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

[XG BC]

and here is the station:

here is my version of it:

 

[the Inventor]

Interesting thread, always wanted to build some modern monorail, especially when seeing the models of Masao Hidaka.

But now I have a couple of questions, what motors, battery box would I need?

 

I don't really know the motors LEGO uses, and have used in the past and how capable they are, I would like to builds something that can climb at least (as well as just driving around).

I do have some very old 12V and 9V (train) motors and an RC train with remote (set 60052), which I also saw a design for. But the newer ones are controlled with bluetooth I see, and maybe motors with more torque (which you would neet to climb a slope).

So any advice you could give me.

[Masao Hidaka]

19 hours ago, the Inventor said:

Interesting thread, always wanted to build some modern monorail, especially when seeing the models of Masao Hidaka.

But now I have a couple of questions, what motors, battery box would I need?

 

I don't really know the motors LEGO uses, and have used in the past and how capable they are, I would like to builds something that can climb at least (as well as just driving around).

I do have some very old 12V and 9V (train) motors and an RC train with remote (set 60052), which I also saw a design for. But the newer ones are controlled with bluetooth I see, and maybe motors with more torque (which you would neet to climb a slope).

So any advice you could give me.

I recommend that you get a Power Function or Powered Up system.
If you use the Power Function, you can make a monorail driven by two motors, so the monorail is more powerful and can climb.

 

[the Inventor]

@Masao Hidaka

So let me make a list, I would at least need:

• BrickLink - Part 21980 : LEGO Electric, Motor WeDo 2.0 Medium [Electric, Motor] - BrickLink Reference Catalog (1x, optional 2x)
• BrickLink - Set 88009-1 : LEGO Hub [Power Functions:Powered Up] - BrickLink Reference Catalog
• BrickLink - Set 88010-1 : LEGO Remote Control [Power Functions:Powered Up] - BrickLink Reference Catalog

Is any other motor possible, or is this one preferred because je can mount it on some studs instead of a technic frame?

Edited February 16, 2022 by the Inventor

[Masao Hidaka]

4 hours ago, the Inventor said:

@Masao Hidaka

So let me make a list, I would at least need:

• BrickLink - Part 21980 : LEGO Electric, Motor WeDo 2.0 Medium [Electric, Motor] - BrickLink Reference Catalog (1x, optional 2x)
• BrickLink - Set 88009-1 : LEGO Hub [Power Functions:Powered Up] - BrickLink Reference Catalog
• BrickLink - Set 88010-1 : LEGO Remote Control [Power Functions:Powered Up] - BrickLink Reference Catalog

Is any other motor possible, or is this one preferred because je can mount it on some studs instead of a technic frame?

"76112 App-Controlled Batmobile" contains two motors and one hub.
How about checking the price?

[XG BC]

5 hours ago, the Inventor said:

@Masao Hidaka

So let me make a list, I would at least need:

• BrickLink - Part 21980 : LEGO Electric, Motor WeDo 2.0 Medium [Electric, Motor] - BrickLink Reference Catalog (1x, optional 2x)
• BrickLink - Set 88009-1 : LEGO Hub [Power Functions:Powered Up] - BrickLink Reference Catalog
• BrickLink - Set 88010-1 : LEGO Remote Control [Power Functions:Powered Up] - BrickLink Reference Catalog

Is any other motor possible, or is this one preferred because je can mount it on some studs instead of a technic frame?

you can use pretty much any lego motor of the past like 20-25 years that has a technic axle output. if you want to go really small you can also use something like a modded servo or a cirquitcube motor.

Edited February 16, 2022 by XG BC

[the Inventor]

20 hours ago, Masao Hidaka said:

"76112 App-Controlled Batmobile" contains two motors and one hub.
How about checking the price?

Ok, I'll check that one out.

20 hours ago, XG BC said:

you can use pretty much any lego motor of the past like 20-25 years that has a technic axle output. if you want to go really small you can also use something like a modded servo or a cirquitcube motor.

I know you could use a lot of motors, but preferable one which can be controlled by a remote or something.

[zephyr1934]

2 hours ago, the Inventor said:

I know you could use a lot of motors, but preferable one which can be controlled by a remote or something.

CircuitCubes might be the smallest and cheapest remote control option if you do not want to build it yourself. There are many examples in the forum over the past year of small self-propelled train builds that use CircuitCubes, including most of the powered entries in the BMR OctTrainber competition. For starts you can see my review thread.

 

 

[Buttermaker]

Hi guys
Thank you @FiliusRucilo to send me the link of this thread and a big thank you to @Masao Hidaka for inspiring to build brick-build Monorails.
Within the last weeks I also build my own one and after I showed it (with all the background information from who and where I got the ideas) in a Livestream, few people also started to build their own ones 😁
In a video on my channel (sorry, but it's only in german) I showed also how to build it:

I tried to upload photos here, but it says I'm only allowed to upload 102.5kb.
At the moment I'm building my next Monorail based on this system.

Greetings from Switzerland
Buttermaker

[XG BC]

nice one!

[Masao Hidaka]

On 4/14/2022 at 2:25 AM, Buttermaker said:

Hi guys
Thank you @FiliusRucilo to send me the link of this thread and a big thank you to @Masao Hidaka for inspiring to build brick-build Monorails.
Within the last weeks I also build my own one and after I showed it (with all the background information from who and where I got the ideas) in a Livestream, few people also started to build their own ones 😁
In a video on my channel (sorry, but it's only in german) I showed also how to build it:

I tried to upload photos here, but it says I'm only allowed to upload 102.5kb.
At the moment I'm building my next Monorail based on this system.

Greetings from Switzerland
Buttermaker

Thank you for introducing me.
I hope you enjoy brick build monorail. :)

[Buttermaker]

On 4/24/2022 at 12:54 PM, Masao Hidaka said:

Thank you for introducing me.
I hope you enjoy brick build monorail. :)

Thank you very much @Masao Hidaka.
Yes, I'm definitely enjoying it and build already the next one. I'm also trying to get a step further and I hope I can show it here soon. 🤗

On 4/14/2022 at 2:08 PM, XG BC said:

nice one!

Thank you @XG BC 🤗

Edited April 27, 2022 by Buttermaker

[Buttermaker]

My next version is without batteries. 🤗

It runs with 9V on the 12V track

It's a prototype 🤗

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Buttermaker

[zephyr1934]

22 hours ago, Buttermaker said:

My next version is without batteries. 🤗

It runs with 9V on the 12V track

very clever

[M_slug357]

@Buttermaker What are you using for the rail contacts?

[XG BC]

probably this:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=704-1#T=S&O={"iconly":0}

[Buttermaker]

1 hour ago, XG BC said:

probably this:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=704-1#T=S&O={"iconly":0}

Exactly. If I could upload Fotos here, I could show how it works. Or maybe I will make a video, where I can show the details

7 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

very clever

Thank you 🤗

[XG BC]

for photos you can make an account for example at flickr and link them here. they automatically embed

[Buttermaker]

Here my next Monorail-train

What I noticed is, that one XL-motor could be better than two M-motors, because even there is not much friction in the cornes, the speed is going down. The XL-motor has enough power, that the speed is not going down. 
The batteriebox and cables on top of the roof just temporarly for the lights, until I changed the wires inside the PF-connectors.

@XG BC I don't have a flickr account yet, but maybe I should create one 😁

Edited May 4, 2022 by Buttermaker

[XG BC]

nice! flickr is a good platform to share pictures on.

[Asper]

On 5/4/2022 at 12:03 PM, Buttermaker said:

Here my next Monorail-train

Great idea using the 12V track for power supply!

[Buttermaker]

On 5/4/2022 at 9:39 PM, XG BC said:

nice! flickr is a good platform to share pictures on.

Thanks 🤗
 

On 5/7/2022 at 7:22 AM, Asper said:

Great idea using the 12V track for power supply!

Thank you 🤗
My brother gave me the idea when he saw my Monorail, so I tried to figure out how it can work 😁

Edited May 12, 2022 by Buttermaker

[Holodoc]

On 5/7/2022 at 7:22 AM, Asper said:

Great idea using the 12V track for power supply!

Absolutely seconded!

Can you show some more details on how you connect the 12V rails with the PF (I guess) motor? We see the old sleeper contacts (above) but from that point on I have no idea how you do it?

[Buttermaker]

On 5/14/2022 at 6:45 PM, Holodoc said:

Absolutely seconded!

Can you show some more details on how you connect the 12V rails with the PF (I guess) motor? We see the old sleeper contacts (above) but from that point on I have no idea how you do it?

Thanks.
Yes, I will try to make some fotos. And yes, I'm using PF-motors, connected with the old sleeper contacts.

[Trekkie99]

On 4/29/2022 at 12:38 PM, Buttermaker said:

My next version is without batteries. 🤗

It runs with 9V on the 12V track

snip

It's a prototype 🤗

 

Very cool!!! I always dreamed of finding a way to accomplish this!