Question about the gondola stations

[FastPass Dad]

Maybe this has been addressed and I just missed it but how will they handle the one resort that is between 2 stations? From my understanding, there will be 3 lines. 2 of those lines, the AOA to CBR and CBR to HS will each have only 2 points (a start and end point) that's pretty straight forward. The 3rd line, Epcot to CBR, has a stop in the middle at the Riviera. How will the loading be handled at this stop? Do the people boarding at the Riviera have to wait for someone who is getting off there? I'm confused how else you would load people at a mid point when you are theoretically loading each car to capacity at each starting point.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

My guess is that, for much of the time, the system will not be operating at capacity, and those at Riviera won't have to wait very long for an empty car. This system will have a MUCH greater capacity than the bus system, currently.

If there were a buildup of people at Riviera, CM there could call down to the next station and tell them to leave 1/3 or 1/5 (or whatever) cars empty for Riviera passengers.

The greater unknown is how will Riviera deal with ECVs and such, that require a stopped gondola. While the other stations have a 2nd track to allow a gondola to come to a complete stop for loading/unloading, it seems the Riviera station does not have this.

 

[amcnj]

I haven’t seen the setup, but could they possibly have extra empty cars that can get fed onto the line? The same could apply to cars that need to load a wheelchair, etc. Have some empties for loading or pull a car off the line into a side area, then put it back onto the main line into gaps left for such purposes?

 

[joelkfla]

I haven’t seen the setup, but could they possibly have extra empty cars that can get fed onto the line? The same could apply to cars that need to load a wheelchair, etc. Have some empties for loading or pull a car off the line into a side area, then put it back onto the main line into gaps left for such purposes?

There appears to be no way to do that at the Riviera Station.

It would be much easier just to leave some cars empty when loading at CBR. But it's doubtful that system capacity will be maxed out, so there probably will be some empty cars naturally.

 

[amcnj]

There appears to be no way to do that at the Riviera Station.

It would be much easier just to leave some cars empty when loading at CBR. But it's doubtful that system capacity will be maxed out, so there probably will be some empty cars naturally.

Oh ok. I can’t remember where it was, but thought some place had it where the loading was kind of off the main line so it didn’t ever have to stop, then the loaded cars were manually pushed and added onto the moving line. Sounds like that won’t be the case here, so they may need to stop the entire line for at least some loading situations.

 

[joelkfla]

Oh ok. I can’t remember where it was, but thought some place had it where the loading was kind of off the main line so it didn’t ever have to stop, then the loaded cars were manually pushed and added onto the moving line. Sounds like that won’t be the case here, so they may need to stop the entire line for at least some loading situations.

No, it is much like you described, but not at Riviera. All of the stations except Riviera are terminals, and those all have a 2nd turnaround that cabins can be switched onto. Apparently this configuration has never been seen before, and everybody's assuming it's to allow selected cabins to be switched out and stopped for special loading, while the majority of cabins continue around the main turnaround, loading while moving at a low speed.

There will be no pushing; the cabins on both the main and secondary turnarounds will be driven by rotating tires. The switching and movement of the cabins will probably be computer controlled.

Riviera is an intermediate station with no turnarounds and no apparent secondary path, so there's no obvious way to stop cabins for special loading (which is how this thread got started.)

 

[amcnj]

No, it is much like you described, but not at Riviera. All of the stations except Riviera are terminals, and those all have a 2nd turnaround that cabins can be switched onto. Apparently this configuration has never been seen before, and everybody's assuming it's to allow selected cabins to be switched out and stopped for special loading, while the majority of cabins continue around the main turnaround, loading while moving at a low speed.

There will be no pushing; the cabins on both the main and secondary turnarounds will be driven by rotating tires. The switching and movement of the cabins will probably be computer controlled.

Riviera is an intermediate station with no turnarounds and no apparent secondary path, so there's no obvious way to stop cabins for special loading (which is how this thread got started.)

Thanks for this explanation of the issue!

 

[seashoreCM]

They could add a second elbow bend at Riviera in the future to switch out cabins for special loading, and it would work the same way as a second turnaround at a terminal.

 

[joelkfla]

They could add a second elbow bend at Riviera in the future to switch out cabins for special loading, and it would work the same way as a second turnaround at a terminal.

That doesn't seem likely at this point. The station itself is substantially complete, with construction underway on the themed structures surrounding Doppelmayr's station core. The rails, bull wheels, and drive wheels are all in place.

There would need to be 2 alternate paths: one on the inside and one on the outside of the turn. The geometry would be difficult, and would probably require a much longer station that what's there now.