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Mean Streak RMC Conversion Update #8: An Outside Banked Turn and a New Unknown
As seen in the last update, Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) of Idaho have been hard at work placing new steel track on the support structure of the defunct wooden coaster Mean Streak, which used to operate at the world renown Cedar Point, located in Sandusky, Ohio. Mean Streak closed back in September of 2016, and immediately after RMC trucks were spotted on the site of it and its track could be seen being removed.
More than five months later, RMC is still hard at work on converting Mean Streak into a steel-hybrid coaster. Cedar Point has only once confirmed that Mean Streak was being transformed, and that was at the park's annual off-season park tour, Winter Chill Out. Unfortunately, the park did not allow photography during the indoor session when RMC Mean Streak was confirmed. The park also has not officially announced this coaster to the general public.
Luckily, coaster enthusiasts have continued to snap shots of Mean Streak's conversion from Lake Erie, which surrounds Cedar Point on its peninsula, and from roads on Cedar Point property. (Taking photos on Cedar Point property is illegal, so, don't do it.) The legal photos taken from Lake Erie have been the most commonly shared online, especially when track was first being removed from the support structure. Two new photos taken from the lake have surfaced, and I will be analyzing them below!
As you can see, the picture above shows an outside banked turn, which was predicted in the previous RMC Mean Streak update. This element is the largest of its kind ever built, as most outside banked turns are found on smaller coasters, such as those from S&S (among the El Loco model).
In this photo, it is really hard to try and guess what this track is going to end up leading in to. There are a few possible elements that this placed track could lead up to. The track that can be seen is placed in a way that would make an inversion likely, as the track looks to be heartlined. This inversion would be curved, similar to the second barrel roll of Outlaw Run, as you can see the supports behind this track are forming what used to be a turn in the old Mean Streak layout. It could also be a twisted airtime hill, or another outside banked turn. The latter would be unlikely as RMC really doesn't do two elements that similar back-to-back too often. If this does end up being an inversion, it would be the first we've seen in the new layout.
Stay tuned to the Roller Coaster Daily Blog for more information about the Mean Streak RMC conversion by following us on Instagram (@rollercoasterdaily) and Facebook (Roller Coaster Daily), and following Chief Editor Caleb Keithley on Twitter (@calebkeithley). You can instantly follow these accounts by going to the social media logos at the top of the page.
Mean Streak photos are courtesy of Noel Wilkins
