Dismantling monorail switch?

[Lego Otaku]

I have gathered all of Monorail tracks I got from set 6990 and few expansion sets when they were out some 20 years ago, and I noticed that both switches:

Monorail Track Point Left and Monorail Track Point Right

Both of the switches I have aren't working well. It's kind of hard to manually slide the lever and the little pin that monorail train uses to auto-switch doesn't move freely either. I suspect it's a buildup of dust and crud inside the switch. Is there an easy way to take it apart for through cleaning? I may add a little petroleum jelly to the moving parts so they'd never stick or jam for a while. Or is that bad idea?

TIA

PS why no new monorail anything at all? I saw a picture of what appeared to be underwater themed set and a patent for a 4 way cross with auto switching.

EDIT: had link for 2 left and no right by mistake.

Edited September 22, 2010 by TheBrickster

[the Inventor]

No need to open them,

I had the same problem with my monorail switches, and I used ""kontakt 60" and my switches are working really smooth now.

the Inventor

[wmanidi]

I have gathered all of Monorail tracks I got from set 6990 and few expansion sets when they were out some 20 years ago, and I noticed that both switches:

Monorail Track Point Left and Monorail Track Point Right

Both of the switches I have aren't working well. It's kind of hard to manually slide the lever and the little pin that monorail train uses to auto-switch doesn't move freely either. I suspect it's a buildup of dust and crud inside the switch. Is there an easy way to take it apart for through cleaning? I may add a little petroleum jelly to the moving parts so they'd never stick or jam for a while. Or is that bad idea?

TIA

PS why no new monorail anything at all? I saw a picture of what appeared to be underwater themed set and a patent for a 4 way cross with auto switching.

EDIT: had link for 2 left and no right by mistake.

Under Water themed what!?! Just a little warning; do not us WD-40 It will melt the plastic!

[Lego Otaku]

I will try Kontact 60 if I can find them locally. A quick Google search seemed to suggest they are available online only and are around $30 shipped ($3.50 plus outrageous eBay-esque $25+ shipping)

Under Water themed what!?! Just a little warning; do not us WD-40 It will melt the plastic!

This is where I found about the unreleased Monorail set: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=416033 The minifig suggested this set may have been underwater themed. Building a clone of that set is doable, but I doubt I can find blue monorail track anywhere!!!

[legotrainfan]

This is where I found about the unreleased Monorail set: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=416033 The minifig suggested this set may have been underwater themed. Building a clone of that set is doable, but I doubt I can find blue monorail track anywhere!!!

That underwater monorail is not an official, unreleased set. It's a MOC.

[CP5670]

This is a common problem with these switches. There are many lubricants that will fix the issue, as long as they aren't petroleum-based.

That underwater monorail is not an official, unreleased set. It's a MOC.

It's actually a prototype of a set. There was some discussion about it a while ago. It uses several parts that never appeared in any actual set.

[Lego Otaku]

That underwater monorail is not an official, unreleased set. It's a MOC.

Pretty sure it's not a MOC. You can't get 10x10x12 quarter dome in trans-red like pictured. The closest color would be neon-orange and it would really stick out if that was used. Like the post above, it had to be proto that never got released.

[Mrlegoninja]

Pretty sure it's not a MOC. You can't get 10x10x12 quarter dome in trans-red like pictured. The closest color would be neon-orange and it would really stick out if that was used. Like the post above, it had to be proto that never got released.

Well that may spark a new discusion...

[Freddie]

That monorail was an unreleased prototype, which was part of a theme that would eventually evolve into Aquanauts. All sets in that folder, including the figure, are all "official" prototypes, and the pictures where released some time ago in Brickjournal. And there were a lot more sets that those shown there, as well.

Kontact 60 seems to be a good lubricant for monorail switches. I've been wondering how to fix mine too, but so far I've only seen the type of work required to rip it apart, which kinda scares me, knowing how expensive these switches can be.

[legotrainfan]

Interesting to hear that that monorail is not a MOC. With some improvements it'd have been an excellent set. I especially like the Futuron minifgs that are part of it. By them the integration of the aquanauts into the space theme would've been perfect.

Edited September 19, 2010 by legotrainfan

[WilliamH]

... and a patent for a 4 way cross with auto switching.

Both a 90-degree cross-track and a Y-switch were patented - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5087001.pdf

Also, a "diesel loco" type chassis was patented - Fig 23, Page 9 - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4861306.pdf

If you want to see what the inside of a monorail switch looks like - I can save you the effort of ripping one open - http://www.flickr.com/photos/whoward69/sets/72157624484843846/with/4789445103/

And for a discussion of how they work and what can go wrong - http://www.brickish.org/members/files/whoward/MonorailSwitchAnatomy.doc

HTH

William

[Lego Otaku]

Both a 90-degree cross-track and a Y-switch were patented - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5087001.pdf

Also, a "diesel loco" type chassis was patented - Fig 23, Page 9 - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4861306.pdf

If you want to see what the inside of a monorail switch looks like - I can save you the effort of ripping one open - http://www.flickr.com/photos/whoward69/sets/72157624484843846/with/4789445103/

And for a discussion of how they work and what can go wrong - http://www.brickish.org/members/files/whoward/MonorailSwitchAnatomy.doc

HTH

William

NICE!!! Looks like fixing the switch should be a last resort since they are glued together. I'll try the compressed air can to see if that clears the jam.

Interesting to see different versions of Y switches, and to see Lego had planned to extend Monorail with additional cars. Too bad they never released those, or we could have had a contest to see who can build the longest Monorail trains.

Is there a plastic molding expert around? Can someone make the missing monorail cars, bogies that goes in between cars, and cross tracks? Ok cross track may be a bit complex.

[mellida02]

That underwater monorail is not an official

[ZueriHB]

NICE!!! Looks like fixing the switch should be a last resort since they are glued together. I'll try the compressed air can to see if that clears the jam.

Interesting to see different versions of Y switches, and to see Lego had planned to extend Monorail with additional cars. Too bad they never released those, or we could have had a contest to see who can build the longest Monorail trains.

Is there a plastic molding expert around? Can someone make the missing monorail cars, bogies that goes in between cars, and cross tracks? Ok cross track may be a bit complex.

The patents should have expired in most countries, so if anyone with enough capital is up to it. I'd buy 3rd party monorail.

That underwater monorail is not an official

It's a prototype, id sadly never got to market.

[cusaeng]

The patents should have expired in most countries, so if anyone with enough capital is up to it. I'd buy 3rd party monorail.

I was just thinking the same thing!. Ive spent the best part of today looking over all the old patents for lego trains and was wondering what the reaction would be if a clone brand decided to re make old mono rail / 9v track. If it was reasonable I would buy some I wouldn’t use the clone brand bricks but to use it as a base to be covered over by track balased or brown tiles wouldn’t bother me at all.

[Lego Otaku]

I was just thinking the same thing!. Ive spent the best part of today looking over all the old patents for lego trains and was wondering what the reaction would be if a clone brand decided to re make old mono rail / 9v track. If it was reasonable I would buy some I wouldn’t use the clone brand bricks but to use it as a base to be covered over by track balased or brown tiles wouldn’t bother me at all.

I would gladly buy new switches if someone can make them in decent quality (preferable not glued together!) and also the Y switch (looked like 2 quarter circle track overlapping) and the cross track. Also extra cars and bogies to see if I can aim long monorail train.

I'm not sure if 9v track can be made. Lego is still using more or less the same mold for current RC tracks, just no metal rail or tab to fasten rail in place. If anyone tried to clone the tracks with the connectors currently used, Lego may be a bit unhappy.