Yes, another monorail thread!

[alissafalco]

Okay, I just changed my avatar. It's now the blueprints for EPCOT. It's shows where all the foundations were laid, including the one for the DTD spur. Click my avatar to make it bigger so you can actually read it!

Can you post it? It comes up blurry for me in your avatar. Thanks

 

[unkadug]

Okay, I just changed my avatar. It's now the blueprints for EPCOT. It's shows where all the foundations were laid, including the one for the DTD spur. Click my avatar to make it bigger so you can actually read it!

Can you post it? It comes up blurry for me in your avatar. Thanks

Yeah...that's no fair posting something like that so small that we can't see it!

 

[unkadug]

Found it:

 

[flynnibus]

looks like early planning stuff - not really blueprints or stuff as it was ultimately to be built as. Just look at the early names, what was in vs what was out. And obviously putting the switches right over the guest walkways would never have really worked out. I wouldn't put much weight into this and looks more like early area planning stuff.

 

[PeterAlt]

looks like early planning stuff - not really blueprints or stuff as it was ultimately to be built as. Just look at the early names, what was in vs what was out. And obviously putting the switches right over the guest walkways would never have really worked out. I wouldn't put much weight into this and looks more like early area planning stuff.

Some names may have changed, but the all the infrastructure and structures (and berms) are the same. If you overlay this plan to a current satellite image, you can actually see a line of concrete squares and rectangles exactly aligned with the DTD spur, as these are actual buried support footers for monorail pylons.

The spur connecting the MK line with the EPCOT line uses no switches, by the way, so maybe they planned on doing the same type of thing here.

I've been trying to find any evidence of footers poured outside the footprint of EPCOT. They obviously had this plan from the very beginning, as you can see with the LBV models and schematics. My thinking is that - if they thought of pouring in the pylon footer supports as basic infrastructure built into the park (EPCOT Center), then they must have done the same thing when they built LBV and WDW Village. I just need the evidence!

By the way, I have evidence this was done at EPCOT Center. I have dozens of construction photos that clearly show this!

 

[flynnibus]

The spur connecting the MK line with the EPCOT line uses no switches, by the way, so maybe they planned on doing the same type of thing here.

Apples and Oranges. This concept shows both train paths using the same loop. The EPCOT loop is a separate loop all together - and it does have a switch to the MK loop.. it's how the trains get to the barn. It's also the notorious switch that wasn't thrown that lead to the death of the monorail driver in the collision accident.

No one is questioning the early transportation visions for the property - but you are reading way too much into this because you want to see and believe this is right at their finger tips and ready to build.

 

[PeterAlt]

Apples and Oranges. This concept shows both train paths using the same loop. The EPCOT loop is a separate loop all together - and it does have a switch to the MK loop.. it's how the trains get to the barn. It's also the notorious switch that wasn't thrown that lead to the death of the monorail driver in the collision accident.

No one is questioning the early transportation visions for the property - but you are reading way too much into this because you want to see and believe this is right at their finger tips and ready to build.

If anything, they could use this as the basis for a new attraction - or even a hotel or retail development right outside the EPCOT gates!

I'm also fascinated with the fact that Communicore was designed for peoplemover system running on top of it. That too could be used for something - if not transportation, but as an attraction of some type.

Maybe combine both these elements for a ride that would run on a pathway that spans Future World inside and out...

 

[articos]

No, the unused platform is for a line running east-west, not the north-south one you're thinking. This would be perfect for a single train line on a single non-looping track with two stations. It runs from this unused platform and then runs behind Living Seas and The Land to DHS.

It's not exactly an unused platform. The EPCOT station was built with expansion in mind, but the "platform" - i.e., the station platform that would be used for boarding/disembarking - was not built. I believe you're talking about the long platform below the current station on the exit side. This was built partially to alleviate crowding and partially to connect to a future station addition, but not as a platform for load or unload with the addition of a beam only. There would need to be a new station addition built at a height that allows for proper clearance.

 

[articos]

If anything, they could use this as the basis for a new attraction - or even a hotel or retail development right outside the EPCOT gates!

I'm also fascinated with the fact that Communicore was designed for peoplemover system running on top of it. That too could be used for something - if not transportation, but as an attraction of some type.

Maybe combine both these elements for a ride that would run on a pathway that spans Future World inside and out...

The PeopleMover for FW was a legacy project from when FW was to be something very different. CC was built with it in mind, but I really think it was never meant to be. A hotel or retail development outside EPCOT's gates is a bad idea, as the company learned with the Swolphin.

 

[articos]

Actually, the way to do this is to have a canopy over the tracks and have solar panels coverage entire length of the tracks. It would also act as an air breaker and allow for less energy to be required in order to push the the wind and air dynamics. The energy collected by the panels would be more than enough to power the trains. The excess electricity could be used to power the lights surrounding the system pathway. The rest would be stored in batteries in order to keep the system powered at night.

We've just increased the project cost considerably in order to do this, but there would be significant long-term savings, as well as green bragging rights. If Disney is willing to spend a little more for significant long term savings and green bragging rights, go for it, but if cost is the main selling point, they could always upgrade it later.

You have to think in terms of show as well as transportation. A canopy over the tracks would impede sightlines and not look very good. The monorails are sleek when gliding over the beamway in the open - boxing them in, or even putting a roof on them would be bad show. Also, there are safety concerns, since the evac hatches are on the top, among other things. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to put the panels below the track either, because there would be the possibly of potentially blinding glare if the sun hits them at the right angles, which could impact guests. I'm not saying solar isn't a good option, but it would be a solar farm in a non-guest accessible area of the property if Disney were to go this route.

 

[articos]

looks like early planning stuff - not really blueprints or stuff as it was ultimately to be built as. Just look at the early names, what was in vs what was out. And obviously putting the switches right over the guest walkways would never have really worked out. I wouldn't put much weight into this and looks more like early area planning stuff.

This is a mid-way EPCOT master plan layout. Note Living Seas, JII and Universe of Energy have their final names, but World of Motion and Horizons had yet to be in their final incarnation, and Africa is still on the page.

 

[articos]

Apples and Oranges. This concept shows both train paths using the same loop. The EPCOT loop is a separate loop all together - and it does have a switch to the MK loop.. it's how the trains get to the barn. It's also the notorious switch that wasn't thrown that lead to the death of the monorail driver in the collision accident.

No one is questioning the early transportation visions for the property - but you are reading way too much into this because you want to see and believe this is right at their finger tips and ready to build.

For illustration purposes, it shows one line, but that doesn't mean the trains are on one loop. Switching would be done at the station, before and/or after the platform, with switches built in a few other places in the in-park loop, but they were likely not to be used during normal park operations.

 

[articos]

Some names may have changed, but the all the infrastructure and structures (and berms) are the same. If you overlay this plan to a current satellite image, you can actually see a line of concrete squares and rectangles exactly aligned with the DTD spur, as these are actual buried support footers for monorail pylons.

The spur connecting the MK line with the EPCOT line uses no switches, by the way, so maybe they planned on doing the same type of thing here.

I've been trying to find any evidence of footers poured outside the footprint of EPCOT. They obviously had this plan from the vet beginning, as you can see with the LBV models and schematics. My thinking is that - of they thought of pouring in the pylon footer supports as basic infrastructure built into the park (EPCOT Center), then they must have done the same thing when they built LBV and WDW Village. I just need the evidence!

By the way, I have evidence this was done at EPCOT Center. I have dozens of construction photos that clearly show this!

No footers poured outside the construction zone. The models from LBV were early blue-sky, and there was no prep work done for any type of build-out. (sorry!)

 

[PeterAlt]

The PeopleMover for FW was a legacy project from when FW was to be something very different. CC was built with it in mind, but I really think it was never meant to be. A hotel or retail development outside EPCOT's gates is a bad idea, as the company learned with the Swolphin.

Maybe not immediately outside the gates, but on that side, so that you can run a monorail through it "cheaply". Make it so that this station is a "stepping stone" on the way to an eventual extension to DTD.

 

[PeterAlt]

No footers poured outside the construction zone. The models from LBV were early blue-sky, and there was no prep work done for any type of build-out. (sorry!)

So, nothing at all at LBV or Disney Village was built with either a people mover or monorail in mind?

 

[Master Yoda]

Maybe not immediately outside the gates, but on that side, so that you can run a monorail through it "cheaply". Make it so that this station is a "stepping stone" on the way to an eventual extension to DTD.

 

[articos]

So, nothing at all at LBV or Disney Village was built with either a people mover or monorail in mind?

In mind, yes, which is why the easements exist. But nothing in terms of actual construction or prep-work.

 

[PeterAlt]

Still want to know exactly where these easements are, other than where it appears in the model.

 

[PeterAlt]

You have to think in terms of show as well as transportation. A canopy over the tracks would impede sightlines and not look very good. The monorails are sleek when gliding over the beamway in the open - boxing them in, or even putting a roof on them would be bad show. Also, there are safety concerns, since the evac hatches are on the top, among other things. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to put the panels below the track either, because there would be the possibly of potentially blinding glare if the sun hits them at the right angles, which could impact guests. I'm not saying solar isn't a good option, but it would be a solar farm in a non-guest accessible area of the property if Disney were to go this route.

I'm beginning to think, a stand-alone system would be better for the EPCOT to DHS link. It doesn't have to me monorail. People mover or light rail would do just fine. So would a single train on a one-way track to save on costs. But it has to be elevated over all road crossings. The cars can even be open air, like the WEDWay Peoplemover at the MK and with a canopy and solar panels on top.

They already have trams going around the EPCOT resort area. I'm thinking of an automated electric version of that, perferably with linear induction motors, with the guideway closed to pedestrian traffic, or a separate guideway for pedestrian traffic.

 

[danlb_2000]

I'm beginning to think, a stand-alone system would be better for the EPCOT to DHS link. It doesn't have to me monorail. People mover or light rail would do just fine. So would a single train on a one-way track to save on costs. But it has to be elevated over all road crossings. The cars can even be open air, like the WEDWay Peoplemover at the MK and with a canopy and solar panels on top.

They already have trams going around the EPCOT resort area. I'm thinking of an automated electric version of that, perferably with linear induction motors, with the guideway closed to pedestrian traffic, or a separate guideway for pedestrian traffic.

I thought they got rid of those trams a long time ago?