RIDES
Rocky Mountain updates wood coasters by turning them into wood-steel hybrids, like the triple-inversion Wicked Cyclone
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONSTRUCTION
FRED GRUBB OWNER
What are you working on right now? We’re working on three projects right now. Wicked Cyclone at Six Flags New England and Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain are both opening this summer. Wildfire at Kolmården in Sweden is opens in 2016. We have three unannounced projects that will open summer 2016 as well.
In terms of engineering and design, what breakthroughs have you seen? After repairing wooden tracks year after year, I thought that there had to be a better track system. I introduced the idea of the IBox Track to world-renowned coaster engineer Alan Schilke and the IBox Track system was born. It’s an all-steel track system, which eliminates the need for a wood stack as the new track sits on all steel ledgers. This new track allows you to add new thrilling elements to the coaster that traditional wood tracks do not allow. Schilke is the genius designer behind our creations. We are constantly thinking of new ideas that have never been done before.
What are the differences between a wooden coaster and a steel coaster? All our coasters are unique and custom made. The track and parts are
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coaster and re-profile it to create a new state-of-the-art ride. We can also design and build a coaster from the ground up, as we did with Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City. Our track technologies allow us to incorporate inversions, steeper drops, high banking turns and so on, that traditional wood coaster tracks do not allow.
What boundary-pushing things you can do? Our coasters continue to push the boundaries. Inversions, “high five” elements and extreme drops are all boundary-pushing as they have never been successfully done on wooden coasters.
Fred Grubb founded Rocky Mountain in 2001
manufactured at our facilities in Hayden, Idaho, but the structure is built on-site by our crew. The structure isn’t pre-made – each board is cut on-site to plan. Steel coasters are all pre-manufactured and then installed on-site. Steel coasters are typically easier and quicker to install as there are fewer components and they don’t need to be custom built on-site. In terms of design, many steel coasters are “cookie cutter” and mass-produced. Typically, wooden rollercoasters are tailored to the terrain and the design process is ongoing as the coaster is being built.
In terms of engineering and design, what breakthroughs have you seen lately? Our two track technologies, IBox and Topper Track – a steel track that overlays the wood to reduce the maintenance required and provide a smoother ride – allow us to take an existing wooden
Is it very difficult to maintain a wooden coaster? Does this make them harder to sell? Traditional wood tracks are difficult and costly to maintain, but our coasters are popular as our tracks require very minimal maintenance. We also offer a five year warranty, which is unheard of in the industry. That makes them easier to sell.
Can you describe the current market climate? How’s business? Since we’ve offered these new track technologies, we’re extremely busy. We stay ahead of the competition by offering unique products. We have built up a great reputation in the industry as we stick to our motto of quality, service and innovation.
What’s on the horizon for Rocky Mountain Construction? We have two new state-of-the-art coaster products that will be introduced to the market in 2016 and 2017. l
AM 2 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015
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