Dahlonega Mine Train

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dahlonega Mine Train
The front entrance of the attraction.
Location	Six Flags Over Georgia
Type	Steel
Status	Open
Opened	June 1967
Manufacturer	Arrow Dynamics
Model	Mine Train
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill (3)
Height	37 ft (11.3 m)
Length	2323 ft (708.1 m)
Max speed	29 mph (46.7 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	2:51
Max Vertical Angle	45 degrees
Capacity	2200 riders per hour
Height Restriction	42 in (106.7 cm)
Dahlonega Mine Train at RCDB
Pictures of Dahlonega Mine Train at RCDB

The Dahlonega Mine Train is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta, Georgia. The ride has three lift hills with brief elements between each that wind through a wooded, hilly landscape. Wait times for this ride are usually very short. This is a family coaster that is named after a mountain village in northern Georgia that was a center of a gold rush in 1828.

[edit] Operational Information

When opened in 1967 the Dahlonega Mine Train had the capability to run four trains at once, the reason for its high capacity. In the mid-1990s, however, the O. D. Hopkins Company rebuilt and refurbished the ride, supplying new track and a fully computerized control system. This new system is not capable of running four trains at once (three is the current maximum number of trains during normal operation). Thus, the stated capacity of 2200 riders per hour is inaccurate.

As with most modern roller coasters, a block system keeps trainsets moving and prevents trains from colliding with each other. Very seldom trains will "roll back" into the tunnel from the end of the station platform. The control program is set up to handle this problem so that another train cannot collide with the stalled train. When this happens, guests are unloaded in the tunnel (which has lights and a stairway for just such an event) and a winch pulls the empty train back into the station.

Trains feature a single lapbar in each row actuated by depressing a foot pedal near the front of each car, done by a station attendant. Unlike many roller coasters, though, there are no upstop wheels to prevent the trains from leaving the track; instead there is a only a flange which achieves the same result. This is common on "Mine Train" type roller coasters.

[edit] Trivia

• After cresting the third lift hill, the ride makes a slow turnaround where it then drops into the tunnel. Splashwater Falls is located near this turnaround, which was known to soak coaster riders if a boat from Splashwater Falls arrived at the same time.
• Until the mid 1990s a kiddie coaster known as the Mini mine Train was located adjacent to the Dahlonega Mine Train and was part of Looney Tunes Land. The "Convoy" childrens' ride now occupies its spot.

Roller coasters at Six Flags Over Georgia
Batman: The Ride - Dahlonega Mine Train - Déjà Vu – Georgia Cyclone – Georgia Scorcher – Goliath – Great American Scream Machine - Mind Bender - Ninja - Superman: Ultimate Flight – Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster