how to build a roller coaster?

[Ryans]

Does ayone have any ideas on the best and the simplest way to build a roller coaster? thanks

[seand]

lots of steel...a large plot of land...and funding from either disney or six flags will help...

:D

[Niggz]

try that little button labeled "search":cool:

[stillgoing]

http://www.rollercoastertycoon.com/index.php

:D

[usa_hucker]

find a long, medium sized branch that you can bend for the rails. Bend it and stake it into the ground untill you get the basic shape you want. put more ground supports in to stabalize it (because the rail is so small). Add rungs and go. If the rungs are crooked or not sooo smooth just shim them with wood scraps when installing them. Walla..roller coaster. Don't forget to angle some of the supports near the "uphill" portions of the coaster as they will recieve lots of forward energy.

Ciao.

[Niggz]

i wouldnt be bending any logs.

[usa_hucker]

Originally posted by Niggz
i wouldnt be bending any logs.

You wouldn't be giving any helpfull advice either...


oh do tell us then oh mastefull stunt builder, how DO YOU make a smooth roller coaster using only native materials and not tons of plywood and 2 x 4's ??

[Niggz]

Originally posted by usa_hucker
You wouldn't be giving any helpfull advice either...


oh do tell us then oh mastefull stunt builder, how DO YOU make a smooth roller coaster using only native materials and not tons of plywood and 2 x 4's ??

if i must..............
k you go running through the bush like a madman till you find a beautifully, naturally curved cedar tree. then you keep running till you find one exactly the same. then go find two more. stand them up with your basic |\| cross-braced supports and your done!
if you look around there are more curved trees our there than you would think.
by the way this subject has been discussed numerous times on this board hence my previous search post.

if you take a tree thin enough to make the sharp bends that a good roller coaster needs, there will be too much pressure on the log no matter how many supports you put.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Niggz
if i must..............
k you go running through the bush like a madman till you find a beautifully, naturally curved cedar tree. then you keep running till you find one exactly the same. then go find two more. stand them up with your basic |\| cross-braced supports and your done!
if you look around there are more curved trees our there than you would think.
by the way this subject has been discussed numerous times on this board hence my previous search post.

if you take a tree thin enough to make the sharp bends that a good roller coaster needs, there will be too much pressure on the log no matter how many supports you put.



yes

[Putty]

Originally posted by Niggz
if i must..............
k you go running through the bush like a madman till you find a beautifully, naturally curved cedar tree. then you keep running till you find one exactly the same. then go find two more. stand them up with your basic |\| cross-braced supports and your done!
if you look around there are more curved trees our there than you would think.
by the way this subject has been discussed numerous times on this board hence my previous search post.

if you take a tree thin enough to make the sharp bends that a good roller coaster needs, there will be too much pressure on the log no matter how many supports you put.

i found a beut curved piece the other day, it was so big i could not lift it alone, and now it is a lovely wooden berm

USA_hucker--if you think you can bend a piece of wood and make a stunt support out of it, i would not ride anything you build

[twofortythree]

how does the else worth team build there portable one...?

[125]

roller coaster are really hard to build

[twofortythree]

so how do they build there portabel one....do they have like a custome bent one or something??

[Niggz]

i think it is a couple big boards (2"x12" or something like that) stacked on top of each other and they cut the shape into them
hopefully my crappy Paint drawing will help

[twofortythree]

thnxs
i understand now:D

[RMFanatik]

If your going to build with mill cut lumber I would suggest using a 3/4 inch plywood for the sides, use a long 2x4 and mark your arch on the plywood. Cut it out using a jigsaw. flip it over so the curve goes the other way. do the same for the other side. Join the pieces with 2x4's, like rungs. The idea is the same as building a booter. or a halfpipe you just make a different curve cut on the sides and don't cover it with plywood on top. Do not use this if it will be exposed to wet humid enviroments. If you want to do it naturaly you will need to findCedar logs that are already bent. Branches tend to bend to meet the light so they are around ya just have to look. Hope this helps

[Chip]

YESSSS finaly some one mentioned plywood the easiest and the strongest way to do it... I would be dead without plywood

[JSinclair]

Plywood won't last one season on the shore. Cedar. Cedar. Cedar... And Putty knows his shiznit ! He builds nice structures.

So putty, we getting a rollar coaster on Pangor ?

[Putty]

plywood = shait

not only do you have to put grip tape on it, so you don't slide, it rots faster than anything else up there.

CEDAR CEDAR CEDAR

Curved branches do not have to line up perfectly either, you can shim them with cedar shingles to make the rungs flat.

I want to build up one there, but have not had the time lately. I also would like to fix more cruicial things first. But it will be built.

Hopefully before the summer.

:thepimp:

[barry]

Build one out of dirt. :eek:
Much easier and much faster.

[KenN]

Originally posted by putty
USA_hucker--if you think you can bend a piece of wood and make a stunt support out of it, i would not ride anything you build

Score is Putty - 1, USA_hucker - 0

Kn.

[RMFanatik]

Well I edited my post hopefully that will make things more clear.:o

[Loopie]

Kamloops seems to offer the option of using lumber. Plywood is iffy though.
It's the MUCH drier season/climate we have I guess.

Pine isn't so great once it's dead(which is what we have mostly up here).

If I can't find suitable arched logs that look like they'll last......I may have to bring a couple up from the coast one day:D

[RMFanatik]

Does anyone have a recommendation for how large the arch should be, from the bottom of one curve to the bottom of the next one. I'm guessing that they are about a bike and a half to two bikes long. :) The ones shown in NSX6 seem bigger than the others that I have seen pics of.

[Putty]

Originally posted by RMFanatik
Does anyone have a recommendation for how large the arch should be, from the bottom of one curve to the bottom of the next one. I'm guessing that they are about a bike and a half to two bikes long. :) The ones shown in NSX6 seem bigger than the others that I have seen pics of.

that, i have no idea on, but the same question has been on my mind lately. your dimentions sound decent. i guess the angles would increase/decrease difficulty as the arches get tigher/looser.

mhh.....

[ATN]

NSX 5 has a shot of one being built.... COTG spends a lot of time on one during the ROCK section.

[Action Hero]

Originally posted by twofortythree
how does the else worth team build there portable one...?
....None of them ride ellesworths anymore, Yeti is their new sponser, with the exception of Santa Cruz Tyler... Dan seem's to be linking his new Yeti...

[usa_hucker]

Originally posted by KenN
Score is Putty - 1, USA_hucker - 0

Kn.

boo hoo:(

Actually, you can bend a pretty sizable piece of green cedar or fir. It WILL be large enough to support the concave parts of a roller coaster. How do I know? Because I have done it. The concave parts (where the real stress is at) are a combination of straight logs (integrated into the upright supports for the concave portions) and good old fasioned dirt. The dirt isn't as fast as the wooden portions but it doesn't really matter.

Roller coasters are neat in their own little way but in terms of holding the riders intrest they are kinda boring. Personnaly I wouldn't spend the time to build another. But hey, go at it. The more stuff the better

[Pat T.®]

Originally posted by usa_hucker
boo hoo:(

Actually, you can bend a pretty sizable piece of green cedar or fir. It WILL be large enough to support the concave parts of a roller coaster. How do I know? Because I have done it. The concave parts (where the real stress is at) are a combination of straight logs (integrated into the upright supports for the concave portions) and good old fasioned dirt. The dirt isn't as fast as the wooden portions but it doesn't really matter.

Roller coasters are neat in their own little way but in terms of holding the riders intrest they are kinda boring. Personnaly I wouldn't spend the time to build another. But hey, go at it. The more stuff the better

Lets see a picture.....

I think they are talking more like the one Digger built on Lower Ladies, all wood, free standing....... one of the nicest stunts I have seen him build so far.

[trail worker]

Originally posted by Pat T.®

I think they are talking more like the one Digger built on Lower Ladies, all wood, free standing....... one of the nicest stunts I have seen him build so far.


word,that thing is beatiful....so smooth and solid....'twould been better if you could get more run up at it becasue i know a few ppl who would like to air over the first "down" and land on the second hump...that would be sick

[Loopie]

Personally, I agree that a coaster wouldn't be overly exciting after a very short time........you'd have to be able to air out of it or something:D

[ATN]

A roller coaster is probably the msot fun for the builders of it.

[RMFanatik]

Originally posted by Loopie
Personally, I agree that a coaster wouldn't be overly exciting after a very short time........you'd have to be able to air out of it or something:D

Yah make the last rise end at the top, down and up and flyin. Rollercoaster with a booter for an ending. woo hoo:D

[Loopie]

Originally posted by RMFanatik
Yah make the last rise end at the top, down and up and flyin. Rollercoaster with a booter for an ending. woo hoo:D
Yup:)
That's exactly what I'll be building some time.
Now.....where to put it?...hmmmm

[Coquitlam_Launch]

cedar=really expensive, worth every cent

ply wood=crap

pine=ok and cheap

maple=strong but weak on the grains and expensive

choose what you want, ppl living in the ns, just cut the dead trees and make your own. save tree and clean the forest.

+L-