Colossos (roller coaster)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Colossos

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caption=
location=Heide Park
section=Main Street

type=Wood
status=Open
opened=April 13, 2001
manufacturer=Intamin AG
designer=Werner Stengel
model=Wooden Coaster (prefabricated track)
track=Out and back
lift=Chain lift hill
height=196.83
drop=159.08
length=4409.4
speed=74.6
inversions=0
duration=2:25
angle=61 degrees
capacity=1500
cost=$60,000,000
acceleration=no launch
gforce=3.8
restriction=48
rcdb_number=988

Colossos is a wooden roller coaster at Heide Park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the first wooden roller coaster to use prefabricated track, and is the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Europe (second tallest and fastest worldwide)fact|date=June 2008.

Colossos is very different from a traditional wooden roller coaster because it is prefabricated. Instead of trackers cutting, shaping, and laying down the track by hand, the track is laser cut in a factory, achieving a higher degree of precision than could ever be done by hand. It is also made so that it snaps together like Lego pieces. The track also is made of more layers of wood that are tightly bonded together instead of being traditionally nailed together by hand. This has three major benefits, two for the park and the other for the riders.

The "Plug and Play" aspect of the coaster speeds construction, since track does not have to be completely manufactured on site. In addition, building costs are lowered due to fewer man-hours being required. The riders benefit from a coaster, that while being wooden, is nearly steel smooth. However, some roller coaster enthusiasts may find that aspect to take away from the ride since it would not have the same character as a traditional wooden roller coaster. Two other prefabricated wooden roller coasters have since been built, Balder at Liseberg and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.

External links

* [http://www.rcdb.com/id988.htm Colossos entry at the Roller Coaster Database]