A Fully Automated, Home Built, Steel Wild Mouse Coaster

We were really impressed by the amount of time and thinking that Paul Gregg puts into his backyard roller coasters in order to make sure they’re safe to operate.  But he’s not the only backyard imagineer creating amazing projects. Another one is an electrician from France who has designed and built a fully automated steel wild mouse coaster complete with elevator lift! We had the chance to catch up with William of Guigui Rides to find out more about his custom built thrill rides.

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C101: For those who don’t know, who are you and what do you do?

My name is William, I’m French, I live near Paris and I’m 33 years old. I am electrician and have worked on electrical railways. I was also a Parc Asterix electrician for three years.

C101: How did you get started creating your own rides?

I have always been passionate about theme park rides. I started making models and then rides for children.

C101: What type of rides have you created?

I have built rollers coasters, both wood and steel models, a tower and a small ride inspired by a Zamperla model.

C101: Who gets to ride your rides?

I design rides for children because with the rules imposed by the standard, the price would be too high for adults. But, my rides are designed to carry children 55 kilograms and the standard requires a safety factor of 3. My 3 year old son, neighbors and children of the family get to ride.

Just the wooden coaster is designed to carry two passengers 80 kilogram. This allows me to enjoy with my son. Upcoming rides are designed to grow with my son. The latest rides are transferable, so I can install them for birthdays or other.

 

C101: How do you ensure your rides are safe to ride?

For me, safety is the most important thing. The first rides were designed to support a person of 132 pounds. For added security and to show the quality of my rides I decided to buy European standard EN 13814 and apply it to my design. To comply with the standard, I asked a friend Mechanical Engineer to validate the design. I defined control cycles on my rides. Some items are inspected and checked every day or every week. There are electrical and mechanical controls and I have also set out procedures to start the rides as well as during operation.

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This is the locking system of the ride. Nobody can operate the carousel when I leave the control panel. Each person working on the ride must put a padlock to lock the ride for not operate by mistake as someone working on it. This is a very important safety feature.

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C101: For those who don’t know, can you explain what the European Standard EN 13814 is?

In Europe, this is the standard that is required for the design of all types of rides. The standard contains the type of steel used, the maximum permissible accelerations, safety factors, and the frequency of inspections.

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C101: Do you use any software to design or program the rides?

I’m not good with computers. I made the plans on paper and electrical schematics simply on Word with the drawing tools.

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C101: Your automated wild mouse coaster is really impressive! How did you  go about creating the brakes and sensors? Did you also program it yourself?

Thank you. All new rides must have a novelty about them. This roller coaster is a complete, closed circuit. It’s also removable and transportable and the electrical system can manage multiple cars on the track at once. I am very proud of the electrical system that I designed because it has a high level of safety and complies with the European standard EN 13814. It may not seem like it but it is very complex. I have modernized it this year. Two programmable logic control analyze and compare data from sensors. Each asks the other if he agrees and if one does not then the ride stops. If any problems are detected, it is designed to stop the coaster so as to operate safely. Examples of other safety features include the brakes stop the car even without compressed air, anti-roll backs on the elevator lift and cars with a broken wheel does not leave the track. I used an accelerometer to verify that the acceleration does not exceed that allowed by the standard. I changed one of the drop radii to comply with the standard.

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C101: Do you have any future projects in the work or any dream projects you want to work on?

I have lots of projects. Two are under construction: a free fall and a train on tires. I also work on a launch coaster and one with a loop. These coasters are at the design stage. I also want to continue to build different types of rides such as a big wheel.

C101: Do you often go to real theme parks and if so which is your favorite?

I often go to Disneyland and Parc Asterix. I have been to several parks in Europe such as Europa Park, Liseberg. I went to Magic Mountain, Cedar Point and SF Great Adventure. My favorite is Cedar Point.

C101: Thanks again for answering our questions and for sharing your creations with the world!

For more updates and videos, check out the Guigui Rides Facebook page and YouTube channel.

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