Trains and Station
El Toro has two trains, each seating 36 passengers (3 rows of 2 passengers per car, 6 cars per train), the second longest trains in the park. El Toro has a capacity of 1200 guests per hour. The trains are simply known as "Train A" (light brown) and "Train B" (dark brown), although they have been nicknamed "Jorge" (Pronounced Or-Hay) (Train A) and "Hector" (Train B) by the ride operators. The trains have padded "wings" at shoulder level to prevent riders from being thrown too far to the side in the final twister section. These wings were originally made of plastic, but were replaced by much stronger metal ones after several of them broke in the middle of El Toro's opening season. A pair of the original plastic wings can still be found on the test seat.
El Toro's restraints are very sensitive, which can sometimes result in a car (or sometimes the entire train) being unlocked and re-checked because one of the restraints was not down far enough to allow the train to be dispatched. Having had prior fatalities in the park, Six Flags' caution is understood. Thus, this ride is not really meant for large or unique body structures, and guests are provided with a test seat prior to boarding.
El Toro's U-shaped lapbar restraints (a safer design than Intamin's usual T-shaped restraints) use a hydraulic locking system, which means they can be pushed down to any position, where they will stay. A ratchet-based restraint, in contrast, only locks at each notch and will often be too loose or uncomfortably tight. It also utilizes magnetic brakes—the brake fins are mounted to the underside of the train and the braking magnets are mounted to the track.
El Toro is unusual in that, because of space restrictions, it does not have a garage for its trains. Instead, it has a single open-air storage track, and the other train is stored in the station or brake run. When on the storage track, the train rests on its upstop wheels (the wheels that run under the track to keep it from flying off) rather than its main wheels. This allows for easier maintenance of the main wheels.
In 2010, the "Hector" train has been re-themed to endorse Stride Gum, making it one of three coasters in the park to have trains endorsing products. The train was wrapped in Stride Gum advertisements, showing a different flavor of Stride gum on each car. The advertisements remained on the train for the entire 2011 season, but were removed before the start of the 2012 season and replaced with kia soel advertising.
Read more about this topic: El Toro (Six Flags Great Adventure)
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