New Texas Giant is a wooden-steel hybrid roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas, located in the park's Texas section. The ride was transformed from the original Texas Giant, which underwent an 18-month refurbishment, transforming from a wood track to steel and reopening on April 22, 2011
Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the New Texas Giant stands 153 feet tall and features a 79° drop stretching 147 feet. The ride also features multiple turns banked up to 115° and over 4,506 feet of track.
History[]
On March 3, 2010, Six Flags Over Texas and Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) unveiled the steel I-Box track which would be used on the refurbished ride. The track was developed over the course of three years by RMC owner Fred Grubb, and Ride Centerline, LLC engineers Alan Schilke and Dody Bachtar. The steel track was designed to be a replacement for any existing wooden track structure, with the rail shape, approximate weight, and dimensions remaining the same. Schilke designed the modifications to the layout, giving specifications to Grubb for manufacturing at RMC's Idaho plant. There, two-dimensional plates of steel were machine-welded to form the three-dimensional track parts. The redevelopment saw much of the track get reprofiled; the lift hill was increased by 10 feet (3.0 m), the first drop was steepened to 79 degrees, and several overbanked turns (ranging from 90° to 115°) were added. The renovated ride, dubbed the New Texas Giant, reopened on April 22, 2011. On June 16, 2022, riders of New Texas Giant participated in the World's Largest Roller Coaster Ride to celebrate the anniversary of Switchback Railway.
Ride experience[]
The New Texas Giant begins with a right turn out of the station. This leads directly to a 153-foot-tall (47 m) chain lift hill. Once at the top, riders drop 147 feet (45 m) at an angle of 79°. A double up leads into a 90° overbanked turn, a dip and a 95° overbanked turn. Another dip and rise leads the train into a 115° overbanked turn. The exit from the overbanked turn leads into a small air-time hill, which delivers the greatest negative g-force on the ride, before ascending up into the mid-course brake run. The train drops from the brake run and continues through a series of low-to-the-ground air-time hills and directional changes. This runs through three separate tunnels, finishing with the final brake run and short path back to the station.
Characteristics[]
As the name suggests, New Texas Giant is located within the Texas section of Six Flags Over Texas. It was Rocky Mountain Construction's first installation of I-Box track. New Texas Giant operates with three trains manufactured by Gerstlauer. The trains are themed to 1961 Cadillac Devilles. Each train is made up of six cars, each seating riders in two rows of two. Riders are restrained through the use of an individual hydraulic lap bar and a seat belt.
2013 accident[]
On July 19, 2013, a 52-year-old woman fell to her death while riding New Texas Giant. A park official released a statement saying, "We are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident and will utilize every resource throughout this process ... When we have new information to provide, we will do so." The ride was closed indefinitely pending further investigation. The park completed its investigation stating on September 10, 2013, that mechanical failure was not to blame. The ride reopened on September 14, 2013, with all three trains featuring a re-designed restraint bar, pads, and seat belts. The incident resulted in the introduction of seat belts as a precaution on other roller coasters throughout the Six Flags chain.
Awards[]
| Golden Ticket Awards: Top Steel Roller Coasters | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | ||||||
| Ranking | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 23 | 26 | ||||||
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