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Hi-res photos of the TRON monorail
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
In the process of cleaning house, why delete the innocent question about these Monotrons's call signs?
Yensid40
Member
It's fine. I'll survive until next month when I just ask a monorail CM.
Anyway...
Having it glow would have been cool. LED's on the side or something. That would have been a lot of work though since there isn't much of a system to tap into for that.
hpyhnt 1000
Well-Known Member
In all honestly, would it be that difficult to maybe coat the lightcycle, light trail, and TRON logo with glow in the dark paint? In addition to that, maybe some temporary high-powered black lights could be installed at the stations and on the roof of the Epcot entrance buildings pointed at the beamway? I think thats pretty feasible and would really add a bit of zing to the design at night.
The "Pro"
Member
The "Pro"
Member
The Tronorail was out in the morning on the Epcot loop along with black and blue. Gold was on one of the other loops (I forget if express or resort) in the morning and then must have been moved in the afternoon.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
How do you know what point they are at?
With somthing like a monorail, maintainance is a different story. You can't run down to your local Pep Boys and buy a new part. Very often it is available from only one source or needs to be custom made. When a manufacturer says a products life is X years, that is a way of saying "in X years we are going to stop making parts".
You also don't buy a new monorail like you buy a new car, it takes a lot longer (and has to be budgeted for). A four year horizon is not too far out to be planning for something as extensive and expensive as a monorail replacement.
The monorails are a intergral part of WDW. When you replace them you need to train people in a lot of aspects of the new trains. Expecialy with the scrutiny that WDW is under from the recent accident, they will have to make sure they have both training documentation, and document the training.
As far as cars, of course if your car runs fine there is no need for a new one (mine is 9 years old, but only 75,000 miles). It too runs great, but I can feel it getting "loose" and at times the trans does some things that I am not too happy about. It still runs great, but those things are precursors of failures that are in the future. That it why I am looking at new cars now. I don't expect to buy one for another year or so, but the time to start looking is not when my trans decides to spread itself down the highway.
-dave
WDW Monorail
Well-Known Member
That might be related to mentality differences but I like to squeeze every last drop out of something, or until it is still feasible to do so.
If we're talking about disc brakes on an aircraft, then they should be replaced before they are completely worn out. But a car which burns fuel inefficiently, maybe leaks some oil, and has some rust holes in the tail pipe causing noise does not necessarily require replacement of the entire vehicle.
When things start to get out of hand such as having to change the transmission or having to buy a $2500 engine for a car that is worth less than that, then purchasing a new vehicle is a good option.
Surely whatever company which made whatever parts for the trains expects to have some sort of demand for the parts after they stop making them, if they haven't already. While different designs and improvements should be looked at, the trains should not be replaced until sometime after their life expectancy.
The average human life expectancy in the US is about 78. Does that mean that once someone turns 78 that they should be tossed to the side even though they may suffer form diabetes and arthritis?
If one buys a gallon of milk today, which expires on April 7, would they throw away the unused milk, if any, on April 6? I would drink it until April 7 and even a day after if there is some left considering there has to be some factor of safety included in the actual life span of the milk, rather than the advertised life span.
As if buses, cars and even elevated trains are not something we see everyday. I see billboards on most days too driving on I-78 or I-95. I also see them on World Drive when I'm in WDW. It doesn't bother me at all that things from the "outside world" also appear in the "Disney World".
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
CBA. What is the cost of the fuel loss as compared to the cost of a new car over the lifespan of each. What is the depreciation cost, what is the cost of capital, what are the tax incentives. I threw the car out there as a simple example, but in the matter of expensive, specialized equipement it's a different story. I used to do some cost benefit analysis on the replacement of heavy construction equipment. There are MANY factors to take into account. What it all boils down to is you convert the cost of EVERYTHING to dollars and then make an appropriate decision tree. It is not a simple overnight process, and quite frankly is something that should be done as a matter of course on a scheduled basis, not just when something begins to age into it's lifespan.
You would be suprised. Depending on the product, parts support may not be an option for very long.
Silly, silly examples don't help to make a point.
Comparing the process that is involved in making a decision to replace or maintain a multi-million dollar, unique, transportation asset that has significant maintence costs to the decision to pitch a gallon of milk is just absurd.
-dave
imagineer boy
Well-Known Member
But they're Disney buses and elevated trains. As you can imagine, they're going to be a higher standard than crummy city buses and monorails.
Monorail_Orange
Well-Known Member
I actually like the idea, blue side is my favorite.
I think the best takeaway I have from the TRONorail is that when they do take the wrap off, it'll be time to repaint the whole train. Coral should be looking better than ever come January 2011.
I'll also say I'm of the school of thought that WDW should keep its white monorails and their overall styling (one of these days I'm going to get around to fixing my avatar for WDW's Monorail Orange). The "Future That Never Was" look is really great for DL's trains, and fits in given that they are a return to the "original" style there. We still have our original styling, and it should stay. Now, on whether it's time for WDW to get Mark VIII's....that's a whole other discussion for another time. :lol:
I think the best takeaway I have from the TRONorail is that when they do take the wrap off, it'll be time to repaint the whole train. Coral should be looking better than ever come January 2011.
I'll also say I'm of the school of thought that WDW should keep its white monorails and their overall styling (one of these days I'm going to get around to fixing my avatar for WDW's Monorail Orange). The "Future That Never Was" look is really great for DL's trains, and fits in given that they are a return to the "original" style there. We still have our original styling, and it should stay. Now, on whether it's time for WDW to get Mark VIII's....that's a whole other discussion for another time. :lol:
blackthidot
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Looks sweet!
lebeau
Well-Known Member
We saw the Tronorails in person this week. Well, I did. My wife didn't notice them. So, I guess that tells you what kind of an impact they have on the casual tourist. I don't like the Tron overlay, but I didn't mind them either. My only objection is, it's way too early for these to be out there. Most people don'e even realize there's a Tron sequel on the way. And if you're one of those people, these Tronorails just look weird. They don't really promote awareness of the upcoming movie. So unless you're already a Tron fan (and probably aware of the sequel), these are just weird looking monorails.
LoriMistress
Well-Known Member
The Tronerail looks alright. Different, but not the worse I've seen.
jcraycraft
Member
I am a fan.. looks very cool. How long with they be running the tron overlays? I am not sure if I am going to be able to make a trip this year.
Vernonpush
Well-Known Member
I really like the Tronorail, I think it resembles the light cycles in a tasteful way.Hey, it's only temporary, anyway.
That's what they said about The Wand, The Big Hat, 20,000 Leagues closing, ...
:lookaroun
:lol:
:lookaroun
WDW Monorail
Well-Known Member
Of course there has to be planning before implementation. I'm sure that the plans for new trains are still on the table from the expansion plan some years ago. Are they new M-VIs? I do not know.
Phonedave said:
It certainly works in this case. I'm talking about lifespan. It should be noted that come the day the oldest train turns 25, it will not stop and fall apart.