found broken. So it either could have been that the track was
very fatigued and finally broke away, or that the cab's impact was so
great that it damaged the track. Either way, it seems like Thunder will be
down for a year, if not more. That's all the paper really said. I think we
now have the actual accident. It did derail, and then after derailing, it
detached. The cab was found some distance away from the passenger
vehichles. So I think that really closes the book on "what" happened, all
we need to find out now is "how" and "why" it happened.

cheshire · Post by **cheshire** » Tue Sep 09, 2003 12:31 am

did you see on kcal 9 that a retired facilities guy came forward? He
claims that he had written numerous letter to Disney regarding cutbacks
on maintaining the rides and that he was ignored. He said that this
accident was bound to happen sooner or later and that he tried to make
disney see.

Dante101 · Post by **Dante101** » Tue Sep 09, 2003 2:24 am

Freak wrote: Okay yah I know its a double post. Anyways, I read the OC Register and
read some eyewitness accounts of what all went on. Seems that
BirdMom may have been right. The train somehow derailed and the
track was found broken. So it either could have been that the track was
very fatigued and finally broke away, or that the cab's impact was so
great that it damaged the track. Either way, it seems like Thunder will be
down for a year, if not more. That's all the paper really said. I think we
now have the actual accident. It did derail, and then after derailing, it
detached. The cab was found some distance away from the passenger
vehichles. So I think that really closes the book on "what" happened, all
we need to find out now is "how" and "why" it happened.

Where did you read this? Are you referring to this quote from an article
in the OC Register:
The safety zone is inside a tunnel, which is where the train was found.
The front car, which looks like an engine but does not pull the train, was
slightly derailed and disconnected from the other cars. The trailing cars
were behind it in a U-shaped dip on the track, Nicoletti said.

Where did you read that the track was broken, or that the engine
was "some distance away." If it's on the net, please give a link.

Freak · Post by **Freak** » Tue Sep 09, 2003 3:02 am

Hmm. I'm sure I read that the track/rail was broken. I'll have to go
back to my newspaper and look what "brand" it is. I was almost positive
it stated that the cab was away from the train also. I'll go and look for it
and post it here when I find it.

Space Man K7 · Post by **Space Man K7** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:38 pm

I was getting trained on the Canoes when it happened. I know some of
the crew members, I've toaled to a couple, and it's a interesting item we
try avoiding. It's sad to see your first attraction or any attraction for that
matter have an accident and take a life.

Dante101 · Post by **Dante101** » Thu Sep 11, 2003 12:08 am

Space Man K7 wrote:I've toaled to a couple

Is this a typo? I can't figure it out...

VonSeegs · Post by **VonSeegs** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 3:51 pm

Talking to a few people that know Thunder, they seem to think that there
was a track crack in that general area about 1-2 weeks before. (This is
neither conformed nor denied.) I do know that one day they were having
air pressure problems and when fac came to check it out it just turned
out that a hose had come unplugged so they just reattached it. I don't
know the ride but knowing another coaster gives me a little knowledge
considering I knew a lot about how and what made Space work.

I was there for both the 2000 and the '02 accidents at Space. No one
died but they were tramatic experiences for me (more so the first one)
so I know exactly what the Thunder crew is going through. It's going to
be a long tough road.

Stupid Guest Tricks

Ouch....

Update on Accident.

Re: Update on Accident.

Thunder Crew on 9/5

Re: Thunder Crew on 9/5