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I thought my most recent video might be of interest to y'all here.  I was given the opportunity to interview a couple of the saloon ladies- Heather and Maddie- about what it's like to work at the saloon.  We cover getting hired, funny moments, rehearsals, how they keep from getting bored, and much much more.  It was a lot of fun, and they gave some fascinating tidbits from behind the scenes.
Part 1 posted last week https://youtu.be/canNIhy0d2g and part 2 should go live tomorrow.

Will never know this answer but I would love to know the maintenance costs that the old FITH was costing on a regular basis to justify a re-build (with updated technology obviously) at 30 million.

This all sounds great, and I am no expert, but surely they could have rehabbed the original ride for a fraction of the cost?

Rehabbing the original wouldn't have been a fraction as it would have required complete replacement of the ride, the sets and the building anyways. Without getting into details, the original was nearing end of life and there really wasn't an option to just rehab it.  With the investment it would have taken it was better all the way around to build a new one.

Additionally removing the building (which simply has to be done) opens up an area to be used in the future.  Think about how much Dollywood has changed in the last 15 years or so.  SDC's turn is coming.

Saw that.  Sad,  Didn't have any idea he had cancer.  I know a lot of people who knew him, and he was very well liked.

Wonder what will happen to the theater now.

I'll have my video posted tomorrow afternoon showing video inside and talking about the things that were announced (and a couple that might have been overlooked a little)
I was very pleased and excited about the announcement.   They're doing a great job with it.  Someone said that this is a love letter to the old ride.  I think that's a great way to put it.

[Gauge]

The State Fire Marshal's Office gave Silver Dollar City the following recommendations:

    Develop track safety standards for a 2-foot narrow gage track, as there are no standards
    Install ties at a consistent spacing
    Measure side bearing at set intervals
    Correct and monitor the correct alignment of rails
    Ensure and monitor joint bolts for tightness
    Ensure weight is evenly distributed during passenger loading

I am unconvinc3ed that the Fire Marshal has any business whatever issuing any comments or recommendations on this issue, especially since they can't even spell the word gauge.   I do not expect the necessary level of familiarity from inspectors whose job is in an entirely different field.

There ARE standards or the train would have fallen off the tracks at the first run.   Gauge, for example, requires a certain level of standardization.  Rail alignment is partly a function of the fish plates, but level of precision required is not that high. 

One issue that can be pointed at the City is the fish plate bolts.  They do require monitoring and retightening at intervals. 

The passenger loading comment is, in Ozarkian, foolishment.  I have watched and ridden the train more than most, and I have never seen a randomly-loaded car that evinced dangerous imbalance. 

I'm in general agreement with you.  It's hard to say if that misspelling is actually from the report or from a typo with the news media, as I can't seem to find an actual copy of the report, just the reporters saying what's in it.

The fish plate bolts are odd.  I've seen them check those every morning, and tighten them up.

I wish we could read the actual report, as I want to know what changed over the course of the day. There is mention of track misalignment and warping, but they wouldn't have started the day that way.  What caused it? What changed?

There's still information missing, and it may or may not be in the report.  And it's possible that the Marshall missed it completely since it's not something they normally deal with.

New Train Depot water tower?  Does this mean the depot is not moving after FITH is torn down?

New Train Depot water tower?  Does this mean the depot is not moving after FITH is torn down?
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May not be worth much, but many of us with experience out in the city have never put much stock in the rumored New Train stations. And I've not heard any hint of that from anyone in the park.

Honestly, with all the work they are doing to increase the parking size, it seems to me they are starring to prepare to expand. Why clog up a potential expansion path with something that already serves just fine? I have a much stronger suspicion it may be used for expansion out that direction and potentially a loop connecting with Outlaw Runs path.

I talk about it more in depth with the reasoning in one of my recent videos. But I haven't heard any sources I put much credence in talk about a new train station. Just internet rumors.

Video from our trip yesterday with a look at all the work going on. https://youtu.be/_1ZjbmcXruM

Didn't you just post a video about days you won't go to parks?

It sounds like this should have been one of those days! 

LoL yep it certainly was one of those days. But braved it for the construction footage and to get my daughters pass.

Train crew had no ETA yesterday on when they might start operations

Video from our trip yesterday with a look at all the work going on. https://youtu.be/_1ZjbmcXruM

So Cal trip in June: hoping to hit Lagoon in Salt Lake City and in Denver Lakeside and/or Elitch we're hoping.

Mid to late July: Cedar Point, Dorney, Rye Playland, Coney Island, Knoebels and Kennywood.
Early August (return home) hopefully Kings Island and maybe Holiday World

September: Dragon Con in Atlanta

That's on top of a few trips to SDC, Worlds of Fun and Six Flags St. Louis if all goes well.

Note that none of this is official, and frankly anything that anyone is saying here has to be taken as speculation until official reports are released as the park has not said anything as of yet, nor have official reports been released.

However, having worked on the train, and knowing the people, processes and procedures, along with some off the record discussions with people that do have information and experience, I hope that I can offer a little bit of an informed guess about the train situation. I should make clear that I am not speaking in any way, officially or unofficially, for the park, inspectors, employees, or anyone that has worked or currently works on the train at Silver Dollar City.

First, I don't believe, and I expect the reports to confirm, that the train derailment was not the fault of any of the train personal- engineers, inspectors, etc.  The work they do on the trains is meticulous- which I actually documented in a video I produced a couple of years back, and that includes daily track inspections.  Furthermore, I believe that they will be cleared of mechanical issues actually being the cause of the derailment (though I'm not sure on contributing to what happened).

For those that don't remember, the area a week before the derailment was in a rather strong drought condition.  It had been quite a while without rain. Then in the couple of days beforehand we had rain.  A lot of it.  Flood condition amounts of it.  Lots of rain on very dry ground on top of rock (e.g. Missouri) can soften the ground and make it shift in a way that is nearly undetectable, particularly on a hill similar to where the train derailed.

The train had run without issue several times that day, and the issue happened near the end of the day, which means it was a condition that grew over the course of the day until the point where it actually caused the accident.  They aren't checking that track after every trip, so if it's something that progressed, if there wasn't some sign of it they wouldn't have seen it.

I'm fairly convinced (and I'm waiting for the official reports to confirm it, which I'm fairly confident they will) that the cause was dry ground that had become saturated and then started slipping over the course of the day under the weight and strain of the operations that then caused the rails to displace just enough to cause the derailment.

That's something that is generally inspected for and worked on in the off season, as it's pretty much never an issue during the season.  As witnessed by 55 years of it operating without incident, as well as all of the numerous theme park trains that have also not had a derailment incident like this.

To blame this on a "sudden failure of management" is uninformed at the best, and comes from a lack of knowledge of park and/ or train operations.  And if that's you, I would suggest that you wait for official reports before speaking and speculating.  :-)

That said, I'll step back into the shadows and let those that think they know better continue to speak.  I've had other times where others tried to tell me how and what I and others did on the train, and I see some of that starting here again.

It depends on what the songs are that would make them subject to copyright. A lot of classic Christmas carols and songs aren't really under copyright, and so wouldn't be affected.

But SDC, off the top of my head, used over the last several years:
1. You Got a Friend in Me
2. POTC theme music
3. Somewhere in My Memory from Home Alone (Christmas Carol)
4. Money Makes the World Go Round (It's a Wonderful Life)

Almost every song in Dickens, with only a couple of exceptions like Ave Maria, are under copyright from other parties and they have to pay licensing fees to use those songs.  Some in Dickens were from the Polar Express, some from the musical movie Scrooge, and a few others.

I've heard 2 different things- either they hadn't been paying the licensing fees for those songs in the past and were hit with a cease and desist order, or the holders of the copyrights raised the amounts they were wanting for SDC to use the songs by a large amount.

Either way, SDC decided what they would have been charged to use those songs wasn't worth the cost, and that's why they are no longer used in the show.  Using them would result in a costly lawsuit.

That's not true for many Christmas carols, which are in public domain. But those songs most definitely are not.

The rumor clearly does not refer to the old Notch Inn (at the corner of Notch Lane and Highway 76).  That old motel was renovated back in November and December, and it is now a Motel 6 franchise.  I have not been inside any of the units, but the whole property looks pretty good from the outside (at least, it is significantly better than it was before).

As an interesting side note, I am pretty sure that in years past (back in the pre-pandemic days), a Silver Dollar City bus would show up in the old Notch Inn's parking lot every morning and carry a handful of people (presumably workers) to the park.  Were they "living" at the Inn, or was that just a spot for SDC workers to park and ride a shuttle bus to the park?

It's the old Econo Lodge in Branson West. Not sure how they say that it is less than a mile from SDC when it is closer to 4 miles. I guess that it is technically less than a mile to SDC owned property, just not the park.

Somehow I missed that they coverted the old Notch Inn to a motel 6.  Rennovation was badly needed. Looks like it has some mixed reviews still on Google, but even then it's a huge improvement to what it was.

There were some SDC employees that lived there in the past (I knew a couple) and I think they would sometimes put up some of the festival acts there as well on a rare occasion, so that may be why the shuttle was running there.

The old Econo Lodge is another one that is a major mess, so here's to hoping that they get it cleaned up and looking spiffy.  It would give that whole area an improved look if they do.

Hopefully they'll do some major work on it.  That old Notch hotel was a dump last time I was near it.

And the train station getting Demo'd if that rumor is true. "Hey its the 60th anniversary of the train at the park! We are tearing down that old station at the end of the season to celebrate!" 

I'm not sure I'm a believer of that rumor, at least not at this point.  They put in quite a bit of money just a handful of years ago investing in the flooring of the station. There are multiple reasons not to move it.  And I just haven't really had much by way of indicators when I've talked to people around the park who might know.

I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but I'm not really convinced at this point.