New Monorail?

[pwmitch237]

Just saw this over on Orlando Sentinel

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/bu...to-bring-new-monorail-train-into-service.html

"Disney World to bring new monorail train into service
posted by Jason Garcia on Oct 15, 2009 3:14:38 PM

Walt Disney World has built a new monorail train using the undamaged remains of two trains that collided in a deadly accident over the summer. The new train is expected to go into service later this fall. It will be painted with a teal stripe to distinguish it from the resort's other trains, each of which have a unique color. Disney said the colors pink and purple -- the colors of the two trains involved in the collision -- will be retired out of respect for employees following the first fatal accident in the Disney World monorail's 38-year history. That July 5th accident killed 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg, a part-time monorail driver and college student from Kissimmee. It also sparked investigations by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which remain ongoing. Disney declined to discuss procedural changes it has made to its monorail system since the accident. But it said the new train will undergo thorough mechanical and electrical testing before it begins carrying guests. "The train will be subject to the same extensive testing as any new vehicle we add to our transportation fleet," Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said. With the addition, Disney's monorail fleet will grow to 11 trains -- still one short of the 12 it had before the accident. The resort said it expects to add a 12th train next year."

So apparently, Monorail Teal should be joining us shortly. Any comments, or any confirmation of this?

 

[RMAMom]

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

 

[pwmitch237]

just found this over at wdwmagic...

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=503338

Apparently Monorail Teal (unpainted) is now testing...

 

[truck1]

The short version is, and Ill have to double check this week, is that they took the train with the least amount of damage, and took the parts from the other train, to make 1 complete train. Over time, theyll probably make the parts to make the other train whole again.

Disney has the ability, shops and knowledge to make the whole train if they desired. (They built the steam boats on the Rivers of America in the MK from scratch, all 3 ferries, and the resort launches.They do some repairs in-house, and a lot they sub out.) The problem would be cost.It probably wasnt in the budget to do both trains, so they did the next best thing. Just a guess.

 

[SandrA9810]

Nope, they have not cut either monorail in half.

The white one you see now, is Monorail Pink. The driver cabs were removed, and rebuilt off site. There's been black hangings in the windows of the round house for a few weeks now, which I suspected back then to mean they were putting on the new driver cabs on.

I'm sure monorail purple's driver cab will be put on once they have fully tested pink, and put it on the line. I was told this morning about the "white monorail" coming out. Pink was kept on the end, and purple is on the second beam in. So that's how I know which original monorail it was.

I'm glad to see they've retired pink and purple.

 

[truck1]

Nope, they have not cut either monorail in half.

The white one you see now, is Monorail Pink. The driver cabs were removed, and rebuilt off site. There's been black hangings in the windows of the round house for a few weeks now, which I suspected back then to mean they were putting on the new driver cabs on.

I'm sure monorail purple's driver cab will be put on once they have fully tested pink, and put it on the line. I was told this morning about the "white monorail" coming out. Pink was kept on the end, and purple is on the second beam in. So that's how I know which original monorail it was.

I'm glad to see they've retired pink and purple.

Who said anything about cutting a train in half?

Btw, one of the cars from one of the trains, was in the body shop in the back of the auto paint shop, about a month ago, on a carriage with its interior and doors removed.

 

[SandrA9810]

"built a new monorail train using the undamaged remains of two trains"

I was referring to that comment. Ever since the accident, monorail pink and purple have been parked in the last two bays. The good end of the purple monorail has been at the back end, near the windows, and it was never removed to be placed on the pink.

The driver cabs that were removed, are going to be replaced with new ones, not replaced by other monorail.

 

[seashoreCM]

It would be a simple matter to take the undamaged cabs and enough other undamaged parts to make one good train. Alternatively, if the cabs were sent off to be refurbished, this could be an experiment to make the cabs more crashworthy. If the new cabs run well (probably no actual crash tests) the cabs in all of the other monorails might be refurbished one at a time.

But I doubt it would be easy to fabricate a new cab or passenger car unit even with an existing one as a pattern.

Other transit systems routinely cannibalize trains and buses following mishaps in order to get more equipment back into service. I do know that the Boston MBTA did, after various trolley crashes over the years.

 

[truck1]

It would be a simple matter to take the undamaged cabs and enough other undamaged parts to make one good train. Alternatively, if the cabs were sent off to be refurbished, this could be an experiment to make the cabs more crashworthy. If the new cabs run well (probably no actual crash tests) the cabs in all of the other monorails might be refurbished one at a time.

But I doubt it would be easy to fabricate a new cab or passenger car unit even with an existing one as a pattern.

Other transit systems routinely cannibalize trains and buses following mishaps in order to get more equipment back into service. I do know that the Boston MBTA did, after various trolley crashes over the years.

Almost everything Disney owns, can be fabricated at the support services bldgs next to the monorail and old bus maintance facility, in short order.They make the body panels for the busses which if I am not mistaken is the same material the monorails are made of.Theyve made panels for the superbusses when they were in service on Disney property, since the origianl company when out of business.
What it comes down to is this: How much will it cost for Disney to do it versus how much can it be subcontracted for.

Ill give you a few examples.
Disney had BVL construction(Disney construction arm) build the transportation info booth that was at the end of the ferry boat docks on the MK side.When it was buitl it cost over 100,000 for a bldg that is about 15 feet tall, 4 feet deep and about 10 feet long.Thinks someone on the outside could have made the same bldg cheaper with the same quality?

Bus maintanace for a long time used to rebuild transmissions and engines on site. They now go to Detriot Diesel on John Young Parkway for rebuilds. Its cheaper in the end.Plus they get a warranty that goes with it.

Almost all of the major repairs now are done off property. I have a pretty good idea where the cabs went if they went off property. Theres a place about 30 minutes from my house, that I have seen the Disney parking trams under going rehab, and Ive seen a few that had substantial damage to them.Also, near me is ABC busses(They have the contract for the DCL and the DME busses) that do a lot of body and fender work.Seen numerous Disney vehicles up there in different states of repair. Matter of fact, one of the busses that was involved in the accident near the Contemporary showed up up there not long after the wreck.

Disney has the tools and machines to build from scratch all of the ride vehicles,and anything that is fiberglass, steel, aluminum, and anything in between.At any given point if you know where to look, you can see ride vehicles in various stages of repair. It would be nothing for them to build the nose cones or even the entire body of the monorails in short order if they so desired.The question is how much money would it cost for Disney to do it vs an outside company.

 

[truck1]

"built a new monorail train using the undamaged remains of two trains"

I was referring to that comment. Ever since the accident, monorail pink and purple have been parked in the last two bays. The good end of the purple monorail has been at the back end, near the windows, and it was never removed to be placed on the pink.

The driver cabs that were removed, are going to be replaced with new ones, not replaced by other monorail.

Gotcha.

 

[pwmitch237]

Video of the painted Monorail Teal, now we know what it looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xst9fwMSgwg&feature=related

can anyone confirm this?