Starting a Monorail

[mattman]

Hi all,

Just planning on a small monorail loop to go into some displays :) I have nothing at the moment, just planning what I need!

For the train itself, it looks as though the monorail specific parts needed are:

motor x1

base x2

Bogey x2

And I have several of the 9V monorail battery boxes already from other builds.

Plus track etc - and on that note can someone confirm that the corners are 45 degree bend per long corner peice? The stock pics on BL look like they won't be - but the inventories suggest that they are (4 corners to an oval track).

Cheers :)

And ... really shocked how relatively cheap the monorail parts are (except long straights) compared to what even a used monorail set will sell for.

Matt

[Mr Benn]

I think that the corners are 90 degrees per piece - that's my experience from the first space monorail anyway...

Edited November 19, 2011 by Mr Benn

[mattman]

Ah of course, 90 is what my brain was thinking, but its not what my fingers typed :-P

[splatman]

The corners are 90 degrees.

There are half curves, though one end will fit only the curved branch of the points. 2 left or 2 right 1/2 curves can be mated to make an S-bend. A left and right 1/2-curve makes a 90 curve. S-bends, however, will throw off the alignment of other pieces, as they "break the grid".

This is a great way to plan a Monorail layout, and here you can learn what I mean about the S-bends.

As you probably already know by now, the track pieces are joined with a 1x4 plate on each side. 1x4 tiles would probably look better. if you do tiles, you'll need Old light gray tiles, so they'll match the track. or you can use an other color for effect, such as blue or yellow for a Classic Space theme.

[mattman]

Some great tips, thanks!

For starters I'm just going to build a basic oval, using ramps instead of straight to make it more interesting/cheaper. It'll be integrated into some kind of town display so supports will be built from the buildings it's running through. Won't be any points/tricky bits for a while though.

Main concern at the moment is just ensuring I'm ordering the right parts - the 3 listed in the op - to make the monorail train itself.

Matt

[Monorailrulez]

E-Bay can be a good solution. Good luck with your monorail!

[mattman]

Thanks... i think i will need a little luck ;)

And sorry to be a nag guys, but the point of this thread was simply to confirm what parts I need to make the train - 1 motor, 2 bases, 2 bogeys right? As far as I can tell there's no other "special" parts required, just build your own train from there. And obviously the track - but that side of it is simpler.

If anyone can just confirm my thoughts on the parts needed, that would be great.

Matt

[freakwave]

Hi Matt,

to your question:

MR-Train:

The parts you listed are right, that will give you the chassis of the train. You mentioned that you have a battery box, but do you have the wire to the motor?

Like this one: 5306ac015

Track Pieces:

- Cuves that attach to other track pieces are 90°

- 45° Curves (1/8th) are only able to connect to each other to form either another 90° or an offset "S-Curve" of 16 Studs (center to center of track) or of course to the switches.

- Switches are somehow difficult to source, respectively working switches. The MR is supposed to move the switch, due to age/wear the switches will loose the ease of movement making it hard for the train to change it.

- Start/Stop Rail: If you want only a single line, no loop, then be sure to mount them at both ends and set them accordingly to make the train go back and forth.

Bonus:

To make a MR "interactive" you can add Power Function to it, ie. have a PF receiver on board which allows you to control the train. In this case you need a different cable (8886) to connect the motor to the IR-Receiver (and the receiver to the old style battery box.

regards

fW

[mattman]

Thanks freak, that's exactly what I needed. My track will be simple for now but I may be able to borrow stops and switches from another lug member if needed. I do have both styles of power cable too.

The rc idea is great, I might have to do that, it'd be nice to have some speed control too and maybe hook in the pf leds.

Matt

[freakwave]

The rc idea is great, I might have to do that, it'd be nice to have some speed control too and maybe hook in the pf leds.

Matt

you're welcome!

Yes, RC adds definately some spice, have a look at this video what happens when you add a NXT to it!

We had a central station and two MRs running, the NXT stopped them in the station and let them go again! Looked great!

fW

[mattman]

you're welcome!

Yes, RC adds definately some spice, have a look at this video what happens when you add a NXT to it!

We had a central station and two MRs running, the NXT stopped them in the station and let them go again! Looked great!

fW

Oh that would be great! But something I would have to do long term if I go that far. Now I just have to source another ir receiver as I'm supposed to be building a train with the one I have now... oops :-P