hi, i found this footage from 2009 of Diamondback when it first opened, and aside from the stunning paint job, i noticed that the track bends quite a bit. is that normal?

 

Perfectly normal and part of the design. Guess you don't wanna know how much a tall building or tower will sway lol

Yea they sway and bend like that to prevent stress on the metal causing splits.

It's where we get the phrase "bend, don't break!"

Take this with many grains of salt, but someone told me a long time ago now that the first drop needed welding every day during 2009, and the track was replaced during the offseason.

That sounds unlikely.  I'm not going to say impossible, but very unlikely. If it truly needed rewelding every day that would a) cost a fortune and b) it would be better served by shutting it down for several weeks to fix what was causing the issues.  I've been told by structural engineers that the weld is stronger than the steel itself, so it reasons that if something was being re-welded every day, it would be breaking a lot and in my opinion making the ride unsafe.  I know you said take it with many grains of salt, but I'm going to need a Morton's factory before I start believing that one (though if true, I'd love to hear the reasoning/science behind it)

Bending is better than breaking, as mentioned above, if it don't bend, its going to break.

4 hours ago, PKIDelirium said:

Take this with many grains of salt, but someone told me a long time ago now that the first drop needed welding every day during 2009, and the track was replaced during the offseason.

Unlikely, as if that was the case, it would have never passed inspection!

35 minutes ago, kissfan4 said:

Unlikely, as if that was the case, it would have never passed inspection!

Yet people could see workers doing just that almost every night on Steel Vengeance its first year.  You can find posts here and elsewhere where people reported that and being able to see it out their hotel windows or from the campsite within a stone's throw.

You have to remember inspection for operating certification is one thing.  And then there is ongoing maintenance that doesn't need re-certified by the state.  It is not uncommon for a board to be replaced on a woodie overnight, but it doesn't warrant a shutdown and reinspection from the state.  Or changing out a wheel.  At what point is re-welding considered not routine maintenance and requires a recert?

37 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Yet people could see workers doing just that almost every night on Steel Vengeance its first year.  You can find posts here and elsewhere where people reported that and being able to see it out their hotel windows or from the campsite within a stone's throw.

And Wicked Twister, especially before the additional bracing was installed on at least one of the spikes...