A couple weeks ago a monorail body section was spotted at the monorail service buildin. Does anyone know what it is? Maybe they are expanding the monorail service!:sohappy:
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Monorail Body @ Disney?
- Thread starter tumbleweed12
- Start date
Monorail Lime
Well-Known Member
It's clearly a Mark VI shell so it isn't a sign of new monorails on the way.
They are currently making a number of modifications to the existing monorails (such as reconfiguring the cars for easier wheelchair and stroller loading) so perhaps they were prototyping some of those changes on the old body mockup.
They are currently making a number of modifications to the existing monorails (such as reconfiguring the cars for easier wheelchair and stroller loading) so perhaps they were prototyping some of those changes on the old body mockup.
Ya never know they may one day soon extend the monorail to the nearby hotels such as Fort Wilderness Lodge. I know there has been some talk about extending the monorail at the Epcot station to MGM. That would be cool. And like you said about configurations.... They should have more seating than any thing!
:sohappy:
:sohappy:
disneydisney
New Member
I would really really like to see a monorail expansion, but I think they would work on the parks with the money instead. Also, I would rather see that money go into the parks instead of a monorail expansion. But one day it might happen in the future.
Has anyone seen this? It's the new design for the Mark IV Monorails @ Tokyo Disney Resort! Maybe they'll add some to Walt Disney World!
Check out the link for pics of it!
http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/APTA02a.html
The inside of it is really cool to!:slurp:
Check out the link for pics of it!
http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/APTA02a.html
The inside of it is really cool to!:slurp:
jmarc63
New Member
First of all the Current Monorails at WDW are a MarkVI series not the MarkIV which were the older Monorails at WDW ftom the opening of WDW in 71,What your refering to is a compleatly diffrent series from bombadier. This new series is called the MVI which is diffrent from the "Mark" series of Monorails and the body style is not even close to what is at TDL, you have two seperate types of chassies. The TDL chassie is based on the Bullit train in japan ( mostly for cultural reasons) and I would'nt expect these to ever show up at WDW ever, The closest I think you will ever get in body styling at WDW in future rolling stock changouts would be simular to the rolling stock on the new Vegas system since the specs for the beam and station cleareances are the same.
Invero
Well-Known Member
Actually... the TDL trains are built by Hitachi to conform to the Japanese Monorail Standards. From what I can ascertain, the main differenciator for the TDL trains from the other Hitachi monorails is the outer body shell. I beleive the core components are fairly simmilar to the other Hitachi built monorails. It should also be noted that Hitachi is coming out with a small grade monorail, similar in size to the Bombardier MVI... however, the main difference will be that Hitachi's will be a walk-thru train.
Monorail Lime
Well-Known Member
Comparing the WDW monorails to the Tokyo Disneyland monorails is like comparing a WW2 German U-Boat to a Trident class submarine. The Hitachi units are vastly superior in every respect.
The walk-thru requirement of the Japanese standards that Fantasia Boi mentioned increases capacity and safety. Capacity is increased because guests can distribute themselves evenly after boarding the train, rather than jumping out and looking for a less crowded car while an annoyed platform worker waits impatiently to close the doors. The monorail trains have end-to-end coupling and nose doors so a dead monorail can be completely evacuated to another train in minutes rather than the hours it takes at WDW. In case of a fire guests could also exit the nose and walk along the beam to the nearest station. While this would lead to certain doom at WDW it is reasonably safe in Tokyo because the beam is wider and the Hitachi trains probably don't leak as much crud onto the beam as the Bombardier trains do.
Tokyo Disneyland monorails are wider, longer, and taller than the WDW monorails. They are considered "full scale" monorails like the Alwegs in Seattle. This means they can run smoother and carry more people. It would be impossible to run the TDL monorails on the WDW system as the beam is neither wide enough nor could it support the weight.
Why am I ranting about all this? Because those pictures of the Las Vegas system that Bombardier is supplying the monorails for really tick me off. The new fiberglass shell is quite snazzy and the drive frame may be slightly tweaked but they are otherwise the same ancient technology that has been around since the early 60s. Had Bombardier's unrealistically low project bid not instantly taken other manufacturers out of consideration we might finally see some modern technology in the states. I am envious that the Japanese get all the cool stuff while us Americans keep buying the same crud from Bombardier that has been proven to stink time and time again. It is insane that the company that delivered problematic systems like Mark VIs and the Acela trainsets could still be getting business.
Okay, I'll shut up about that now. Sorry.
The walk-thru requirement of the Japanese standards that Fantasia Boi mentioned increases capacity and safety. Capacity is increased because guests can distribute themselves evenly after boarding the train, rather than jumping out and looking for a less crowded car while an annoyed platform worker waits impatiently to close the doors. The monorail trains have end-to-end coupling and nose doors so a dead monorail can be completely evacuated to another train in minutes rather than the hours it takes at WDW. In case of a fire guests could also exit the nose and walk along the beam to the nearest station. While this would lead to certain doom at WDW it is reasonably safe in Tokyo because the beam is wider and the Hitachi trains probably don't leak as much crud onto the beam as the Bombardier trains do.
Tokyo Disneyland monorails are wider, longer, and taller than the WDW monorails. They are considered "full scale" monorails like the Alwegs in Seattle. This means they can run smoother and carry more people. It would be impossible to run the TDL monorails on the WDW system as the beam is neither wide enough nor could it support the weight.
Why am I ranting about all this? Because those pictures of the Las Vegas system that Bombardier is supplying the monorails for really tick me off. The new fiberglass shell is quite snazzy and the drive frame may be slightly tweaked but they are otherwise the same ancient technology that has been around since the early 60s. Had Bombardier's unrealistically low project bid not instantly taken other manufacturers out of consideration we might finally see some modern technology in the states. I am envious that the Japanese get all the cool stuff while us Americans keep buying the same crud from Bombardier that has been proven to stink time and time again. It is insane that the company that delivered problematic systems like Mark VIs and the Acela trainsets could still be getting business.
Okay, I'll shut up about that now. Sorry.
Monorail Lime
Well-Known Member
Actually you are kind of backwards there. Compared to the WDW monorails, the Tokyo Disneyland monorails are boxy and cumbersome in appearance. They are styled after the conventional trains of Japan which are distinctly un-sleek. Take a look at the last picture on this page for a great comparison.
The Mark IV/V/VI and new MVI have a sleek nose and areodynamic body shape which is much closer to what you'd see on the Japanese bullet train lines.
donaldduck1967
Member
Those have got to be the ugliest monorails I have ever seen