Wicked Cyclone Construction Update #25
More of the structure has been painted, along with a whole bunch of other things. This is Wicked Cyclone construction update #25.
Just because the track work on Wicked Cyclone is now complete, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to document in the construction process. In fact, there was a whole lot being done on the construction site today. There were about twenty people from the Rocky Mountain Construction crew and another twenty from Baynum Painting. Let’s jump right into the update.
Painting:
RMC crews are also going through the ride tightening connections and making sure everything is safe for testing.
Cables have been attached to the second overbanked turn. This officially ends the speculation about what was happening with Cyclone’s support towers. So not only are they being used as theming, they’re being used for their original purpose.
There can never be enough shots of the 200-degree stall. It’s just pure insanity.
This is the lift hill motor.
Nerd shot:
This guy is welding one of the newly added steel support columns.
The back panels have been added to Storm Center. Pretty soon we’ll be seeing Wicked Cyclone merchandise in here.
The photo booth has been installed, ending the mystery of the exit ramp.
See? Here’s the new exit ramp.
It looks like the original exit ramp wasn’t up to today’s codes. In other words, it was too steep for wheelchairs. For this reason, they had to extend it.
Overview of the new exit ramp:
Another change this week is the addition of the orange train. Last week we showed you pictures of the entire train sitting in the maintenance lot. Well, during the week they added it to the track. Check out our Facebook page if you want to see pictures of each car being loaded onto the transfer track, as we were there to update the process live.
While we were taking pictures of the exit ramp, we noticed some work going on in the station.
We also noticed the addition of new theming in the station. Look closely above the windows in the background and you’ll be able to make out what looks like newspapers documenting the “Storm of the Century.” These will definitely be fun to check out when waiting to board the train.
As we were taking those pictures, the blue train was moved out of the station and onto the transfer track.
They did this so they could load weights into each car for testing. We’re told that the first train will be sent out sometime tomorrow!
Here are some final shots of Wicked Cyclone from inside the park.
This is a good angle that shows the newly attached cables.
It’s so twisty! It’s going to look even better once they finish painting the ride.
Speaking of paint… A lot of the old white paint has been scraped off the supports to prepare them for their new gray color.
About half of the double down has already been painted.
Okay… Now heading outside the park. The first major change visible from the street is the addition of the lift hill emblem. The concept art showed it on the other side of the lift hill. You can’t really see the emblem when your inside the park. That might change at night, however, as the emblem is actually a big light.
Here’s a look at the emblem at night thanks to a tweet from Six Flags New England.
Doesn’t that look absolutely amazing? I’m a huge fan of this! I just wish there was something visible from inside the park. Maybe they’ll add something once they’re finished painting?
The support tower on the southern side of the coaster is getting a new white paint job.
Either they’re painting it white, or the white is just a primer. We’re not sure.
This is probably my favorite shot of the entire update. I absolutely love how the orange contrasts with the gray.
A new fence has been added along the queue.
Here’s a closer look at the new fence:
The stairs have received a back to them.
This is one of the weights that we showed being lifted into the train earlier.
Each weight weighs 170lbs and each row on the train gets one.
A shot of the new exit ramp from outside of the park. This should give you a good idea of the new layout.
Final shots: