You know those coasters that are mostly tame but have one absurdly wild moment?
The one that comes to mind is Kennywood’s Jack Rabbit. Well,
I’d like to present another example with Machine a Vapeur at Jardin d’Acclimatation. This powered
coaster looks like a kiddie coaster. And it behaves like one for most of the layout.
But this ride has a surprising ejector hill towards the end of the ride. So in this video,
I will explain just how good that moment is and review the coaster as a whole.
From 1992 to 2001, Jardin d’Acclimatation was home to Chenille. This was a small
powered coaster from French manufacturer Soquet. The same year that ride closed, Soquet built a
newer powered coaster for Jardin d’Acclimatation. The ride originally opened as Tacot Express, which
translates to Old Timer. At that time, the coaster had green track and an automobile themed train.
In 2018, the park as a whole was rethemed. The park received a Steampunk overlay. This included
17 new rides and several pre-existing ones were updated. One such ride was Tacot Express.
The ride was renamed Machine a Vapuer, which is Steam Engine in English. The track was painted
black and the ride vehicle was converted to a bronze train. The coaster now has some trees in
the center of the layout. There’s also a fountain, but it was unfortunately drained during my visit.
Like many powered coasters, this one runs just one train. It has 6 cars, each seating 4 riders in 2
rows of 2. So the train can hold a total of 24 guests. However, if you visit on a rainy day like
I did, the park may only fill the first 3 cars. As a result, I wasn’t able to try the back 3 cars,
but the front car was the best spot to maximize that ejector hill.
Crowds were light for me, so I was typically able to board the next train. Once it’s your turn to
ride, seating is on a first come basis. The trains feature no seatbelts. Each row
just has a single position lap bar that will rest well above the lap of
most riders. This allows for very quick loading. Once dispatched, you have a slow banked turn out
of the station. You navigate it with so little speed that you will start to slide sideways.
You then start climbing upwards. There’s a gentle bunny hill followed by another banked
turn. This one is again taken slowly, so you’ll again slide sideways a bit.
You then have another tame bunny hill above the prior one.
Then comes the third turn. This is placed above the first turn, but it’s another mild one.
This is where things get exciting. There’s a drop into an underground
tunnel. As noted earlier, I wasn’t able to try the back cars due to the inclement weather,
but I think it’s possible the back could get a little airtime as they’re pulled downwards.
The tunnel is a simple straightaway, but you have solid speed. It feels noticeably faster
than the posted 25 mph or 40 kph top speed. Now comes the best part. As you exit the tunnel,
you jump upwards. You have so much speed over this little hump that those in the front cars
get a sharp and powerful burst of ejector airtime. It caught us completely off-guard.
And remember how freeing those restraints are? You are shot a good foot into the air. I loved it!
The subsequent turn is gentle in most rows, but you still have enough speed in the front
cars to get a pinch of laterals. You then quickly jump up into the
station. If you’re in the front car, you’ll get a tiny pop of airtime.
Then you charge through the station and repeat the layout a second time.
Everything feels identical except for the finale. On lap two, you start slowing down at the end of
the last turn. So you enter the station too slowly to get that bonus pop of airtime. You then come to
a stop, ending the 1.5 minute experience. As you may have surmised, this ride’s pacing
is wonky. It’s super tame and leisurely for 90% of the ride. Then you have an ejector pop fit
for an RMC towards the end. That lone moment is the reason I rerode this coaster a few times.
As for smoothness, this ride is excellent. I haven’t ridden many Soquet coasters,
but the few I’ve been on have all been smooth. So what would I rate Machine a Vapeur? I would
give this coaster a 6 out of 10. This is such an odd ride to rate. Most of the experience is
a gentle kiddie coaster, but then it has a crazy spot of airtime towards the end. That
moment does not belong on a kiddie coaster. It was so good that it kept this avid thrill
seeker getting back in line to experience it over-and-over again. No joke, it is better
than most airtime hills on Toutatis. You just have to sit through a lot of fluff in between.
If you want me to compare this to another ride, it honestly feels a bit like the aforementioned
Jack Rabbit at Kennywood. Both rides have one absurd airtime moment with minimalistic
restraints surrounded by mild elements. So those are my thoughts on Machine a
Vapeur at Jardin d’Acclimatation. What are your thoughts on this coaster? Do you enjoy that wild
airtime pop as much as me? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!