Cheetah Hunt

The white fins are Linear Induction Motors and are fixed in their positions.  The darker metal fins positioned on the arcing track above them are retractable.  They are hinged and fold down into the track before a train is boosted up towards this tall tower.  After the train passes, the metal fins pop back up into the position seen here.  When in this raised configuration, if the train passes over them, the fins interact with the permanent magnets placed underneath the train and impart a braking force.  The fins are used to slow the train in case it has a "roll-back" and doesn't have enough speed to climb up this steep hill.  An underpowered launch rarely happens, so most of the time, the train just passes over the lowered fins and continues on through the rest of the ride.

©2021 by Joel A. Rogers.