I may be able to clear up a few things about the switching process for the monorails. My exwife was a pilot in the mid to late 90s and I used to work in busses. She still works for Disney and we both still know quite a few people in rails. I talked to her on sun to ask her to clarify a few things for me, and she told me that there is at least 3 different scenarios for what happened. I am not going to speculate, and am going to wait and see what comes from the official investigation.
1. There is no true front or back of a monorail. Front and back refers to which beam the train is on. I am 99% sure the cabs are numbered 1 and 2 for maintanance purposes, and both cabs are set up identical, as each train spends time on all 3 beams.
2. 2 out of the 3 beams (Epcot and resorts) run clockwise and the third counter clockwise(express) Ive heard several reasons for this and I dont think there is any one specific reason.
Depending on which beam a train is on, there is 1 or 2 switches that can be made.
For exapmple, a train coming from the shops in the morn or afternoon, will come out with the driver in the cab facing the direction of travel, (always heading south towards the MK parking lots, and then will hold at a certain point to await the switch from the shop to the MK express line to be made. While this is occuring, keep in mind that the train coming out will go into a specific place between trains, and the trains already on the line, will hold at predetetermined points. When its turn comes, the train coming from shop will move out across the switch, and on to the express beam, and continue on its way, as its already "pointing" in the same direction as the express trains.
If the train is going to the resort beam, depending on what else is happening, the driver most likely will come into the MK and stop on the express beam, in the station, and the driver will get out on the exit side, then run to the other end of the train, then get cleared to move in the opposite direction, the a 2nd switch, on to the resort beam, and the next stop will be the Contemporary. Unless you know where to look and when, youll never even know that a train came out.
For the train coming from Epcot to go to the shop, heres what usually happens:
The train will come in to the TTC and drop off its guests and be visually inspected to make sure its empty.
The train will then proceed out of the station heading to Epcot then stop at a hold point past the switch. Once maintanence moves the switch( they control all switch movements) the train will move backwards thru the switch onto the mainline(express beam). Once the train arrives at the TTC on the express beam, the train will wait untill all of the switches are moved back then move north to the MK station, where the driver will get out, switch ends, then proceed back towards the contemporary, on to the shop line, then into the shop switches.
When a train backs up, its for a VERY short distance, less than 2000 feet to come thru a switch. Anything longer, and the train will stop at a station and the driver will switch ends, or the train will be left out on a spur line somewhere, and the driver removed with the maintanace bucket truck.
Its extremely rare, as in 2 or 3 times a year, that a driver will back more than 2000 feet, and its usually a maintanance reason for that to happen, such as battery issues, or even a control panel issue to cause that to happen.When that happens, all of the other trains are held way out of the way.
