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Railway Timetable
10 years ago
General
While you stroll around Disneyland and ride the rides, you'll notice that almost all of them have some sort of holding area for the active cars. When the ride is completed, the cars queue up and wait to offload their passengers at the platform. This helps account for different loading times or passengers that may need a little extra time getting situated. It makes sense, and almost all the rides operate this way.
Almost.
Back in the corner of Frontierland, past the shooting gallery and across the square from Golden Horseshoe Review is the Big Thunder Railroad. And this railroad runs on a very precise timetable. This delicate ballet is overseen by the computer control system, but carried out by the human operators. And if the timing is thrown off, everything comes to a very quick halt.
The railroad has a unique loading arrangement. Most rides either stop the car in one location to offload and move up to load or stop in one position and allow outgoing riders to exit to one side while incoming riders enter from the other side. Big Thunder shakes this up: as the track approaches the platform, it splits to the left and right of a central building with a track switch to route the trains to the proper side. Riders exit to the "outside" and new riders enter from the center building. At the end of the platforms, the tracks join back into one with another track switch.
Big Thunder Railroad can operate from two to five trains depending on demand. Two trains actually present no issues as there is always one open platform for an arriving train to enter. New trains are added to the sequence by bringing them in from a storage yard to an empty platform before a train on course arrives. They are "merged" into a gap in the traffic pattern, not unlike aircraft on approach to an airport.
Once there are more than two trains on the course, timing becomes a factor. One of the platforms must be cleared before the train on the course arrives as there is no "holding space" like in other rides. As the train on the course reaches the end of its run, the pre-ride cautionary message is triggered. Up in the rafters of the station, there are two mining lamps that are more than just decoration. As the time for departure approaches, the lamp on the appropriate side begins to flash. When it's time to cut the train loose, the lamp shines steady and if everything is in order, the human operator presses the button and away the train goes, freeing up the platform for the inbound train. With three or four trains running, there's still a gap that allows the timing to be a little more relaxed. However, when running at full capacity, there is no room to dawdle. When launch time is indicated, the incoming train is not very far out.
What happens when the train doesn't make it out in time? I once got to see it firsthand. When you see it enough, you get a feel for the timing and at what point in the pre-ride message the trains usually roll out (they roll out just as the messages is finishing). I realized one train was behind schedule, and that it wasn't going to make it out at the proper time. The attendants even got alongside and pushed the train out in an attempt to clear the platform in time, but... they were unable to do it. And the entire ride came to an abrupt halt.
Big Thunder is a very different place when the computer system is in lockdown. There are no train sounds or rail sounds. No shouting and piano playing from the tavern. There are no water effects. It is only trains moving near-silently.
At that point, it was necessary to offload the passengers from the trains in the station and roll one back into the storage yard. Each train that had been stranded out on the track was brought in one-by-one, offloaded and stored until only two trains were left at the platforms. At that point, the system was re-initialized and operations began again, bringing out a train from the yard at each opportunity until they were back up to the full five trains. And things proceeded smoothly (and precisely) from that point on.
Big Thunder illustrates one of the things I love the most about Disneyland: system indications are never just out there, they're almost always hidden in with the scenery. If you don't know what you're looking for, you look right past it. The mining lamps in the rafters of the Big Thunder station adhere to this rule. Or a hanging lamp at the end of the pier in Pirates Of The Caribbean that lights up when there's enough of a gap to launch the next boat. Or I think there's a desk lamp that serves the same function in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
Hidden indications of the ride status... right under your nose.
Almost.
Back in the corner of Frontierland, past the shooting gallery and across the square from Golden Horseshoe Review is the Big Thunder Railroad. And this railroad runs on a very precise timetable. This delicate ballet is overseen by the computer control system, but carried out by the human operators. And if the timing is thrown off, everything comes to a very quick halt.
The railroad has a unique loading arrangement. Most rides either stop the car in one location to offload and move up to load or stop in one position and allow outgoing riders to exit to one side while incoming riders enter from the other side. Big Thunder shakes this up: as the track approaches the platform, it splits to the left and right of a central building with a track switch to route the trains to the proper side. Riders exit to the "outside" and new riders enter from the center building. At the end of the platforms, the tracks join back into one with another track switch.
Big Thunder Railroad can operate from two to five trains depending on demand. Two trains actually present no issues as there is always one open platform for an arriving train to enter. New trains are added to the sequence by bringing them in from a storage yard to an empty platform before a train on course arrives. They are "merged" into a gap in the traffic pattern, not unlike aircraft on approach to an airport.
Once there are more than two trains on the course, timing becomes a factor. One of the platforms must be cleared before the train on the course arrives as there is no "holding space" like in other rides. As the train on the course reaches the end of its run, the pre-ride cautionary message is triggered. Up in the rafters of the station, there are two mining lamps that are more than just decoration. As the time for departure approaches, the lamp on the appropriate side begins to flash. When it's time to cut the train loose, the lamp shines steady and if everything is in order, the human operator presses the button and away the train goes, freeing up the platform for the inbound train. With three or four trains running, there's still a gap that allows the timing to be a little more relaxed. However, when running at full capacity, there is no room to dawdle. When launch time is indicated, the incoming train is not very far out.
What happens when the train doesn't make it out in time? I once got to see it firsthand. When you see it enough, you get a feel for the timing and at what point in the pre-ride message the trains usually roll out (they roll out just as the messages is finishing). I realized one train was behind schedule, and that it wasn't going to make it out at the proper time. The attendants even got alongside and pushed the train out in an attempt to clear the platform in time, but... they were unable to do it. And the entire ride came to an abrupt halt.
Big Thunder is a very different place when the computer system is in lockdown. There are no train sounds or rail sounds. No shouting and piano playing from the tavern. There are no water effects. It is only trains moving near-silently.
At that point, it was necessary to offload the passengers from the trains in the station and roll one back into the storage yard. Each train that had been stranded out on the track was brought in one-by-one, offloaded and stored until only two trains were left at the platforms. At that point, the system was re-initialized and operations began again, bringing out a train from the yard at each opportunity until they were back up to the full five trains. And things proceeded smoothly (and precisely) from that point on.
Big Thunder illustrates one of the things I love the most about Disneyland: system indications are never just out there, they're almost always hidden in with the scenery. If you don't know what you're looking for, you look right past it. The mining lamps in the rafters of the Big Thunder station adhere to this rule. Or a hanging lamp at the end of the pier in Pirates Of The Caribbean that lights up when there's enough of a gap to launch the next boat. Or I think there's a desk lamp that serves the same function in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
Hidden indications of the ride status... right under your nose.
cetas
∞cetas
Well these things make sense as there is hidden things within the whole park, things like cameos in the scenery to that of memorials as well (at least along Main Street) and other nods to things. Granted Big Thunder Mtn and Space Mtn were always the two rides I went on regardless if I could or not when I went to Disney World in Orlando (which I am not sure uses the same things as Disneyland) so I am wondering if there isn't a hidden signal in Space Mtn that might serve as the same purpose given that it is similar to that of Big Thunder Mtn. (also it would be rather well hidden given the futuristic theme with all the lighted consoles and space/sci fi themed effects). Though I gather you recently went to Disneyland or such to be writing this? Oh well if not I still like reading what you put here regardless though you do need to check your email more often.
StarTyger
~startyger
I wonder what the one for the Matterhorn is... and what triggers the 'Please evacuate the area immediately' message we heard that one time. :P
Leucrotta
~leucrotta
Wouldn't this have been one of the first rides in the place? I know that Disney was inspired to have train stuff by Ward Kimball, and that really places the idea of a railroad as somewhere in the 50s. Maybe that's why the timing's so um. Analog?
expandranon
~expandranon
That's an awful lot of hassle to go through to get the system backup and running. I can see the advantage, though, since doing it that way absolutely guarantees the safety of all riders, whereas letting the operators restart it with cars on the tracks could pose a safety risk. Gotta really tick off the visitors, though.
