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Monorail Refurbishment

Great now we have that sorted.

Could they update the rolling stock on the monorail to more modern and power efficient type?

Disney have had many versions of its monorail rolling stock over the years.

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And Tesco managed massive expansion through the eighties by leasing their stores, not owning them.
Back to the monorail, B.P.B.Can't remove a lot of the monorail track because it carries lots of cabling for a number of purposes...info systems and power etc.
 
IanSR said:
No, Merlin cannot sell the land, Alton is not Merlin's asset to sell, it is a very simple concept. They (Merlin) could conceivably terminate the lease they hold and hand back the land to Leslau, or stop operating the theme park as Tom said, but those are completely different things to 'selling the park', what you are suggesting is me being able to sell the flat I live in even though I only have a lease on it, that can't happen. Nor was it a 'massive loan guaranteed on the land' as that would mean they still owned the land, which they don't.

The only 'asset' Merlin own in the UK is the land Chessington sits on and an empty field next to Thorpe, all the other theme park attractions are operated by Merlin, but not owned, there is a difference between owning something and leasing/operating it, a very big difference in fact. Granted they own the brand 'Alton Towers Resort' but that's not the same thing.

As for the last sentence, I'm sure a few years ago we would have the same level of confidence that engineering staff would know how many cars were on a ride, but alas we know how that turned out. All I'm saying is any talk of Merlin selling Alton is moot because they can't sell land they don't own, and I wouldn't assume they aren't locked into any agreements without seriously huge termination terms or restrictions on what they can do because in fairy tail land people do what they want, that's not how these deals are setup.
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I never said Merlin could sell the land, I said they could sell the “park”. The asserts are the business, rides, buildings etc.

Which bizarrely is what you seem to suggest you where suggesting anyway, but to clarify when ever anyone on here talks about Merlin selling the park they are talking about the business not the land. The contractual arrangement with the land owners would continue with the new operator.
 
Depends on whether you consider the park the land or not I guess, but we're going to get shouted at for going OT so let's not get anymore diverted, I know what you mean and vice verse

Are the trains independent of the track? (I mean like railway stock), so they could just replace the rolling stock without replacing the track yes?
 
IanSR said:
Are the trains independent of the track? (I mean like railway stock), so they could just replace the rolling stock without replacing the track yes?
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You could replace them with trains of the same gauge, like railway rolling stock - yes.
 
If they replace with rolling stock with the same wheel carriage size then yes they can replace stock without track replacement

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What is actually causing the high maintenance costs of the monorail? Integrity of the train chassis? Train mechanics? The propulsion system?
 
matthewgcole said:
What is actually causing the high maintenance costs of the monorail? Integrity of the train chassis? Train mechanics? The propulsion system?
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I would think its maintenance . Parts must be hard to come by now, and I wouldnt expect that the electric motors are the most efficient compared to today's. The track itself seems to be in pretty good condition .
 
Didn't Mack build their own new track sections when they rerouted the EP Express?
 
The reason I asked was because I'm wondering if parts of the system can simply be reconditioned with modern parts without having to resort to extreme measures such as closing the whole thing.
 
Let's be honest, the next time that the Monorail is due major work they will simply get rid of it. It is already a massive burden for them and it is more cost effective in the long term to build a new entrance and have no monorail at all. Do I want them to do this? No. The day that they move the entrance is the day that Alton Towers dies for me.

Having said that I'd imagine they'll keep the Monorail limping along for another 5-10 years.

:)
 
That view down towers street is the iconic start to the day on park. Lose that lose some more magic

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It's not Alton Towers without the monorail and Towers Street. I have dark images in my head of pulling up in front of a derelict Monorail station and walking through the car parks alongside a moss covered elevated track to a collection of B&Q value sheds used as ticket offices, a few crowded turnstiles beyond with little more than a gazebo like structure covering them from the elements, then straight into Forbidden Valley.

At the other end of the park, Towers Street is barren and almost deserted, now downgraded to the disabled and priority parking entrance only. It sits there, with its monorail station in darkness and rusting track circling the entrance plaza as a monument to the ambition and grandure of the park it once was.
 
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There ain't no monorail here and there never was.
 
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