CoasterQuest.com -- Coaster Construction Page 6

After a long day at work, finally the guys see their work coming together!

When the crane brings the next section into position, these men bolt the "ties" that they are standing on to the new section to secure it into position while the legs are also bolted against the metal straps on the footers..

Another team begins work on another low section of track
while the crane is being used elsewhere on the project.

More sections, or "bents" are assembled on the ground to keep up with the demand from the others who are hoisting them into place. They are built (one on top of the other) to conserve ground space as they work. Each bent is specially made and has its own number. The last sections they will need are built first, so they will be at the bottom of the stack. The last bents to be assembled would obviously be on top of the stack, and would need to be used first.

Here, many stacks of bents are ready to be lifted into place.

The section of track coming off the lake

You can get an idea how the track will feel as you look across the sections. These angled pieces, called "ledgers" will directly support the track. Coasters are still made of wood because wood allows the structure to move and stretch as the train passes. The less the structure gives, the more the chances are that you will have trouble with the trains and having to replace track steel more often. You have nothing to fear when you are standing next to a coaster and see the structure sway a couple inches as the train races by. It needs to do this, especially in hard curves and places where the G-forces are at their maximum. If you think of it like this, perhaps you will understand a little better... If you had to jump off something that was ten feet high, how would you land? If you landed with your legs straight, what would happen? Sure...you would shatter your leg bones or mash your knee joints. So, what do you do? You land with your knees bent, so your muscles act as shock absorbers, right? ...Same principle on a coaster! The flexing of the structure is necessary to keep the trains from shaking to pieces and also keeps you from getting injured by excessive forces.