Has anyone ever purchased or modeled an O-Scale monorail?
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I am using the Disney monorail on my layout...in fact several of them. They are very close to scale in two of the dimensions but the cars are too short...so...I increased the length by adding cars which helps their looks. Here are a couple of pictures....I added a PRR logo to give the illusion of what "may have been...."
Alan
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Very nicely done leavingtracks. I am preparing to install the same monorail on my layout... I wish it had a better operating system, but it is what it is...
Believe it or not, there is a Monorail Society: A bunch of grown men who obsess over real and toy monorails. Here is the modeling page on their website:
http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Models.html
And here is a site that sells upgrades to the Disney Monorail sets, including upgraded sound and motors, and a custom control board and computer controlled block protection.
http://monorailsilver.com/simulation.html
And you thought they were just toys!
Bob
Alan;
Nicely done but where did you get extra cars to add on? Buy another set?
I don't see any parts / add-ons on the Disney site except track curves and a set of figures. I did see they have 2 sets, Disney World and Disney Land. The Disney World set is NOT remote controlled, switch is on top of the engine. Disney Land set is remote control and also $10 less, go figure that out.
Spence, Nice Video, gonna think about adding one, but it will really stick out in a steam Era western theme layout ;-)
I have one of the Disney sets (red stripe) from about 10 years ago that I purchased at the Magic Kingdom.
My son-in-law has 6 or 7 of the Disney sets that he has bought over the years. They all have different color stripes on them.
The monorail won't fit in my time era but they're sure cool looking. Thinking about having one in the Christmas garden this year.
Don't forget the Detroit Leland sets or the Rokenbok one.
Thanks Wood.... There are upgrades available for these sets as there are several folks offering new motors installed, etc. The earlier sets in my opinion are the nicest ones only because there are no opening hatches or doors which create unsightly gaps around the opening boundaries.
Russell....I have 4 sets, two black striped and two red striped. I combine them together. Since the slide switch on the bottom edge of the powered units have the ability to go forward or reverse, this gave me the option of having two powered units per train...OR...I can have two cab units back to back with one being powered making a "AA" unit. One powered unit pulls the extra cars just fine even though the monorails could benefit from a faster motor. I have approximate 140 feet of monorail track and while the monorail theme would not fit on most model railroads, it works fine with my urban themed layout... I plan on spraying the plastic track with a concrete looking paint to tone down both the color and shine....
Alan
The Disney ones look fine, even though they are closer to "S". The biggest drawback, IMO, is that the track and supports cover a lot of layout space.
Joe is correct, they are somewhere in scale between "0" and "S" but the cars are definitely too short. As far as supports, I agree with Joe and have been replacing them with 3/4" wood square stock.
Alan
In regards to the supports, my layout is around the room. I've been checking out ebay (I know) and there are a few folks that are making supports to fit the Disney rail, but you attach it to the wall instead of using a support connected to the base of the layout. I haven't made a purchase to check it out, but it is a consideration. Terry
I put a photo up on one of these threads show all the monorails available in and about o-scale.
Alan,
I love your urban themed layout. I wish that I still had the many girder and panel sets from my youth. A question on the monorail track. Have you tried to use wood as the rail, or does the train need the supplied plastic tapered track?
Thanks,
Mike
Thank you Mike! I have never tried wood but it should not matter what the rail is made of since the drive wheels on the powered unit are mounted in such a way as to "grip" the sides of the track. Some guys use aluminum screen door stock as it is almost exactly the correct width. That is the key, the track needs to be the correct width so that the drive wheels travel along and grip it properly.
Alan
Thanks Alan,
We are heading to WDW the end of August. The previous two times that we have gone, my son Ian has wanted the Monorail set. Maybe this year? I could purchase it on that auction site. But it would be much more special to him if we buy the monorail set at WDW vs. online. So I was thinking that making my own track would be easier to incorporate the monorail on our train layout.
Mike....get him that set!! You will be glad you did and he will be a long term train buddy! There are several versions of the set. The first runs are like what I have....no opening interiors, door, etc. Then the next run had opening sides with seats in the cars and disney characters that could be put inside. The most recent version represents the current body style and I believe it too has opening roofs.
I personally like the earliest version because of the fit and finish....
Alan
Imagine that - "A bunch of grown men who obsess over real and toy monorails."
I also have the Disney set - worked very well when I had my layout up.
Enjoy
Bill
This forum is a living, breathing encyclopedia of knowledge.
I appreciate the numerous replies and information!
Had a request to open this topic back up. Done!
I didn't know these existed. Pretty cool! And very different item to have on a layout!
It's not O-Scale, but I had a Remco Speedrail Monorail when I was a kid (still have most of it, just not accessible at the moment). A search for them pulls up several hits. Here is a short YouTube vid:
Anyone know if extra track or cars are available? Looking on eBay I only see full sets.
@Sean007 posted:Anyone know if extra track or cars are available? Looking on eBay I only see full sets.
Yes! Google the stores in the Disney parks, they usually have the boxes of extra track. You likely will have to buy more than one set to get more cars. That is what I did. The power unit can pull extra cars but the max is around what you see in my posts above (under "leavingtracks").
@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:Yes! Google the stores in the Disney parks, they usually have the boxes of extra track. You likely will have to buy more than one set to get more cars. That is what I did. The power unit can pull extra cars but the max is around what you see in my posts above (under "leavingtracks").
Thanks Alan - I will check them out.
Thanks for bringing this one back to life! Still want one. Thanks for sharing the video Pete! Nice and I also like the working swiss ski gondolas! Terry
This got me all fired up again! I went online and found two of the newer MarkVII Disney monorails and some track and switches that are being produced for these monorails!
We bought diecast replicas when we went. I had no idea about these. If my son had seen that...
I have a number of Disney Monorails in various color and styles (yes there are several different styles since the monorail design has changed over the years).
However, for me, the Disney supporting rails are too large. So I think the Schucos, though closer to S-gauge and bigger than HO, but are powered thru the track rails are the ones I am going to run. Two Schucos can run independently on a single rail. Also, their switch machines are automatic not hand thrown like the Disney versions.
I made some longer straight rails for the Schucos since the Schuco straight track is not very long.
I run 2 of the Monorails with the Contemporary, Castle, and Epcot Space Ship Earth the grand kids love it
Those monorail playsets must be in high demand. They are sold out on the official park store, and they limit guests to 10 per purchase. But they are only $99 a set which is not bad at all. As so often happens, Amazon and eBay scalpers have them for twice the price. Scalpers suck.
Man I never knew this existed! The lady of the house is a Mickey freak! We end up at Disney world every other year or so. I’m there for the train ride, monorail ride and trying to make her yack on the teacups hahahaha! Looks like one of these may be finding its way into the layout somehow!
@AlanRail posted:I have a number of Disney Monorails in various color and styles (yes there are several different styles since the monorail design has changed over the years).
However, for me, the Disney supporting rails are too large. So I think the Schucos, though closer to S-gauge and bigger than HO, but are powered thru the track rails are the ones I am going to run. Two Schucos can run independently on a single rail. Also, their switch machines are automatic not hand thrown like the Disney versions.
I made some longer straight rails for the Schucos since the Schuco straight track is not very long.
Ah yes, all true ... BUT ... my pockets aren't deep enough to have a Schucos so the Disney's are just fine. Plus, the Disney's are closer to O-gauge even though they are too short. I solved that by fooling the eye and increasing the length of the train. AND, the new Disney monorails are remote controlled even though they are battery powered. By the way, there are folks that have used aluminum screen door channel and modified the Disney motors so they can pick up power from the track. And to combat the too large supports, plenty of scale looking upright supports are being custom made. I have a few that I will be using in the monorail build so I will post some pictures.
@ByronB posted:Those monorail playsets must be in high demand. They are sold out on the official park store, and they limit guests to 10 per purchase. But they are only $99 a set which is not bad at all. As so often happens, Amazon and eBay scalpers have them for twice the price. Scalpers suck.
Bought the two last night at Walmart online.
Never seen the Disney monorail set before. Very neat. When I was a kid I dreamed of receiving the lego monorail set. It’s nearly 34 years old at this point and I still find it to be cool!
@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:This got me all fired up again! I went online and found two of the newer MarkVII Disney monorails and some track and switches that are being produced for these monorails!
Alan,
Would you mind posting where you found the switches ? Are all the newer sets remote controlled? I have a set from a few years back that is manually controlled.
Brad
@BradF posted:Alan,
Would you mind posting where you found the switches ? Are all the newer sets remote controlled? I have a set from a few years back that is manually controlled.
Brad
Brad...go to that big auction site and type in "disney monorail" and you will find the switches. I think that only the MarkVII sets are remote controlled.
This is mine.
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