Custom Tracks for Monorail

[DisneyDad73]

Hello-

I have a modified WDW Monorail [1] that I break out w/ the XMAS decorations every year. This year I thought I'd upgrade the track selection w/ the spiffy tighter turns, graduated pillions and maybe the double-track sections. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered they guy who used to sell them on Ebay shut down a few months ago!! Arrggggh.

Anyone have an alternative source? A set of those tighter turns and spiffy track pieces they'd like to part with?

-andy

1] I bought a kit from MonorailSilver years ago and installed it myself. The best part about it is the SW - ability to program a sequence of sounds which are triggered by magnets you place in the bottom of the track. He's also gone out of business and I don't have the source code...so I just pray that the SW will continue to work on the old mac I'm running it on.

 

[easyd]

I really wanted to pick up a bunch of the stuff MonorailSilver was selling back when he was still in business. It looks like he basically gutted the monorail and rebuilt it using a microcontroller. The whole "maker" movement uses microcontrollers in various projects. The magnets can be detected using a Hall effect sensor, and the communication with the mac is via ZigBee. It would be possible for someone else to do the same thing.

The track pieces looked to me like they came out of a 3D printer. Again, this is something someone else could do easily. I really wish someone would design the track pieces and just release them on thingiverse! Maybe I should!

 

[boBQuincy]

I really wanted to pick up a bunch of the stuff MonorailSilver was selling back when he was still in business. It looks like he basically gutted the monorail and rebuilt it using a microcontroller. The whole "maker" movement uses microcontrollers in various projects. The magnets can be detected using a Hall effect sensor, and the communication with the mac is via ZigBee. It would be possible for someone else to do the same thing.

The track pieces looked to me like they came out of a 3D printer. Again, this is something someone else could do easily. I really wish someone would design the track pieces and just release them on thingiverse! Maybe I should!

Deltang has some 2.4 GHz receivers with inputs that can be activated by a magnet placed near the beam.

Some Deltang receivers can also trigger an IR LED to let a IR receiver know that a certain monorail has passed a certain point, good for triggering sound at a station.

I uploaded a 3D print test beam at Shapeways and the lowest cost for a 300mm long piece is about $20, until the cost comes down it may not be feasible. Beams could be shaped from Celtec or vinyl at low material cost but the labor is high. The good part is that different curve radii or even flex beam could be made.

 

[PACVII]

I was thinking of taking a N gage train set and try to put that in the monorail then try and fit the track on the beam and have an electric model. Anyone try something like this? Or know where you can get an electric monorail? The battery ones sold by Disney just does not have enough power to them. Would like to also add a little more control to them.

 

[boBQuincy]

I was thinking of taking a N gage train set and try to put that in the monorail then try and fit the track on the beam and have an electric model. Anyone try something like this? Or know where you can get an electric monorail? The battery ones sold by Disney just does not have enough power to them. Would like to also add a little more control to them.

An N scale train will fit nicely into a hollowed out shell of Disney's N scale (sort of) monorail pull-back toy. A Las Vegas real estate developer installed an N scale train into Disney's sort of N scale diecast monorail (for a model of his proposed casino development), he sent me a short video and it looked like it worked ok. Kato offers N scale chassis that should work. http://www.blwnscale.com/kato-power-chassis.htm

Of course an N scale train will easily fit into Disney's larger monorail toy but may not have the power to pull the 5 car train. A HO train chassis would probably be a better choice but it appears no one offers a chassis so you would have to get a locomotive (or trolley) and take it apart. Btw, most trains are geared for pulling power and may run slower than the monorail.

Disney's model can be upgraded with a more powerful motor and battery, radio control can also be added to provide speed and direction control (as well as control lights and sound). At least one monorail modeler is using 9 V batteries to get more speed, I don't know how long the battery (or the motor) lasts or if there is any effect on the lights or sound but the idea is intriguing.

Adding metal power rails or adhesive copper tape to the plastic beam would allow external power but it will be a lot of work. As far as I know the only monorails that run from external power are the old Schuco models, they are collector items and are fairly expensive.