[WIP] Lego monorails. [Custom Rail Systems (CRS)]

[DoVoMonOgel]

Cleary on top, not teethed I'd say. No teeth on the inside of the straight beams, and it speeds up on those straights.

[XG BC]

a little update from my side concerning my monorail. i have made a stopping/reversing lever just like the original lego monorail. the reversing doesnt work right now as i have yet to find an efficient enough motor driver that is able to switch the direction of the motor without too much energy loss. the switch type is a single pole dual throw type switch so i need something that can switch the other pole thus creating the need for a motor driver. currently the monorail can only be stopped/ go forward with this mechanism.

the second thing i did was improving my curve design. i made it a bit sturdier. it isnt as stable as masao hidakas original curve design but allows for more variations in the bricks used.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145736297@N05/52698200161/in/dateposted-public/

 

[X_Builds]

Seeing all of these photos make me question why LEGO hasn't tried their hands at making a new monorail system. The old ones sell for an arm and a leg, and there are multiple themes that could use them. I would pay a solid amount of money if they ever make a Jurassic World Monorail Set. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by X_Builds
missing words

[Masao Hidaka]

Please check it out! :)

 

[XG BC]

the amount of detail you put into this is very nice! great work!

[bogieman]

Terrific job! The PUP components are so neatly integrated. How difficult is it to change the batteries in the hub?

Dave

[Asper]

Wonderful train!

[XG BC]

i have now made some instruction for you guys of my curves and monorail cars:

here is the one for the curve:

and here is the one for the train:

monkey park monorail instructions_1.pdf

and the switch end car:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvlCctBB9mbzh1N7AoC_dSfvl68l?e=EKERnT

and the curve:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvlCctBB9mbzh0MbqJpQA_Tk3wHT?e=Tu1jQv

[XG BC]

i now made a smaller radius curve:

 

as you can see in this comparison the curve is smaller. it uses liftarm 3 as the bottom parts and a smaller top beam for each element thus creating this radius

 

https://flic.kr/p/2okbXar

 

[XG BC]

another update:

i have now made it possible for the monorail to reverse by converting my single pole dual throw switch to a dual pole dual throw switch thus being able to make a polarity reversing switch. it is rather fragile inside but as long as the train stays assembled it is robust. i cannot yet make the train switch direction on its own as it doesnt have enough inertia to cross over the zero point of the switch. it would need a capacitor bank made of several ceramic unpolarized capacitors to achive that. i have also made a monorail reverse switch:

it works just like the original switch from back in the day with the side bumpers being moveable by the wheel and that pushing the technic axle in the train.

the other thing i did was to lower the coupling to improve the curve handling abilities as before the train was either doing a wheelie when going motor car forward or pushing the other carridge into the ground when the motor car was pushing as the battery/switch car rides on the motor car.

this all adds up to the monorail being able to reverse, stop on its own and take curves going forward and backwards all the while being smaller than the one lego produced back in the 90s.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145736297@N05/52740826183/in/dateposted-public/

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by XG BC
added the video

[Masao Hidaka]

Please check it out! :)

 

 

[XG BC]

very nice! huge amount of track.

[Asper]

15 hours ago, Masao Hidaka said:

Please check it out! :)

Wow, great layout!

[Holodoc]

Absolutely fantastic! Great tracks and very nice trains as well!

Wow, there's a lot of motors and powered up behind it.

[blavenn]

Unbelievable monorail build, hope to build and achieve a track layout this complex and large one day.

[Artanis I]

I really like the variety & effectiveness of the points

[XG BC]

finally after a long and frustrating time of trying to make the reversing switch work first with capactiors then with added weight i finally have the solution: to reduce the amount of space the switch has to travel "dead" to hit the other side i.e. to reverse. it works just like the original monorail from lego themselves. heck it even looks like it when reversing:

 

https://flic.kr/p/2oqGLWp

 

I now have a fully working 4 wide monorail that uses no really special parts (switch is made with aluminium foil and pieces of wire).

Hope you guys like this.

Edited April 2, 2023 by XG BC

[XG BC]

i bet some of you are curious how i made a switch work in this tiny amount of space with next to no friction. either way here is the explanation. it is electrically a dual throw dual pole switch with one side having the ends crossconnected like youd find in a polarity reversing switch. the mechanical construction goes as follows:

the switch consists of a movable part (the technic thing in the middle) and a static part which houses contacts made from aluminium foil on both sides for the movable part to hit.the switch is constructed with two layers ontop of each other. the contacts of the moveable carrige consist of pieces of wire.

here you can see the two layers and where the wires connect more closely. it will become clearer in the real life pictures.

top view of the monorail. here you can see the contacts and battery pack used to power the thing. the orange wires go to the motor.

 

here you can see the contacts more clearly. it was a nightmare to get to this point with the switch working.

 

the underside: rather unassuming considering the stuff going on above.

if anyone wants more info feel free to comment and ask.

[FiliusRucilo]

Next Stop: Steinhanse 2023 in Kaltenkirchen/Germany, April 21th - 22th. Preparations are ongoing. Will the Monorail fit in my smart? Yessssss.....

@Masao: I'm interested how do you travel with your monorail. Do you have everything packed in the suitcase I've seen in some of your YouTube videos beneath the table?

[XG BC]

thats some tight fit. i have a bigger car (renault kangoo, similar to vw caddy) but much smaller monorail lol.

[Masao Hidaka]

On 4/12/2023 at 4:30 PM, FiliusRucilo said:

Next Stop: Steinhanse 2023 in Kaltenkirchen/Germany, April 21th - 22th. Preparations are ongoing. Will the Monorail fit in my smart? Yessssss.....

@Masao: I'm interested how do you travel with your monorail. Do you have everything packed in the suitcase I've seen in some of your YouTube videos beneath the table?

Yes.
When traveling by air, I try to keep my suitcase under 23kg.

https://twitter.com/MasaoHidaka/status/1634017001143402497/photo/1

https://twitter.com/MasaoHidaka/status/1634017001143402497/photo/2

https://twitter.com/MasaoHidaka/status/1634437339887046656/photo/1

[XG BC]

my current layout: not very big but nice.

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by XG BC

[msk6003]

I improve my tight turn monorail and place on theme park

 

Because corner is to tight for normal monorail bogie so I made new bogie for my monorail.

It also need differential gear for smooth cornering, and I use 2 powered bogie on rear car and middle joint. Front bogie is non-powered and use 1 roller insted 2 roller like powered bogie.

And bogie is 6 wide so I made my train as 8 wide.

It need 4 3L stop axle but my workplace has only 2 so I use 4L stop and cut 1L insted.

Edited May 19, 2023 by msk6003

[XG BC]

looks good! really fits the theme park with the tight curves.

[XG BC]

another update on my end: now my monorail can climb slopes. it was getting stuck previously due to the switch car resting on the motor car and the motor car pushing the switch car down a bit when transitioning from flat to slope. now i have made the switches sides smaller (i use a 1x4 technic brick on either side now instead of the technic frame) and have moved the switch further towards the wheels of the switch car giving it more "ground clearance" so to speak. see for yourself:

this is only a render but is built irl too. havent found the time yet to make a good irl picture. the other changes include a different structured roof to give back the rigidity i lost with the frame. essentially swapped the more rigid roof of the motor car to the switch car. changed the coupler of the switch car too as the newer style one is slightly less bulky giving more clearance. the buffers mounting has also been slightly altered and allows for more clearance now.

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by XG BC