SheiKra

SheiKra's track is 3,188 feet long.  Its lift hill ascends at a steep 45° angle.  It has two vertical drops, the first of which has a train on it in this picture.

Because trains pause before going down this drop, many people think that there is a holding brake that stops trains before SheiKra's first drop.  This is incorrect.  There is a large electric motor mounted under the track just before it angles steeply downward.  With nearly 500 horse-power, this motor fights against gravity and dangles each train for about four seconds before releasing the train to freefall straight downward.  The motor drives a short segment of chain very much like the chain used on the lift hill.  The main difference between this holding chain and the lift chain is the hardware mounted on the trains that interacts with these chains.  Because the lift chain pulls the trains forward and the drop chain pulls the trains backward, two sets of catches, also called "chain dogs," are mounted below the coaster's cars.  One set faces forward while the other set faces backward.

©2021 by Joel A. Rogers.