There's never a dull moment, it's just one thing after another, after another. It's-
By the time you get back to the station, you're- you're breathless.
I think it's crazy, especially in the back row and you get pulled over the drop. It's just, this was totally crazy.
Railblazer is incredibly fun coaster. Obviously I've never been on a coaster like this before. It's really fun. I really enjoy riding it.
And it was so innovative, that we thought immediately of Great America.
I mean, what better place to put it in than the Silicon Valley?
Based in Hayden, Idaho,
Rocky Mountain Construction Group took the coaster industry by storm with a series of innovative original rides
and retrofits that breathe new life into aging wooden coasters.
We began rebuilding traditional wood track.
And so we would go out and we would fix sections of traditional wood coasters.
We would fix the track. Some cases, we'd fix up the structure.
Then we, you know, obviously after doing this learning about the wood tracks,
I figured there was a better way to do it.
So Alan Schilke and myself came up with the IBox Track, and also the Topper Track.
The topper track obviously is because of the wood coaster era,
so that we can stick with the traditional wood coaster track.
The IBox is an all-steel track that isn't considered a wood coaster track, so we would use both.
Following the success of these hybrid coasters,
it seemed only natural that RMC would next turn their attention to developing a new type of all steel roller coaster.
One concept proposed using an innovative single rail track, dubbed "Raptor Track".
The new design would allow the coaster to perform tight maneuvers and sudden changes of direction,
whilst requiring only a minimal support structure.
California's Great America is a 100-acre amusement park located in the heart of Silicon Valley in Santa Clara, California.
Originally opening in 1976 as Marriott's Great America,
the park grew by adding exciting and unique rides, which have been fondly remembered by park fans throughout the years.
Today, Great America continues that tradition with a lineup of modern thrill rides and old favorites.
Searching for a new ride to kick-start their expansion plans, the Raptor coaster caught the attention of
executives from the parks' parent company, Cedar Fair.
They had- they had this concept in the box. It was- I would say it was not polished,
but it was enough that we could grasp the concept and understand that what you could do with the single rail coaster
and a small train is dynamic beyond belief.
Their team visited the RMC Factory in Idaho to write a prototype version of the coaster.
It was really crazy. I mean, it's built in RMC's backyard,
and they were really just trying to see you know, both the restraint- how it fit with the track,
check out all the mechanical aspects of it. And we went up maybe 80 feet or so, about something like that,
I'm guessing at it. And we did it in like a man lift, right?
And then we just get on this thing that looked like a train, right?
It did have like, a handlebar and they dropped like a 60,000 lb weight as the balance
to catapult this ride forward. And what's even more amazing, is I rode that ride with Matt Ouimet. And we went out
with our head engineer Monty Jasper and our CFO Brian Witherow. Matt and myself, to meet with Fred and his team.
We were very impressed with their whole operation;
but when Fred said "You want a test ride?" Matt said yes.
And I'm thinking, sort of being protective of our head guy in the company,
I said, "Can we see it run first, before our CEO jumps on it?"
We got on, Matt was really game for it. We loved it.
After a thrilling test ride, an agreement was struck to construct one of the first ever Raptor coasters at California's Great America.
Well, we knew that we wanted something that was going to be impactful.
We also thought about making sure that we added an attraction
that was going to be able to take advantage of the new standards under the zoning.
And then lastly, we wanted something that was going to be reflective of the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley.
A prototype attraction is perfect, and we're excited to add it.
The first hints of the new ride began to show up at the park in June 2017, when a pair of tire tracks
appeared on the Midway, leading to a wooden marker mysteriously labeled "Project SR1".
Really, some of the inspiration for the teaser campaign wasn't even marketing.
It came from the early construction crews putting out survey markers on the ground, and some sharp-eyed fans of the park
taking pictures of that, and expecting that we were actually up to something. And so given once we saw how hungry fans were,
for you know, news and information around what we might be up to. That was really sort of the genesis of
putting together this teaser campaign and you know, it's- we ended up with a teaser campaign all about SR1, you know.
What does SR1 mean?
Soon, construction walls sprung up around a large site at the center of the park and land clearing began.
Fittingly, some of the lands being cleared for the new ride had previously served as home for two equally innovative rides from Great America's past:
Sky Whirl, an iconic three armed ferris wheel opened with the park in 1976,
and delighted park guests for over two decades before Invertigo, the first inverted boomerang coaster
in North America, opened on the same site in 1998.
Compared to other roller coasters, the ride itself was in a very tight footprint.
It was in an area where it was not very developed;
There was a pond, there were some trees.
We had to take all that out, and we kind of had to look at what was underneath.
So there were some utilities under there. There was some concrete under there.
There were just a lot of things that we weren't quite sure what was under there. So it lent a lot of challenges in that regard.
As the construction site expanded, several Midway Games were removed to provide even more space.
That summer, a series of graphics representing a timeline of Great America's coaster history
began appearing on a construction wall decorated like a map,
as the parks marketing team began to tease park fans and fuel speculation around the mystery project.
Well, you know, we- you can't do a great, big teaser campaign unless the payoff is going to be really, really big.
And we were we were confident that an RMC Raptor was going to be, you know, exactly the kind of new experience
that this park deserves, and we knew how excited our fans are going to be because year after year, you know,
we've known that they've been waiting for the next big new coaster to be built.
With any new attraction though, considerable time must be spent in order to decide upon both a memorable name and a cohesive theme.
So, after lists and lists and lists of names. we narrowed it down.
Again, it was the the fact that this is a world's first, and we were blazing new trails with it
and it supported our next chapter of Great America. We decided that we wanted to be blazing trails and as we sat there,
I actually just kind of kept looking at it. I wanted to really get the point across that there was a single rail roller coaster.
At the end of that session, we had narrowed down to just a couple of top contenders
and "Trailblazer" was one of those names, but we we can't own Trailblazer. There's lots of Trailblazers.
There's a there's a sports team called the Trailblazers. There's- I mean, anything can be a trailblazer.
And then in a moment of silence in the room, Clayton- I think it was Clayton that said, "RailBlazer".
And as soon as he said RailBlazer, everybody knew we had our name.
Finally, it was time to unveil the new ride. And what better day than National Roller Coaster Day: August 16th, 2017.
It was the perfect date for California's Great America to introduce the world to RailBlazer.
RailBlazer will whisk riders up 106ft before dropping them into a face-first vertical drop,
followed by a series of exciting maneuvers including a 180-degree stall, an off-axis airtime hill, zero-gravity roll, and an over-banked turn,
taken at speeds of up to 53mph.
Managers from the park were joined by Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gilmore, Barbara Lawson representing
American Coaster Enthusiasts, and of course, everyone's favorite beagle, Snoopy
for a ceremonial groundbreaking event that signified the official start of RailBlazer construction.
[background] I think we'll have to do a little countdown. If we can get the whole crowd to join in on a-
[everyone] Five-four-three-two-one!
[background] Those are single-shot fireworks to go with the single rail coaster.
So, you know, today was as you said, such an important day in our parks history.
This is the 15th coaster that Great America would have installed over our 42-year history.
What's particularly exciting is that with the recently approved master plan by the city of Santa Clara,
we were able to build a coaster that really is state-of-the-art.
RailBlazer is going to be one of those attractions that
you know, is special for first and foremost because it's a prototype. There is no other roller coaster in existence like it.
It's going to offer riders a unique perspective.
Riders, they're gonna be sitting in single-file line eight passenger vehicles, very low center of gravity.
It's gonna allow us to do a lot of kind of special things. There's some signature pieces besides the ride vehicle:
We're gonna have a 90 degree drop. So there's really something in it for everyone. We're excited.
Local members of American Coaster Enthusiasts were thrilled at the prospect of a novel new roller coaster
heading to their home park.
Really looking forward to riding this. A monorail design is very unique and will be very exciting to ride,
and just can't wait to get on it and take it for a spin.
As coaster enthusiasts know, this is one of the most sought-after coaster types probably in the world right now.
The RMC Raptors, otherwise known as Rocky Mountain Construction Raptor coaster.
The features, you know, the unique monorail track and the inline seating and.. I can't wait.
I'm speechless almost right now.
Details of RailBlazer were now public knowledge, allowing construction to accelerate.
Soon, track and support shipments from RMC begin arriving at the park.
The first supports began to rise on-site in November 2017, with track following quickly after.
The small cross section of RMC's Raptor Track requires fewer and narrower support structures than a traditional coaster.
Some of the biggest challenges are related to dealing with Rocky Mountain Construction,
in regards to, this was a prototype for them.
So, there were a lot of things that they were learning in that process and I really have to applaud them for taking on something
that is out of their comfort zone. Typically, they deal with wood coasters.
In this case, they were dealing with a coaster that was steel based all throughout.
And for them to have come with a product like this, and in such a short amount of time, should be commended.
With the signature vertical drop safely in place, RailBlazer was topped off on January 12th, 2018,
as crews carefully lowered the crest of the lift hill into place.
At the same time, Great America's coaster shop mechanics began preparing the trains for testing.
The ride's narrow track profile called for a unique train design, with riders straddling the track in a row of eight single-seat cars.
Pulldown lap bar and vest straps give the rider a sense of freedom, whilst keeping them safely restrained during the ride.
Back at the construction site,
the track was complete, and work moved onto installing rock work around the ride, to give riders an experience
of an out-of-control journey through the mountains of California's Pacific coastline.
The theming and surrounding areas of RailBlazer really celebrates the unique regions of California,
where we can go hiking and mountain biking, ATV'ing throughout the mountains,
and so we're pretty spoiled, and we wanted to celebrate that here at the park.
There's a unique blend of steel with the steel coaster, and woodwork to give that natural enhanced feeling.
Existing attractions in the area around Railblazer were restyled to reflect the theme with new signage and landscaping.
See, some of our legacy attractions in the surrounding areas-
We're changing the signage,
you'll see some of the woodwork done that ties into RailBlazer. That way the whole area feels a part of the theme of RailBlazer.
Even RailBlazer's three trains reflect the theme of adventure in the great outdoors.
With cars uniquely styled as all-terrain vehicles, complete with bull bars, handlebars, and reflective strips.
Next, the trains were loaded onto the track and work began on programming the ride's electrical and control systems.
Working with RMC is fantastic, because they are really the leaders in coaster manufacturing right now.
They are the premiere builders of rides right now. So, working with them and watching these brand new rides come to life is absolutely fantastic.
We couldn't be more honored to be able to work with them.
Some of the challenges of working with the Raptor Track is that we still have to run the ride as a normal ride,
as a normal roller coaster, but we have a lot less space to work with in the track.
So, we still have to fit all the equipment that we need such as brakes and boosters and proximity switches,
in an area that is about half the size of what we normally work with on standard roller coaster track.
So we've had to be quite creative in our placement of equipment on the ride, due to the smaller size of the track.
Next, the ride is put through a series of extensive tests to ensure that the ride can operate as safely as designed.
After months of construction and rigorous safety checks, RailBlazer is ready for its first passengers.
Well, I got the opportunity to be the one of the first riders on the first train.
I'll tell you, going up that lift at 45 degrees? It was awesome.
My heart was beating out of it's chest.
But then coming off the first hump into the 90 degrees drop,
I was- I was like everybody else describes it: it took my breath away.
The banking, I felt like I was kind of in a toboggan, right? The design intent is an ATV adventure,
but once you come off that first drop, there is not a lot of straightaway.
It is completely banking and turning and barrel rolling and it is intense from start to finish.
The experience was incredible. The experience of not having someone next to you is different.
The experience of seeing the site 100 feet above, when I'm usually on the ground is also breathtaking.
and you can see a lot around you as well.
Well, my first ride was amazing.
I got to the end and I just-
I had to- I had to stop for a moment and just take it all in, and my mind was blown.
I mean, completely blown away. The transitions are so lightning fast and I was trying to recount the ride in my mind.
I couldn't. I couldn't piece it together end to end.
The ride also proved to be a huge hit with coaster enthusiasts.
The ride was really fun. A very unique coaster,
that is one long element. Really fun ride.
My favorite part of the ride is probably the second hill.
There's just like, you get really thrown out of your seat as it- as you're going into the turnaround.
I think it's crazy, especially in the back row when you get pulled over the drop. It's just, it's just totally crazy.
The project itself, again, being a prototype is-
It feels good to be part of that, to actually usher in something where it's never really been done before.
There are elements on this coaster that is different than other elements that you see on a typical coaster,
so being a part of that is something that I feel proud of.
Personally to me, it's very fulfilling because I've never been one to seek out the limelight.
So, just to be able to sit back and know that I was part of something that
millions and millions of people are gonna be able to enjoy, it's just really satisfying.
And maybe once my three-year-old son gets tall enough, I'll get to ride with him once, would be really really cool, too.
From concept to reality, the path to RailBlazer is complete.
But for California's Great America, the journey is just beginning.
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