True Test for Timberliners

By Ryan Shrout
Gravity Group's self-designed rolling stock will get its first true test next year when Holiday World opens up for the 2010 season. Earlier, Holiday World allowed Gravity Group to run some live tests with the new trains on the Raven without guests being able to ride. Rumors flew that it would soon feature the trains permanently. Well we guessed the right park but got the wrong coaster.

Now Holiday World has announced that next year will feature a new and improved Voyage. That's right the highly acclaimed, 163' tall, 67 mph, 6442' long wooden coaster built by the Gravity Group will be the first coaster anywhere to get the new trains. Since its installment back in 2006, there have been some complaints of roughness. The new articulated rolling stock promises to deliver a smoother, as well as a faster ride.

This new style of train, in addition to their single-bench, articulated design will also feature padded seats that have been ergonomically designed for greater comfort. The individual seats are designed to accommodate riders with wider hips and longer legs which is a great improvement for taller coaster enthusiasts such as myself.

While this installment will be just the base model Timberliner. The Gravity Group says that their rolling stock is capable of accommodating everything from on-board audio to launch capabilities. Hopefully this will be just the first Timberliner we see put in to production because I personally would love to see how far these new trains allow engineers to take the wooden coaster experience.