The Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Over Georgia)

Infobox roller coaster
name=The Great American Scream Machine


caption=The front entrance of the attraction.
location=Six Flags Over Georgia
section=
type=Wood
status=Open
opened=1973
manufacturer=Philadelphia Toboggan Company
designer=Don Rosser, John C. Allen, William Cobb
model=
track= Out-and-back
lift=Chain Lift
height=105
drop=89
length=3450
speed=57
inversions=0
duration=2:00
angle=45
capacity=1200
cost=
restriction=48
acceleration=
gforce= 3.7
rcdb_number=41The Great American Scream Machine is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia. The 105-foot tall ride reaches a top speed of 57 miles per hour. GASM, as it is known to park workers, was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1973 with Marvin M. Black & Sons as the contractor. When it opened, it was the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world, and riders were given a "Red Badge of Courage" button for riding the coaster.Fact|date=November 2007

Operational Information

A computerized block system is used to prevent trains from contacting each other. GASM has 5 blocks: Station, Transfer Table, Lift, Ready Brake, and Safety Brake. Normal operation uses two trains; however, it can be operated with only one. During two-train operation, if the train in the station has not fully exited the platform, the inbound train will stop abruptly in the Ready Brakes. A combination of proximity switches, mechanical switches, photoelectric sensors, and timers are all used by the controller to track train movements.

Each train consists of four cars with three rows per car; two riders per row, holding 24 total riders. Each row has a lap bar and a seat belt. The lapbar itself is locked and unlocked by an electrical current that activates solenoids on the train, resulting in a "buzzing" electrical sound. They can be troublesome, sometimes requiring the operating crew to manually unlock the lapbar for a rider. The trains ride on steel wheels with guide wheels and upstops attached. The track is plank wood stacked 7 planks high, with steel running surfaces on the top, bottom and sides (locations where the running, guide, and upstop wheels contact the track).

Before computerized control existed, operators used a lever to operate the brake system and dispatch trains. The operator near the end of the station controlled the main brakes at the end of the circuit; the operator at the front of the station operated the brakes at the station platform only and worked to dispatch trains to the lift.

When the nearby Chattahoochee River floods, the Scream Machine can be partially immersed in several feet of water.

References

External links

* [http://www.sixflags.com/parks/overgeorgia/Rides/scream.html Official Six Flags Over Georgia website]