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

[FiliusRucilo]

Thank you David for publishing these wonderful instructions. As usual any building instruction is a noncommittal recommendation and not a "must do".   Indeed you can chose the colors as you want or parts are available at bricklink and other sources. 

[Asper]

Thank you @FiliusRucilo and @djm!

After I have been to exhibitions with Masao Hidaka's original design in 2014 and 2015 I put away the tracks and trains. I planned to improve the trains since I found the same wobbling and curve-speed issues - but never found the time to do so.

Then this thread started...

Finally I found some time to set up a layout and test the designs of @FiliusRucilo and @LegoMonorailFan. Both designs work perfectly on tight curves and even inclinations are no problem for the trains - with unmodified couplings. I also could remove a complete layer of bricks from the original track design. And everything fits on 4x4 baseplates: https://youtu.be/h9AD006CpFo !

Yesterday I started fiddling around with curved tracks and gear racks to build a working switch. And today I find the instructions!

Thank you all! This is great!

[zephyr1934]

On 6/20/2018 at 9:26 PM, TJJohn12 said:

OK, so is the smallest motorized chassis width that folks have accomplished 6-wide (riding on the typical 2-wide rails)?

I'm working on a CRS monorail train right now (not ready for prime time until August at Brickfair VA ). The build envelope inside the shell I've designed and built is 3-wide centered over the rails. I know - that's a crazy dream. Right now, it's a push-train I guess. But I'm just probing the waters to see if anyone has successfully miniaturized some running gear for CRS, or if I'm going to be the crazy one to do it...

-John

With some modification I bet this 1971 design could be shrunk to 3 wide given the new parts developed since then

[djm]

Two Motor Assemblies

In this post I am posting some building instructions for two motor assemblies i.e. the bit that contains the motor which sits between the two carriages. The reason for making this post is to assist others thinking about build their own monorail trains.

Assembly #1

This assembly is a derivation of @LegoMonorailFan's original design. The primary difference is that the gap between the top and bottom Light Bluish Grey connectors to which the train is coupled is 20 LDUs (i.e. a "round" Technic measurement) rather than 24 LDUs (i.e. a brick height measurement). A PDF file for this assembly is available for download.

I currently use this motor assembly on my monorail train. However, this assembly does rely on the clutch power between bricks being sufficiently strong. I have built two of these and, although they were identical, one of the assemblies holds together significantly better than the other. This manifested itself in a recent display where the first train could run for 30 minutes before requiring a little preventative maintenance, while the second train would manage at most 5 minutes before I would need to squeeze the bricks together. This experience has lead me to ...

Assembly #2

This second assembly is an attempt to eliminate vertical separation of the gears which occurs over time with assembly #1. It should be "plug compatible" with the first assembly style i.e. you should just be able to switch motor assembly #2 for motor assembly #1. I have physically built this design but I have not yet had an opportunity to stress test. The aim is that is should run for a period of time no worse than (and hopefully much better than) motor assembly #1 before requiring preventative maintenance. The PDF file for this design is available to download,

Space is tight around the XL motor but I would welcome any suggestions for improvements to this design if you can think of any. If someone builds this style, I'd appreciate any feedback on whethr or not it is sufficiently reliable.

Regards,

David

Edited July 2, 2018 by djm
Grammar

[Trekkie99]

Wow @djm that's a cool design!!! I always wondered if it was possible to make a fully Technic version based off of my motor assembly idea, and you've done it quite nicely!  

I also really like your derivative of my original design as well. Sorry to hear that it tends to loosen itself apart. Was the intention for raising the connectors done so you could accommodate @FiliusRucilo's bogie wheel design?

 

[supertruper1988]

Not sure if this is welcome here but GBC build akiyuky posted these two awesome videos using the new roller coaster tracks today. 

 

 

[djm]

8 hours ago, LegoMonorailFan said:

Was the intention for raising the connectors done so you could accommodate @FiliusRucilo's bogie wheel design?

No, the lower connector was raised to allow the pin

and flick missile

to be excluded from the design. The reasons for this were;

1) it allows me to use an axle vertically through the coupling

2) it "felt" cleaner having a standard space between the connectors

3) it makes it easier to consider if alternative Technic parts can be used in the coupling design

4) a gut feel (yet to be explored) which says that if I want to delve into a coupling with some pivoting to make inclines/declines feasible, it will be easier if all the connectors are evenly spaced.

Regards,

David

 

 

[Trekkie99]

6 hours ago, djm said:

No, the lower connector was raised to allow the pin

and flick missile

to be excluded from the design. The reasons for this were;

1) it allows me to use an axle vertically through the coupling

2) it "felt" cleaner having a standard space between the connectors

3) it makes it easier to consider if alternative Technic parts can be used in the coupling design

4) a gut feel (yet to be explored) which says that if I want to delve into a coupling with some pivoting to make inclines/declines feasible, it will be easier if all the connectors are evenly spaced.

Regards,

David

 

 

I see, thanks! 

 

10 hours ago, supertruper1988 said:

Not sure if this is welcome here but GBC build akiyuky posted these two awesome videos using the new roller coaster tracks today. 

 

 

Woah! Thanks for sharing those! The second one gave me a laugh. 

[FiliusRucilo]

On 7/2/2018 at 6:00 AM, djm said:

Two Motor Assemblies

In this post I am posting some building instructions for two motor assemblies i.e. the bit that contains the motor which sits between the two carriages. The reason for making this post is to assist others thinking about build their own monorail trains.

Assembly #1

This assembly is a derivation of @LegoMonorailFan's original design. The primary difference is that the gap between the top and bottom Light Bluish Grey connectors to which the train is coupled is 20 LDUs (i.e. a "round" Technic measurement) rather than 24 LDUs (i.e. a brick height measurement). A PDF file for this assembly is available for download.

I currently use this motor assembly on my monorail train. However, this assembly does rely on the clutch power between bricks being sufficiently strong. I have built two of these and, although they were identical, one of the assemblies holds together significantly better than the other. This manifested itself in a recent display where the first train could run for 30 minutes before requiring a little preventative maintenance, while the second train would manage at most 5 minutes before I would need to squeeze the bricks together. This experience has lead me to ...

Assembly #2

This second assembly is an attempt to eliminate vertical separation of the gears which occurs over time with assembly #1. It should be "plug compatible" with the first assembly style i.e. you should just be able to switch motor assembly #2 for motor assembly #1. I have physically built this design but I have not yet had an opportunity to stress test. The aim is that is should run for a period of time no worse than (and hopefully much better than) motor assembly #1 before requiring preventative maintenance. The PDF file for this design is available to download,

Space is tight around the XL motor but I would welcome any suggestions for improvements to this design if you can think of any. If someone builds this style, I'd appreciate any feedback on whethr or not it is sufficiently reliable.

Regards,

David

Getting in the same trouble during my display last month i've also have redesigned the motor carriage. In a first attempt i have simply build clamps around the old design wich results in a little bit tubby carriage. But this solution is tested an runs more than 4 hrs without any maintanance. Disadvantage is, the the space between the gearwheels don't have the 100% correct distance and this leads to a slightly jamming behavior. I'm convinced that the incorrect distance was the core problem of the older constructions leading to pushing the bricks apart. BUT IT WORKS in long runs and you can also use a M-Motor instead of a XL-Type. Using the M-Motor will multiply the driving speed by two but reduce the power for climbing on solped tracks. ;-) See attached some pictures and a link to a LDD File.  :-)

LDD File

[djm]

As promised previously, I'm now making available the NXT program I wrote which controls monorail switches.

/

The program can be seen in operation in the video contained within this prior post:

I've written a User Guide for the program, which includes details on how to install and use the program on your NXT. There is a zip file available for download, which contains the NXT program, User Guide and the other files used by the program. The user guide contains links to monorail track elements (left and right switches and the trigger track) used in the solution.

While I have successfully tested the program installation process on another PC, if you have any issues when trying to install the program, please contact me.

Regards,

David

[kieran]

On 6/12/2018 at 8:03 AM, FiliusRucilo said:

I've just finished the little movie showing the track layout in action. 

You can find it on flickr.

Link to my Monorail album (you can find the movie at the very last end)

 

Wow, just shows what can be done

[supertruper1988]

Short but interesting interview with Masao Hidaka

 

[sed6]

On 1/22/2018 at 1:38 PM, djm said:

@Mark Bellis has graciously given me permission to post building instructions for his design of monorail track curves and straights. There are building instructions available to download for;

• a curved track section

• a 16 stud long straight and

• a 32 stud long straight

Regards,

David

[Link to the next of my posts containing building instructions]

I'm new to monorails and have a couple of questions. What radius will the 19 tile curves make? Do they bend to the same radius as standard lego track? Does each curve make 1/8 of a circle? I see pics of some nice girders holding up the tracks, any plans available for those? They look brick built but the pics aren't good enough for me to tell. Lastly what's CRS stand for? 

Someone recently suggested I add a second level to my Small layout on a door and I'm thinking a monorail might be just the thing. Thanks all!

Edited July 16, 2018 by sed6
cnat spele

[Trekkie99]

5 hours ago, sed6 said:

I'm new to monorails and have a couple of questions. What radius will the 19 tile curves make? Do they bend to the same radius as standard lego track? Does each curve make 1/8 of a circle? I see pics of some nice girders holding up the tracks, any plans available for those? They look brick built but the pics aren't good enough for me to tell. Lastly what's CRS stand for? 

Someone recently suggested I add a second level to my Small layout on a door and I'm thinking a monorail might be just the thing. Thanks all!

Hi @sed6! CRS is an acronym I coined which stands for Custom Rail System(s). CRS designs are usually monorails, but if someone were to make a CRS that has two or more rails, they could still apply the acronym to their model because the acronym is broader unlike if the acronym were something like CMS (Custom Monorail System).

Yes, a 19 link long section makes 1/8 of a curve which means a full circle is 152 links, and a 152 link circle has a radius of 46 studs.

To make curves that correlate with TLG's official train track, you'll need 31 links per 1/4 of a circle.

As for the girders, is there a specific design your referencing?

Cheers! 

LMF

[sed6]

Thanks @LegoMonorailFan for the quick reply and good info! I'm going to start experimenting with rail and train construction soon. Closer inspection of the girders I asked about (using my laptop instead of phone) reveal them to be some standard girders I can get thru BL. I'll pop back in later with more questions and perhaps some progress updates!

[Trekkie99]

8 hours ago, sed6 said:

Thanks @LegoMonorailFan for the quick reply and good info! I'm going to start experimenting with rail and train construction soon. Closer inspection of the girders I asked about (using my laptop instead of phone) reveal them to be some standard girders I can get thru BL. I'll pop back in later with more questions and perhaps some progress updates!

Glad I could help!  Looking forward to seeing your progress. 

[sed6]

Here's my initial design, still a work in progress. I'm a fan of the Disney monorail and I took inspiration from it for the windows and side skirts. I borrowed the nose and took inspiration for the top and back of the cars from 60051. The track was a challenge and you'll see there's a tiny gap in the middle of one of the straights. The interior of the cars are empty right now as I'm working on how to power and drive it.

The cars a little shorter that I would have preferred but that is dictated by the side skirts. My build is exactly 6 wide with just 4 studs between the skirts. My track is exactly the same radius as the standard curved train track (center of the rails, 31 2x2 plates long). That radius and a 4 stud space between them dictates just how long the skirts can be before they hit the side of the rails in a turn. 22 studs is the magic number in this case. 

As for power, I'm leaning toward two small wheels powered by an M motor set horizontally. I've limited myself in my design options by going 4 wide on the inside, and I hope I can figure it out. Has anyone tried the worm gear in this application yet? Anyone see any problems using it? 

I welcome any opinions or suggestions anyone has on my design. I also welcome any suggestions for powering it. Thanks!

Edit to add a couple of pics of it negotiating the curves...

 

Edited July 23, 2018 by sed6
added pics

[Trekkie99]

22 hours ago, sed6 said:

Here's my initial design, still a work in progress. I'm a fan of the Disney monorail and I took inspiration from it for the windows and side skirts. I borrowed the nose and took inspiration for the top and back of the cars from 60051. The track was a challenge and you'll see there's a tiny gap in the middle of one of the straights. The interior of the cars are empty right now as I'm working on how to power and drive it.

The cars a little shorter that I would have preferred but that is dictated by the side skirts. My build is exactly 6 wide with just 4 studs between the skirts. My track is exactly the same radius as the standard curved train track (center of the rails, 31 2x2 plates long). That radius and a 4 stud space between them dictates just how long the skirts can be before they hit the side of the rails in a turn. 22 studs is the magic number in this case. 

As for power, I'm leaning toward two small wheels powered by an M motor set horizontally. I've limited myself in my design options by going 4 wide on the inside, and I hope I can figure it out. Has anyone tried the worm gear in this application yet? Anyone see any problems using it? 

I welcome any opinions or suggestions anyone has on my design. I also welcome any suggestions for powering it. Thanks!

Edit to add a couple of pics of it negotiating the curves...

 

Hi @sed6! I really like your design! Clean and elegant. 

Now that you have your design, you can set about making it motorized and runnable on the track. 

In your last picture which showcases the skirting on the monorail in correlation with the track, there doesn't appear to much clearance if any. 

This is a problem because in order for the monorail to run along the track properly, your going to need to use guiders. You can see them being used in red on this motor bogie.

Depending on where the guiders are located underneath the monorail in correlation with the distance in length between the guiders will dictate what the length and/or design of the skirting can be. (Note: I usually don't have the skirting on my monorails go pass the wheels because if my monorail has the ability to take very tight curves, it can do that. Unlike if the skirting went past the wheels and partially covered the rail to whatever extent in which case it may rub against the rail. Does it look as good when the skirting doesn't cover the wheels and rail? No, but it would make the process of designing your monorail much easier. :-) )

Back to the discussion of guiders, the max length in distance between the guiders will depend on what the smallest curve radius is that you'll intend to use your monorail on. The max length will be when if the guiders are spread apart any further, it will start to create resistance and drag and negatively affect the monorail's performance. 

Another thing that creates a lot of resistance and is often overlooked is the distance between the wheels. The farther they are apart, the greater the resistance. Imagine trying to turn while riding a bicycle whose front wheel can't turn. The only way you could turn is to drag the front wheel across the pavement in the direction you wish to turn. It's the same thing happening with the monorail when the wheels are to far apart. Also like the bike, the solution is the same. I personally recommend that each monorail car should have one fixed wheel* [motorized or unmotorized (a wheel that doesn't turn)*], and one bogie wheel that turns. 

There are different ways to design a bogie wheel. I recommend a design similar to one made by @FiliusRucilo or something like it. Here's a picture of one of his designs.

And finally, motorization. I definitely recommend starting out using small wheels. They'll allow more room for when you're working with the gearing. As for worm gears, I've never used them, but I'd definitely give it a shot if I were you. 

I recommend you keep your gearing low. I personally prefer a slow & strong monorail vs a semi-fast & semi-weak monorail, but depending on how smoothly your monorail runs will probably be the deciding point. Both my first monorail design and my suspended monorail design can run very smoothly even on the slowest speed setting when using the seven speed remote control. I used this as somewhat of a test when I was designing the monorails.

I hope this will be helpful. Let me know there's anything in specific you'd be wondering about. 

Cheers! 

LMF

[TJJohn12]

Monorail Mark VI - Walt Disney World on Flickr

I was really excited to debut my CRS version of the Mark VI Monorail at Brickfair in Virginia this weekend, and I'm equally excited to bring it all to you too. The model is centered around a 3-wide core, with SNOT facing every direction to get the gentle curves of the Disney monorails. Because of the internal space limitation, right now it's a push-train, though it balances well along the beam and works quite nicely.

   

[rucolo]

On 1/22/2018 at 8:38 PM, djm said:

@Mark Bellis has graciously given me permission to post building instructions for his design of monorail track curves and straights. There are building instructions available to download for;

• a curved track section

• a 16 stud long straight and

• a 32 stud long straight

Regards,

David

[Link to the next of my posts containing building instructions]

can I ask you something?
how many of these curves are needed to make 180 °
and how much is the radius or diameter of the curve?
thank you

[djm]

On 8/11/2018 at 1:56 AM, rucolo said:

can I ask you something?
how many of these curves are needed to make 180 °
and how much is the radius or diameter of the curve?
thank you

Four of these curves are required for a 180 degree turn, so eight for a full circle. The diameter of the curve (centre of track to centre of track) is roughly 1950 LDUs i.e. 97.5 "studs".

David

[MonsieurCaron]

Hi, awesome stuff here, you guys inspired me a lot. (I'm new here btw, I use to do brickfilm on youtube)

I share my very first try below. 

My next step is to build a different train using technics you shared here. I'll make sure to share photos and videos.

Thanks to all of you. 

 

 

[Trekkie99]

21 hours ago, MonsieurCaron said:

Hi, awesome stuff here, you guys inspired me a lot. (I'm new here btw, I use to do brickfilm on youtube)

I share my very first try below. 

My next step is to build a different train using technics you shared here. I'll make sure to share photos and videos.

Thanks to all of you. 

 

 

Hello and welcome to Eurobricks!  Thats a very fine smooth running model you have there!  I'm so glad to hear that we've inspired you to make your own monorail, and I hope to see more of you and your monorail here on Eurobricks! 

[MonsieurCaron]

After a lot of testing and rebuilding, I'm happy to share this version of my Classic Space monorail. 

My first CRS rails were made with bricks like in Masao Hidaka's video, but I found out that is wasn't strong enough as only one 1x2 is holding the rail. https://youtu.be/mqYmFWg_tVc (If you check out Masao's last videos, you can spot that he added an extra layer of plate at the bottom of the rail).

I tried the instruction published here by @djm with @Mark Bellis design and it work way better as two 1x2 plates hold the curve together. 

As I had a lot of 1x2 transparent plate on my hands, I found that they make a very "spacy" rail. I ordered 800 blue plates to complete my setup. 

The train is powered by two PF motors and the rechargeable battery pack is in the middle. The two connector stacked on top made the wagon more high, but that's ok. I can slow it down as the rechargeable battery pack come with a dimmer. 

The train was acting weirdly in the curve at first. I discovered that the bottom guide were too far apart. With no way to move them closer, I just took the back one out and it worked. The ride is still a little more wobly. I might add the support back by removing on powered wheel by train, having just the front one driving the train and the back one running free. 

Next challenge: build some hill to go up and down. Your ideas are more than welcome. 

Again, thanks for your help, this tread was my homepage for all my summer vacation!

 

 

[zephyr1934]

On 8/20/2018 at 9:40 PM, MonsieurCaron said:

As I had a lot of 1x2 transparent plate on my hands, I found that they make a very "spacy" rail. I ordered 800 blue plates to complete my setup. 

Trans yellow + blue rail on light gray posts would be smoking