The Monorail Playset Motor Thread

reactortrip

New Member
Original Poster
Well This is my first post and first thread. I just purchased a Monorail Playset during my trip last week because I saw they had the Teal back and my house has the whole various colors of blue/white theme for Christmas and I always wanted a monorail. Well I was severely disappointed in the motor like many of you. I am not one to send my stuff off to do what I can do myself. So I present to you, my experiments in improving the monorail. Please feel free to share your own experiments with this toy. because I am looking for ideas to do to mine as well.

WARNING: Do not follow any of my instructions unless you are fine with breaking your monorail as I am not responsible for your actions.

First, here is my new little toy around my tree. Wish I could incorporate it into my computerized christmas lights to music display in the yard. Maybe next year, lol.
5242515985_44d3b52d48_z.jpg


Unfortunately it's much better looking stationary then it is limping around the tree because of a poorly sized motor.

Well I have since removed the engine from the tree.

First thing I did was remove the batteries. Always remove the power source before you play with electrical systems. I am a safety nazi on this aspect as I have been zapped and know the dangers. Of course I have hot handed 161kV, so I am not a smart cookie. LOL

Next remove the 5 screws on the bottom of the engine:
5242551013_023c3fd2a3_z.jpg


Now that you have those out, you need to seperate the two pieces. THESE PIECES HAVE WIRES BETWEEN THEM, SO BE VERY CAREFUL AT THIS POINT. You need to push on the LED lights on the front and kinda push back and ten slant up, this is not for the nervous and I take no responsibility if you choose to do this yourself:
5243146160_5266490a28_z.jpg


Next you need to remove the three screws covering the gears:
5242551709_7883944a29_z.jpg


Now you have full access to your motor, the gear closest to the worm gear is removed in this photo:
5242450931_814fcc3121_z.jpg


I used a caliper to take some eyeball measurements on the motor:
2mm shaft
10mm long and 6mm wide worm gear
29 mm long 20 mm wide and 15mm tall body

I found the 10x6 worm gears in the UK called MOD 0.5 worm gears. They were $8 for 10. I went ahead and got a pack because I will probably being testing several different options.

Next phase is some electrical testing. I will keep you updated of my progress in the future.
 

reactortrip

New Member
Original Poster
Selected my first motor for testing.

Going to try the Tamiya 15256 Hyper Dash 2 High Speed motor. measurements are close and it has a 2mm shaft. I should be able to rig some mounts/spacers to get it to fit similar to stock.

19300 rpms at no load

It was made for racing 4wd RCs, LOL. Runs anywhere between 1.2 to 4.8V with no issues. It is a the high speed/high torque replacement for the Mabuchi FA-130 motor which runs at 8600 rpm. Which could very well be the stock motor from what I have learned so far.

Here's a stock photo of it, mine is in the mail:

store_hyperdash1.jpg
 

Monorail_Red

Well-Known Member
I have purchased several Monorail play sets from the good ol' days. For some reason the ones they are selling today just seem cheap. With the opening doors and figures and whatnot. I bought my first one back in 2000, and it still runs strong today. And the most recent one I purchased...must have been 2005 or 2006...it just limps around.

Personally I would like to see the WDW Monorails modeled into a high-quality product comparable like Lionel trains.
 

reactortrip

New Member
Original Poster
I have purchased several Monorail play sets from the good ol' days. For some reason the ones they are selling today just seem cheap. With the opening doors and figures and whatnot. I bought my first one back in 2000, and it still runs strong today. And the most recent one I purchased...must have been 2005 or 2006...it just limps around.

Personally I would like to see the WDW Monorails modeled into a high-quality product comparable like Lionel trains.

I agree. I would be willing to pay the high priced for a high quality electric track version of these made by someone like Bachmann or Lionel. I don't see why WD doesn't produce one of quality as opposed to the child's toy version we get.

I am serious contemplating just supergluing most of the doors and compartments shut because I have no interest in the figures portion of it.

Still waiting on the motor and gears to get here, but they are both coming from overseas, so it will be a few weeks.

I am probably going to pull the green LEDs from the front and replace them with white or blue LEDs. Debating making it so one lights up no matter the direction instead of both working when it's going forward and no lights in reverse or run some power to the rear engine to power two other LEDs for reverse.
 

reactortrip

New Member
Original Poster
Small update, still waiting on the worm gears from Europe. Received the Hyper-Dash 2 motor from Japan this morning.

Looks like we got a perfect fit. Can't wait to start testing this puppy out.

5288752348_c783c83549_z.jpg
 

reactortrip

New Member
Original Poster
Well here is the finale

Got my worm gears in, fitted them on the motor.

5320857397_e8801bd03c_z.jpg


Desoldered the old motor, the cap on top is just a small .1uF

5321489140_86f095c138_z.jpg


Soldered it all back together same as it was before

5321584118_d7769c7d9a_z.jpg


Got it all back together

5321630364_f22fe31228_z.jpg


Back running like a Champ:

5321036687_67d29865e0_z.jpg


On my track around my christmas tree.

Original stock motor: 40 seconds to complete a lap.

Hyper Dash 2 motor: 16 seconds to complete a lap.

It is quick and torquey. Very very much improved and runs a respectable speed.
 

Monorail Lime

Well-Known Member
Interesting stuff. I added a sixth car to my monorail (scored a cheap broken set for parts on eBay) and it has a little trouble getting around now. Perhaps a traction upgrade is in order.
 

reactortrip

New Member
Original Poster
Interesting stuff. I added a sixth car to my monorail (scored a cheap broken set for parts on eBay) and it has a little trouble getting around now. Perhaps a traction upgrade is in order.

Could be the motor, the stock motor almost does not have enough torque to push the train in reverse. I imagine adding another car makes pulling the train much tougher as well. Mine goes much faster in reverse and has no issues pushing the train.
 

joeym

New Member
Hello .... was wondering if anyone could help me..... Was it really hard to do? Im not a techy nor a welder? haha...... Was wondering if there is someone who sells this as a SERVICE?? Also heard there are people who sell monorail aftermarket parts like RAIL EXTENSIONS in different sizes and Monorail DUAL BEAMS??
 

Monorailoholic

New Member
There are guys who service them. He had an ad on CL. I'll try to get his contact. The beams I made are just the original ones cut and new base put on or stacked/bondo/paint for extension. Same for dual track. The one guy I saw on eBay I think made his own mold and pours them. Charges a hefty amount. So I just bought up a pile of used ones and made them myself.
 
Well This is my first post and first thread. I just purchased a Monorail Playset during my trip last week because I saw they had the Teal back and my house has the whole various colors of blue/white theme for Christmas and I always wanted a monorail. Well I was severely disappointed in the motor like many of you. I am not one to send my stuff off to do what I can do myself. So I present to you, my experiments in improving the monorail. Please feel free to share your own experiments with this toy. because I am looking for ideas to do to mine as well.

WARNING: Do not follow any of my instructions unless you are fine with breaking your monorail as I am not responsible for your actions.

First, here is my new little toy around my tree. Wish I could incorporate it into my computerized christmas lights to music display in the yard. Maybe next year, lol.
5242515985_44d3b52d48_z.jpg


Unfortunately it's much better looking stationary then it is limping around the tree because of a poorly sized motor.

Well I have since removed the engine from the tree.

First thing I did was remove the batteries. Always remove the power source before you play with electrical systems. I am a safety nazi on this aspect as I have been zapped and know the dangers. Of course I have hot handed 161kV, so I am not a smart cookie. LOL

Next remove the 5 screws on the bottom of the engine:
5242551013_023c3fd2a3_z.jpg


Now that you have those out, you need to seperate the two pieces. THESE PIECES HAVE WIRES BETWEEN THEM, SO BE VERY CAREFUL AT THIS POINT. You need to push on the LED lights on the front and kinda push back and ten slant up, this is not for the nervous and I take no responsibility if you choose to do this yourself:
5243146160_5266490a28_z.jpg


Next you need to remove the three screws covering the gears:
5242551709_7883944a29_z.jpg


Now you have full access to your motor, the gear closest to the worm gear is removed in this photo:
5242450931_814fcc3121_z.jpg


I used a caliper to take some eyeball measurements on the motor:
2mm shaft
10mm long and 6mm wide worm gear
29 mm long 20 mm wide and 15mm tall body

I found the 10x6 worm gears in the UK called MOD 0.5 worm gears. They were $8 for 10. I went ahead and got a pack because I will probably being testing several different options.

Next phase is some electrical testing. I will keep you updated of my progress in the future.

Ok. Brand new here, and I came because this was the one that popped up when I Googled for some information.
I received a monorail playset as a gift and the one who gave it to me bought it used apparently. When I set it up and watched it desperately try to make it around the set I turned it over and saw only one rubber deal on the part that moves it and thought maybe I needed to find a way to replace the one that didn't have the rubber on it, but in your picture, it looks the same way. Am I safe in assuming they only have the rubber on one side to move it on the track? And I'm just having a common issue in that the motor is crummy? Or is there supposed to be two rubber wheels to move this on the track?
 

bobquincy

New Member
While we are discussing motors: HyperDash is a good motor but maybe a bit more than some modelers need. I have installed several Torque-Tuned motors and they are quite a bit faster than the original but draw less current than HyperDash. I have also installed some Rev-Tuned motors, they are somewhere in between the other two in performance and current.

The downside is T-T and R-T motors have metal brushes and need the original (or replacement) carbon brushes installed for longer life.
None of this applies to the Disneyland Mark VII as the internal circuit is not good at powering the faster motors.
 

DadV8r

New Member
Hi! I’m new to the discussion but have a couple of the yellow monorails from way back on a trip I want to say 2003. And now they get stuck going around the track on like every other beam. The brand new one seems much cheaper in quality, it’s orange in color, and it’s really loud. The yellow ones are real quiet. I want to upgrade all 3 to the faster motor. Any new thoughts on this subject or good remedies?
 

bobquincy

New Member
Hi! I’m new to the discussion but have a couple of the yellow monorails from way back on a trip I want to say 2003. And now they get stuck going around the track on like every other beam. The brand new one seems much cheaper in quality, it’s orange in color, and it’s really loud. The yellow ones are real quiet. I want to upgrade all 3 to the faster motor. Any new thoughts on this subject or good remedies?

I don't check this forum often, hope you are still there. :)
Yes, the monorails have gotten slower and noisier. The motors are wound for slower speed and the gears appear to be poorly molded compared to the first models (non-opening doors). I have installed Tamiya's Torque Tuned motors, they have a good balance of speed and reasonable current draw. They have metal brushes which need to be replaced with carbon brushes for longer life.
The most recent two I installed (newer type monorails) are noisier than I like, your orange monorail would probably be the same. I am searching for some better gears to reduce the noise.
 

IAMSAMMICH

New Member
So I recently purchased one of these Wdw monorail playsets (used) and was excited to use it. I set it up around our Christmas tree and it worked! After a while the batteries needed replacing and I opened the compartment to find them corroded. After cleaning the terminal and inserting new batteries, the train no longer has any signs of life. Is there someone out there that can help me?
 

bobquincy

New Member
So I recently purchased one of these Wdw monorail playsets (used) and was excited to use it. I set it up around our Christmas tree and it worked! After a while the batteries needed replacing and I opened the compartment to find them corroded. After cleaning the terminal and inserting new batteries, the train no longer has any signs of life. Is there someone out there that can help me?
New battery terminals are available from Amazon and eBay: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R22M81...olid=3ANH85SWPJ766&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

The wires connected to the terminals are probably also corroded and may need to be resoldered or replaced.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom