Monorail Playset Motor Thread

[tcsta]

Great! Would like to see them. I might take a few shots of my fledgling layout as well, but they will mostly be of my cat stalking ther trains. She also seemed to enjoy it inside the Contemporary as I was building it.

 

[Micca]

FWIW I'm still here too Candy and I'd like to see the photos as well. We didn't set our layout up this year as we're preparing to move. Hopefully the new digs will have a space to run the 'rail year round.

 

[Abbysilver]

Hi, I used to share in your's and anyone elses frustration about the slow speed of all Genuine Disney Monorail Playsets. Almost 6 months ago while living in Orlando, FL I asked a hobby shop to build me a remote controlled prototype for the Mark VI version. After relocating to Portland, OR I fine tuned the original prototype and with the help of others, have developed a very responsive and fast RC Monorail Train.

I now have a 7.4v LOSI ESC system now available for the Mark VI (original Versions) and the newest Mark VII Disneyland version. I use a custom made 7.4v circuit board having realistic white LED head lights, realistic beacon light, and circuitry to wire the original WDW sound board announcements, 7.4v high speed motor and a LOSI MRX-3100 receiver. Also a 350mAh 2 cell LiPo rechargeable battery is now installed in the battery compartment.

All of this gear is installed in the engine and first passenger car with no noticeable modifications to the integrity of the Monorail Playset. With the LOSI DSM transmitter I have full control of sound and lights via steering wheel, variable speed forward or reverse with the trigger and hands free operation via trim control dial. It goes Fast!!!

Also for the Mark VI old and new versions I have available a 3v high speed motor that increases the speed by almost 3 times of the original stock motor.

These items are available at my eBay store "The Monorail Store and More". You should take a look

 

[brivers]

Hi, I bought a monorail playset for my son this summer at WDW. Right out of the box the performance was horrible. It barely limped around the track and sometimes even stopped. So I found this thread, pulled out the old motor and popped in the HyperDash 2 motor. It was pretty speedy after that, but it only lasted about 5 minutes. The worm gears basically just ate themselves up. Does anyone know of a metal gear set or can you suggest any parts? I've been looking around and can't find the right gears. I'd like to upgrade all the gears in the gearbox to metal if I can find them.

 

[Micca]

I am the worst DIY guy on the planet. I usually end up destroying anything I try to work on, so I leave it to the pros.

Based on Abbysilver's post, maybe a shop that specializes in model railroads or remote controlled planes would have someone knowledgeable about this?

Good luck brivers, and if you find a solution please come back & post your findings.

 

[boBQuincy]

So there *is* still interest in modifying Disney monorail models!

I have been working on the N scale version for so long that the NiCad batteries in my original model finally stopped taking a charge. Oh, I replaced them but that technology is so last millennium! From working on the N scale models I have found a lot of great new parts that will work in the larger models.

Deltang makes the best and smallest receivers I have seen so far. They are 2.4 GHz so the antennas are on a couple inches long and the Rx60 series is a great match for a monorail (Rx43 for N scale). These will easily fit in the monorail while still keeping all the features. Besides controlling the motor (smoothly) the Deltang receivers also have on/off out puts for lights and sound.

Deltang also makes transmitters, designed for model railroads and perfect for our use. For less $$$ you can use an Eflite transmitter, I bought one (new) on eBay for $12!

AA lithium cells are available, 3.7 volts in the same space as a standard 1.5 or 1.2 V AA.

Although I am still working on an N scale layout I plan to upgrade one of my larger monorails to a Deltang setup in March. A full writeup will be posted at:
http://monorail.suzieandbob.com

Monorail enthusiasts have a one track mind!

boB

 

[Micca]

Thanks Bob! I'm retiring in a few years...sooner if I don't find work. The ultimate monorail may be my defining achievement in my golden years.

 

[boBQuincy]

snip...The worm gears basically just ate themselves up. Does anyone know of a metal gear set or can you suggest any parts? I've been looking around and can't find the right gears. I'd like to upgrade all the gears in the gearbox to metal if I can find them.

Northwest Shortline (NWSL, which is now part of Osorail) makes some of the best small gears for trains and other hobbies. They may have some gears that fit the monorail and they will be much better than what comes from Disney.

I have found that *all* the gears are poorly molded and the two large ones are difficult to find. So I made an entirely new drivetrain! Details and photos on this forum...

Also on this forum, I made a new drivetrain for ultra high speed, the monorail no longer stays on the beam so I figure it is fast enough.

 

[boBQuincy]

Speaking of gears, here is an assortment with some that fit the monorail. Just the thing for modifications or replacing worn/poorly molded gears:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K67YCMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Only $3.99!

And speaking of modification, two of these gears could be used to change the ratio of the gears that go from the dual gear/worm shaft to the right side main gear. That is a change from 24:42 to 34:36, about a 75% speed increase!

 

[boBQuincy]

Research and development continues on the Disney model monorail!

Here is the stock gearbox:

and here is the high speed modification:

another view, showing the worm gear underneath the new gear:

Do not use a Plasma Dash motor unless you want your batteries to go dead in about 5 minutes and the monorail to run off the beam, it's that fast! However, with the new gearing and a much milder motor the monorail goes around a circle in less than 10 seconds, more than twice the speed of the original! The modification changes the overall gearing from about 26:1 to 15:1.

This other design is not about speed but it runs smooth and runs on scale appearance beam:

Finally, I made a new improved drive wheel to replace the one that is usually out of round and sometimes cracked (one of mine was cracked when I bought it). It is being tested and may be available soon.

 

[boBQuincy]

This is an old thread and could use some updating. Replacing the motor in the monorail only addresses the speed issue, the drive wheels are still mostly out of round and the gearbox is noisy. Here is a completely new drive system that is quiet, smooth, and fast, WhisperJet:

and here is the video:

Ignore the additional radio control and enhanced audio system.

 

[boBQuincy]

To revive this old thread: I keep adding monorail enhancements, the latest is lights and audio for the rear cab. The lights are modeled after the monorails at WDW. The audio is greatly improved over the original with up to 10 messages and a larger speaker.

http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/rearcab_lights.html

 

[Jason Risner]

Hi kids,
figured it was time i joined in, hope you don't mind the company.
I am the unofficial "king" of the disney high speed monorail and have been for years. I've installed no fewer than 1000 of these via ebay and c-list, local ads and such and i do about 6 a week. If you don't feel like getting into it yourselves i do it for $25 plus $5 shipping under "collectitall41". There is a better motor than all have suggested and no additonal power is needed, 2 aa's works fine and for a long time considering mine triples the actual speed.
If you'd like to see my work, go to youtube and type in custom monorail, my vids always come up first (wyattspoppa) or you can find the links on my ebay auctions, both for a total monorail in a box fully custom done already or you can just ship me your engine car. I can also rebuild the rides that always die, dumbo and astro orbiter, and they will run forever, that took me a year longer than the mono engine to custom-rebuild. I've done so many monos that i do one from start to finish in 9 minutes flat and never, ever had one fail in 4 years of doing these. The motor was everything, no custom gears needed or jury-rigging the innards as many have tried or suggested here. Because this is my business i can't publicly disclose where i finally found the perfect motor but i will answer inquiries individually as i was a fan and hobbyist long before i added it to my business so i'll pm you if you need help. Check out my vid racing a solo diz mono with my motor pulling all 5 cars and lapping in a quarter lap! Sorry about the caps, i'm not yelling i just left it on and didn't feel like re-typing!

Are you still doing this?

 

[boBQuincy]

In years of testing many motors in monorails I have not found a "magic motor" that provides a big boost in power with no increase in current draw. If someone has found one I understand their reluctance to give away the information but at least show the data regarding the current draw. I test all my motors with an ammeter attached to a monorail car, it is a sure way to show how much power we are taking from the batteries under operating conditions.

 

[boBQuincy]

Replaced a burned out motor in a monorail today. Someone had replaced the original motor with one that had metal brushes. These do not last long and make a mess (burnt copper dust) when they wear out. I replaced it with my usual Tamiya Torque Tuned motor and replaced the metal brushes with carbon brushes so it will last a long time.

 

[cometpilot]

Looking for someone that installs the faster Disney monorail motor. I read that wyattsdaddy2 is the man to call, are you still out there doing this work? Please let me know.

 

[boBQuincy]

Since no one has answered this in almost a week I will give you my take on it.

The quick answer: Installing a faster motor in a monorail usually doesn't work as well as we would like. Installing a faster motor in a Mark VII monorail usually doesn't work at all.

Most monorails have issues besides being slow: noisy gearbox; out of round drive wheel making it wobble and porpoise on the beam, sticking/out of round rollers... ***Any problems the monorail has will only be amplified with a faster motor!*** Because of this I do not recommend installing a faster motor until the other problems have been resolved, and gearbox noise can not usually be fixed.

It is not difficult to install a faster motor in a monorail (WDW model only): 5 screws to open the shell; 4 screws to remove the gearbox; two wires to solder to the motor, swap the worm gear on the motor. There are plenty of faster, inexpensive motors, Tamiya's Hyper-Dash is a common choice. The question is, will you be happy with more speed if it comes with more noise?

Power out requires power in, I have not seen a magic motor that produces more power without taking more power*, in other words battery life will be reduced. The power switch on the WDW model is already operating at its limit, more power may shorten the life of the switch.

The Mark VII models have a different gearbox and are even noisier than the WDW models. The Mark VII models usually will not power a faster motor, the remote system limits the power (there are ways around this).



*There are more efficient motors but they cost about $65. I installed two and the performance is better than the original while battery life is the same or better. But $65 will buy a lot of batteries.

 

[cometpilot]

Thank you for the info. Are you marketing these Whisperjet drive units for the WDW monorail sets? If you are what is the price? I have a very long run along the ceiling of my basement bar with a long strait run and the whisperjet would be perfect.

 

[boBQuincy]

Thank you for the info. Are you marketing these Whisperjet drive units for the WDW monorail sets? If you are what is the price? I have a very long run along the ceiling of my basement bar with a long strait run and the whisperjet would be perfect.

Here is some information on WhisperJets and other monorail modifications:
http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/svc_prices.html
Wyattsdaddy and I corresponded years ago, sharing ideas about some fun potential upgrades for the monorail models. I have not heard from him for a long time, hope he is still working on monorails.

 

[boBQuincy]

Lots of modelers have a monorail running around their Christmas tree but very few have one *in* the tree!

http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/images/monorail_xmas.mov