Schweizer Bobbahn
Specific Type: Bobsled
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In the 1980s, Europa Park began what would eventually become a vast collection of roller coasters, featuring crowning achievements from Mack Rides and other manufacturers. One of these achievements was the first Mack bobsled coaster ever to be constructed. After the previous season's addition of Alpenexpress, a Mack powered coaster, Europa Park began to brainstorm for their second installation. A new experience was thought up, one that emulated an Olympic style bobsleigh run. Five countries would sail through a specially designed steel trough, going through corners, helices and sudden drops while passing breathtaking Alpine buildings along the way. Mack Rides took on the task of making the idea a reality, and in 1985 unvieled their result. Schweizer Bobbahn, German for "Swiss bobsleigh," opened to great fanfare, and impressed thrillseekers as its trains glided through twists and turns effortlessly. Just like Intamin's version of the attraction a year before, Schweizer Bobbahn began a new trend in roller coasters that had not been seen since the Golden Age. Bobsled coasters revived the concept of Flying Turns, updating it with steel rather than wood.
Schweizer Bobbahn is located in the park's Switzerland section in a spot just south of Eurosat. Like its sister coaster at Heide Park, the track is painted white with green supports. Five trains, each themed to a different country, provide excellent capacity for ridership. Every train consists of six cars, and every car can accomodate up to two riders seated one in front of the other. To accomodate the five trains, block sections exist at various points throughout the ride. These blocks act as a safety measure that can stop a train in case the train in front of it has encountered a problem. For most of the ride the trains are not directly locked to the track, but they are occasionally guided and straightened out for sections such as brake runs. Each corner is specifically banked according to the train's speed at that point, ensuring that the train stays on the track and thwarting any danger of overshooting the edge. Upon boarding the toboggans, riders embark on their Olympic adventure as the train negotiates a right turn to the lift hill and passes through one of several Alpine themed structures. Cresting the top of the lift and providing a view of Silver Star, the train disengages the chain and gradually picks up speed as it rounds a 180 degree right curve. Riders then find themselves plunging down a drop before rising back up and into a block section. Another right turn leads into a serpentine section sending riders darting left, right, and then into a downward left helix. A quick tunnel sends the train blasting through a final right helix before rising up into the brake run. A few remaining turns lead the train back into the station, concluding the one minnute and forty second ride. As Mack's first bobsled installation and Europa Park's second coaster,Schweizer Bobbahn made history with its debut and continues to thrill visitors with its timeless bobsleigh experience. |
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