Creating a Monorail In a Lego City

[RileyC]

So Ive been a bit of a MOCing phase the last few weeks with building modular houses. And I thought to myself, could I build a lego city with a monorail in it? Now I wouldn't create the monorail with the monorail pieces as that would be horribly expensive. But would I be able to use regular train track pieces? Now I see a few complications with this. One, the turns, Im really quite stumped on how I could get the corners done in a city that has right angled corners. Any suggestions? Another is being able to sustain the track and a train (or multiple) in the air. Would 2x2 supports be enough to support it? And three is would the track look like it could really be used in a monorail type scenario?

Ive always been interested in Lego trains and I would love to hear from you!

[JopieK]

Just search for monorail at brickshelf.com:

http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=404117

and

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=76606

etc. so I guess it is doable, I guess there are solutions for edged curves, but wouldn't have a clue at this moment... it becomes more os less like a rollercoaster if you want very tight turns I guess.

[henryhotspurs]

A Monorail would be really cool. I have thought of adding one myself.

I too have looked at the classic monorail parts and have come to the conclusion they are way too expensive to consider. I think I will MOC something up based on the current transport station (#8404). The unpowered train in that set looks like a momorail to me.

I suggest you look at some of the ingenious Lego monorail designs on uTube. Very informative and thought provoking. There is even a handpush MAGLEV train in one of the vids.

[Freddie]

I'm working on a monorail of this type. It's tricky but doable.

The rail-structure is accomplished with 1xN-bricks, two bricks tall plus tiles - straights using mostly 1x16 bricks, since these are strong enough to allows supports some thirdy studs apart. Turns are built with alternating 1x2 bricks, which are then forced to shape a round bend. These bends will fit in an area of three 32x32 plates arranged in an "L".

For reference, the monorail I'm working on is inspired, and based, on Psiaki's.

[Rijkvv]

The monorails I really like, are Hidaka's ones. He has some Youtube vids as well. He uses even RCX controlled switches, so the train will never derail.

I plan on building a monorail myself. The train will be based on Masao Hidaka's ones, but maybe with different looks. The switches will not be RCX controlled, but maybe remote controlled.

[roamingstop]

I remembered seeing info on monorail switches... and here are some googled links

[MetroiD]

I've also taken a long hard look at all those alternative monorail designs you guys have already linked to prior to making the decision whether I should opt for the original LEGO monorail system or not. The way I see things though, none of these actually offers anything that TLG hadn't done with their official 9V monorail system. It may be old, out of production and expensive, but it's still the best solution in terms of ease of access and operating, space saving considerations, powering and clutch solutions, etc.

Now, the one monorail that really caught my eye was this one:

Of course, there's the issue of it not relying entirely on LEGO and hence being a purist's nightmare, but I personally think it's a really exciting project. That said, maglev and monorail don't exactly go together too well in real life, so perhaps it would be better if this solution were done in proper maglev style, with channels on both sides of the train rather than a monorail underneath it.

P.S.: As to using regular track pieces - that defies the whole purpose / idea of monorail, not to mention that having upward and downward slopes with those is pretty much unthinkable, most of all because there's no way to ensure enough friction so that the train stays on track. So it's really either a brick-built monorail or the official one - and I'd most heartily recommend the official monorail, it's worth the investment.

[roamingstop]

Hmm.. there is MagLev track listed on Lego's Education website (USA)... so it is not a impossible request. But I never did find how it was supposed to be used.

Edit: Seems more info is now on their product site... not a complete Lego solution but since it is sold by TLG (Education) how does it match for purists?

Edited April 15, 2011 by roamingstudio

[RileyC]

Oh man I never thought about a brick built one!

And I completely forgot that Lego train track doesnt have sloping pieces. Im such a train noob

So as MetroiD says my only options are the official monorail stuff or brick built. Just from a bit of an estimate the two options are about the same in price. Monorail I would only have to buy the track and the monorail undercarriages to fit on the track. Brick built I would have to design my on way of creating it, getting pieces and then building the PF motor and I suspect that the motor would be too big for it. The official would look better I think. Nice curves instead of weird angled corners and actually looking like a monorail. I know I could probably brick built one that could look the same but then Im probably still spending $2.00NZ on a brick built straight that cost as much as the official monorail pieces.

Thanks for the replies guys!

Edited April 16, 2011 by Roncanator

[MetroiD]

Brick built I would have to design my on way of creating it, getting pieces and then building the PF motor and I suspect that the motor would be too big for it. The official would look better I think. Nice curves instead of weird angled corners and actually looking like a monorail.

Don't forget that with a brick-built monorail you'd have a whole lot more trouble with switches; or with coming up with a proper system that allows the monorail to run back and forth, as the original one does.

The original monorail system is an ingenious and very simple (in a good sense) solution which, despite all the possibilities that PF opens up, is still the best solution - at least to me.

[RileyC]

Yeah thats a really big plus, I definitely agree. PF seems to be to be a bag of hurt in this instance, too much of a hassle.

Does anyone know if the newer pieces from 6991 like the switch track piece will work with every other monorail piece? Was there any change in connections or anything to prohibit them from working together? I think that the switch track piece would be a great piece to have in handy. Lot of ways it could be used.

Edited April 16, 2011 by Roncanator

[Freddie]

LEGO never changed the format of the tracks, so all of them are interchangable, with the exception being the diagonal end of the half-curves and the branches on the switches - those have a special connection designed to fit each other, so it's not possible to build diagonal track. But you can build S-curves and S-switches.

And just to add, PF is backwards-compatible, so the new stuff will work with the monorail-motor if you use the extension cord. Then you won't need the control-tracks.

[Veeb0rg]

LEGO never changed the format of the tracks, so all of them are interchangable, with the exception being the diagonal end of the half-curves and the branches on the switches - those have a special connection designed to fit each other, so it's not possible to build diagonal track. But you can build S-curves and S-switches.

And just to add, PF is backwards-compatible, so the new stuff will work with the monorail-motor if you use the extension cord. Then you won't need the control-tracks.

I have the 6399 monorail, I powered the monorail motor using the PF remote sensor off the stock 9v battery box using a few pf to 9v conversion cables.

I got the idea for the PF to 9v trains here, The setup works well. I tried it on the monorail stuff just for fun, works just as well.

Edited April 22, 2011 by Veeb0rg