Construction Update 11/24/2010

A short Thanksgiving work week this week. Crews only worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so I decided to stop out Wednesday and check on the progress.

The first thing I noticed approaching the roller coaster is crews have started to build the framing around the structure that will house the lift motor.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

At first it appeared no further work had happened on the main structure of the coaster, the start of turn 2 and the out and back lanes looked similar to last Friday.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

As I walked further around the western edge of the existing structure I noticed turn 2 was now being built from the opposite side near the first drop, to meet in the middle with the already started portion from the lift hill side.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

There are many bents completed on the ground waiting to be put in place along with another one in progress.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Crews continue to lay track on top of the structure that is already in place, since last Friday the first layers of track are being added to the lift hill.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Crews were busy backfilling the recently completed foundations in zone 3.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

There are still a few more footings to complete at the turn around curve for the out and back.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Standing at the extreme end of the out and back looking back towards the main structure the view looks like this.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Blog reader Steven B took some of my crudely stitched panoramic shots from last week and did a better stitch in photoshop. He also pointed me to a stitching tool from Microsoft called ICE. The results are pretty incredible so this week I took a series of four photos and used this tool to easily stitch together this panorama, thanks Steve! (click on the image for a higher resolution version)

From Zippin Pippin Construction

This tool is part of Microsoft's Photosynth project which enables you to create some pretty amazing interactive models from a collection of digital photographs.  At some point this winter I hope to do a thorough photo survey of the entire structure and attempt to create a "synth" of it so people will be able to virtually walk around the completed structure and zoom in on the details they want to see.

In other news this week it was reported that the project is now over budget by about $500,000. You can read the full article at the Green Bay Press Gazette. The article makes it sound like this is a budgeting error and the higher cost was known prior to construction but the original budget was never updated with the latest estimates.

Next week the structure for turn 2 should be complete; according to workers on the site they plan to be finished by Tuesday (11/30).  Structure work will then begin in zone 3, this work should progress very quickly since the height is much less in this zone.  They expect to have the entire structure completed by Christmas, the remainder of the winter construction will then consist of completing the track and adding mechanical elements like brakes, lift mechanism, and transfer mechanism.

I'll be checking back on progress next week.  I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

Construction Update 11/19/2010

Winter weather has definitely come to Green Bay and just in time for deer hunting season.  I don't deer hunt but judging by the lack of activity at the job site today I'm guessing many of the workers building the Zippin Pippin roller coaster are hunters.  Although not many workers were on site significant progress has been made since last week's update.  Here is the latest...

The big news this week is the turn 2 structure is starting to go up.  If you recall from previous posts the foundation work showed how complicated the first part of this turn was going to be, you can now see everything going on in this area by checking out the pictures below.

From a distance and looking northwest it looks like this, note there are now three flags being flown at the top of the structure, the newest flag is the City of Green Bay flag.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

As you get closer you can see how the out and back enters and exits the first part of turn 2.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Above this area is the structure the idler pulley will be attached to, since last week they've added a platform underneath it.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Out in zone 3 the foundation work is nearly complete, the footings now are all the way out to the out and back turn around with about one half of the turn completed.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From the furthest point of the out and back you can get a good sense of the total scale of the roller coaster.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Where the out and back lanes split to start the turn around is another relatively complicated area of the foundation.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Looking east you can still get a good shot of the entire standing structure.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Looking north it's a little more difficult to capture the entire structure, I attempted to stitch two pictures together to capture the entire structure looking north.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From further out in the parking lot the entire structure fits in one picture but the construction trailers obscure the view.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

At the top of the first drop the track now extends beyond the structure.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

I like this picture of the top of the lift hill, as the layers of track appeared to be peeled away.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The first drop is patiently waiting to be joined to the lift hill, turn 2 will join these two elements. From this angle you can see how much remains of turn 2 before the lift hill and first drop will be joined together.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The track for the drop after turn 3 has made a lot of progress since last week...

From Zippin Pippin Construction

...along with this uphill right after the drop which heads to the out and back.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Tomorrow is the Green Bay holiday parade, one of the floats in the parade will feature a simulated Zippin Pippin track along with a couple of the actual cars from the ride. Green Bay's mayor Jim Schmitt will be riding this float, the video below is a story about it.

Bonus Post 11/17/10

The two videos below were posted to YouTube, apparently shot with a remote control helicopter. The website for the company that takes these types of videos is http://www.angelcopter.com/ There are currently two videos, the first one appears to have been shot around October 15th, the brake run and first drop are in place.



The second one was shot very recently, sometime around November 10th judging by how much of the lift hill is completed.



During my future visits I will definitely be keeping an eye out for remote control helicopters!

Construction Update 11/12/2010

I was at the site yesterday but haven't been able to get around to writing this post yet due to a Destination Imagination event I was working on that took place this morning.  You could say I was inspired by all of the time spent at the Zippin Pippin, teams had to protect eggs from a crash.  A sled rolled down a 24' ramp slamming their creations into a barrier at the bottom, a quick taste is in the video shown below.



Now on to the latest from the Zippin Pippin roller coaster construction site!

The structure for the lift hill is now complete, along with an American flag in the tallest position.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Here is the view looking straight up the lift hill from the bottom.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The tallest structural pieces is now in place along with the autographs of everyone who showed  up to sign this piece back on Saturday, October 9th.  It's a bit hard to see much from the ground but I attempted to use my zoom to get a close up, does anyone see their name in the picture below (click on the image for a higher resolution view)?

From Zippin Pippin Construction

This structural steel piece will support an idler gear that will return the chain from the top of the lift hill to the lift motor below.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

A small uphill has been added just before the brake run.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Now that this is finished crews should be able to start working on the tall sections that will make up turn two.  Although judging by the bents that are on the ground waiting to be set into place they may not be starting on this in the next couple of days.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The foundation now extends well into zone 3, the out and back lanes are finished which run side by side and will share the same overall structure.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The lanes veer apart at the end to create the 180° turn that will take you back to the loading station.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

While I was visiting the site utility crews were busy at work bringing power to the Pippin.  This electrical line was being buried brining power from the street to the site.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

This large junction box is new on the site this week.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The power then runs from the junction box up to the lift motor.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

This is the area where you will wait to ride the pippin.  I really like how you are literally inside of the ride while you are waiting to get on.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

No further progress on the decking that makes up the loading platform this week.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Over by the first drop the track is the furthest along, I was incorrect last week there were still more laminations to add to the track, now there are seven layers. These appear to be the top layers since there are now bolts countersunk into the uppermost layers.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Straight up the first drop looks like this.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

Turning around and looking up the first uphill after the first drop it looks like this.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The coaster continues to get more massive every week, here are some shots of the entire standing structure at this point in time.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

That is the update for this week, thanks for reading!

Bonus Post 11/10/10

According to this article from the Green Bay Press Gazette the bent with Green Bay residents autographs was put in place today.  I'll try to get a good picture of it when I visit the site Friday.  It should be right at the top of the lift hill.

Check out my post from 10/9/10 to see pictures of the people of Green Bay adding their names to the Zippin Pippin roller coaster.

Construction Update 11/5/10

It was a cold week in Green Bay but at the Zippin Pippin Roller Coaster construction site the action was hot!

The lift hill structure started going up this week (it is visible on the left side of the picture below), it appears to be about 70% complete.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

This is the view looking straight up the lift hill.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The downhill after turn 3 shares the same structure as the lift hill, it is now complete and the next uphill has started, as the coaster goes back up in this area a walkway will be created for the entrance and exit to the ride.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The break in the footings in this area is where you will walk under the lift hill to enter the ride.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

As you enter and head towards the loading platform you will have a great view of the interior structure of turn 3, it will look something like this.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

After your ride you will exit down a ramp running right along the brake run leading into the transfer area.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The lift motor is now becoming surrounding by the structure for the lift hill.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

A look at the track that has been laid around the first drop is showing five board layers making up the track.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

From Zippin Pippin Construction

As the track continues to get built up on the first drop you can almost imagine the coaster screaming down this first drop towards the camera.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The foundation work has extended well into zone 3 the out and back part of the roller coaster.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The tarps seen in the photo above were used while the concrete was curing to keep it warm due to the cold weather this week in Green Bay.

This break in the foundation in this area is for a possible future rerouting of the current Bay Beach train to run underneath the Zippin Pippin.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The earth moving is now revealing the out and back turn, these two lanes will lead to the furthest turn on the roller coaster.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

One of the workings putting up forms in zone 3 said they anticipate about two more weeks and all of the foundation work will be complete.

I can no longer get the entire structure in a shot looking north, from out in Zone 3 looking East I can still easily get a view of all of the action.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

The complicated footings and structure around turn 2 will join the lift hill on the right to the first drop on the left.

From Zippin Pippin Construction

This view of the plans shows all of the highlighted sections where the structure has been erected.  If you look at the high resolution view of this picture (click on it to see it) you can see the dates where each section has been put up is noted in red pen.

From Zippin Pippin Construction