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Monorail Refurbishment
- Thread starter WallisDan
- Start date
They are, but I can’t see Merlin investing in a piece of rotting infrastructure which is only there to get guests from the car park to the entrance.
I can never see the main entrance changing due to Towers Street and the view of the Towers, so a land train seems like a fair option.
Plus, the monorail maintenance area next to Duel would be a good spot for a new attraction.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Agreed, I can't imagine not going under the Corkscrew and down Towers Street with the view across the park.
Nick🎢
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- Spinball Whizzer
Doing a bit of research Von Roll hasn't been involved with this kind of thing for a long time, however looking at the trains themselves, they are not particularly complex. A reputable engineering firm could eke out the drive systems if they are the issue. I don't know if there are issues with the structures/power delivery though? Trains themselves are shabby but workable.
Steve74
TS Member
According to Wikipedia, the monorail side of their business was sold to Adtranz, then Bombardier which was then acquired by Alstom in 2021. So somewhere someone could do something I'm sure!
AIUI John Broome purchased and installed the monorail system without assistance from Von Roll, indeed initially such a mess was made of it that the support structure ended up being rebuilt over several seasons. That's not to say there's no relationship with the supplier in the present tense but, like we often hear of BPB rides, it was never a fully supported installation. (It might be that makes no difference whatsoever at this point mind!)
That aside - no other Von Roll monorail has been upgraded, and the fact that no new systems were sold after Von Roll sold the division to Adtranz in the mid 90s probably tells its own story; I doubt they have any manufacturing facilities for monorail vehicles at this stage and the cost of setting up a new production chain is probably prohibitive. The only precedent is for the entire system to be closed upon life expiration.
Unlike many other modes of transportation the infrastructure and trains are both proprietary designs to the same manufacturer, so there is no inter-operability between vehicle manufacturers as there would be with land vehicles.
My educated guess is that the Monorail system as we presently know it will go rather than be upgraded. If we're playing dream world replacements, a suspension railway would be pretty awesome.
QTXAdsy
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- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Actually, even if it is impossible to get the actual parts needed for the Monorail, that doesn't mean it's not curtains for as it falls under transport and not a ride, I can tell you from the heritage railway circuit that finding supplies needed is not as hard or expensive as you might think.
There are many heritage diesel locomotives that have engined dating back to the 1950's and you can certainly not find anyone nowadays, however there is always the help of many third parties or cottage based industries who can actually supply what you need for a decent price and there are many cottage based industries in this country all looking for any kind of work and if Merlin came to them asking them for supplies for the Monorail at a decent price then they would jump at the chance. Ofc, not the first Towers would have done this as did the Flume have it's Bath themed boats supplied by some third party supplier as apposed to Mack?
The strange thing is that even though some say we'd need to replace the trains, you actually won't have to. Hear me out, if the actual structure of the trains are in solid condition then they can still be used however it would be required to gut out all the power sources and replace it with a new modern set. A railway example to prove this is on the Isle of Wight railway in which the new Class 484's they have are not actually new but are actually 40 year old London D-stock that have been heavily rebuilt for modern standards in which other than the actual body of the vehicle, everything else on it is brand new and this could be something that could be done to the Monorail without having to get new trains. That is ofc just a wild theory but you'd be surprised how long you can keep things going as long as you overhaul them frequently.
There are many heritage diesel locomotives that have engined dating back to the 1950's and you can certainly not find anyone nowadays, however there is always the help of many third parties or cottage based industries who can actually supply what you need for a decent price and there are many cottage based industries in this country all looking for any kind of work and if Merlin came to them asking them for supplies for the Monorail at a decent price then they would jump at the chance. Ofc, not the first Towers would have done this as did the Flume have it's Bath themed boats supplied by some third party supplier as apposed to Mack?
The strange thing is that even though some say we'd need to replace the trains, you actually won't have to. Hear me out, if the actual structure of the trains are in solid condition then they can still be used however it would be required to gut out all the power sources and replace it with a new modern set. A railway example to prove this is on the Isle of Wight railway in which the new Class 484's they have are not actually new but are actually 40 year old London D-stock that have been heavily rebuilt for modern standards in which other than the actual body of the vehicle, everything else on it is brand new and this could be something that could be done to the Monorail without having to get new trains. That is ofc just a wild theory but you'd be surprised how long you can keep things going as long as you overhaul them frequently.
AIUI Heritage Railway stock is kept going with a mixture of parts salvaged from other members of the same fleets when they were removed from service and lengthy repair work performed by volunteers. Remember these locos often had hundreds in their original fleets and the engines inside them had use cases beyond the railways thereby creating further sources of scrap spares. Heritage stock is also run very unintensively - typically for 1 or 2 days a week 30-40 weeks a year for a few hours at most, operating at low speeds and pulling light weights.
That's a world away from keeping an actual service running on an uncommon mode of transport.
The economics of refitting the traction on a fleet of a dozen monorail trains for extended use is very different to the economics of refitting swathes of a class of underground stock for use in heavy rail. The very fact such a conversion is possible speaks to the very different nature of monorails to railways and tramways.
yes I believe it's a very similar system. On a similar note I believe Intamin have also build transport stuff around the world, they could definitely do stuff with the monorial.
I don't see them removing it, it's almost a icon in itself, if anything I think they'll at least give it a major refurb. However I'm not sure about new trains, mainly because I don't think they'd get the budget.
Nick🎢
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- Spinball Whizzer
All depends what the actual issues are besides cosmetics? From my uninformed observation it seems like the drive systems are struggling/ unreliable. You would assume that the kicker array / motor or an issue with power delivery/ pickup.
If a company can recreate arrow track, one can recreate these parts! (There is a way, but is there a will?).
If a company can recreate arrow track, one can recreate these parts! (There is a way, but is there a will?).
Tbh, I'm sure somewhere a monorail/ miniature railway manufacturer has a suitable bodied vehicle that would be suitable to mount onto a gauged monorail track without to much extra development needed, aslong as they have the right gauge/wheel alignment setup specifications. The power pick up system from the track is a widely used system that could easily be transferred.
Harv
TS Member
In Coventry, a "Very Light Rail" system is current being installed. This is a new kind of tram system designed as an affordable alternative to traditional light rail. It uses rapid-charging batteries (so no overhead lines) and doesn't need timetabling - vehicles just turn up and go. There is also potential for the system to be made autonomous in the future, when laws and technology allow.
At a very reasonable cost of £7m per km, this could be a really savvy option for AT. According to Google Maps, the distance as the crow flies between both monorail stations is (very) roughly 0.7 miles, or 1.1 kilometres. Even if the track required was double this estimate, this kind of system would be a far more comfortable and durable alternative to land trains, and more cost effective than overhauling the monorail.
At a very reasonable cost of £7m per km, this could be a really savvy option for AT. According to Google Maps, the distance as the crow flies between both monorail stations is (very) roughly 0.7 miles, or 1.1 kilometres. Even if the track required was double this estimate, this kind of system would be a far more comfortable and durable alternative to land trains, and more cost effective than overhauling the monorail.
Poisson
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- Favourite Ride
- The Giant Squid
Land trains can't happen. Let's say you leave from outside Splash, it drives up the car park, out the barrier, along the back road near the ropes course and around. All fine. Pulls into the coach park and up to the bus stop. Fine. Then it'll get buried in the traffic problems you get at the entrance on the return leg and takes forever and a day to return
Three lanes though...make one a bus lane after express parking turn, or keep it three lanes and make it a one way street in the peak.
They won't replace track or trains, they will just run it into the ground, then shut it, and then offer a second gate (the Galactica one).
Nick🎢
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- Spinball Whizzer
I've said this before about that gate. You want people to use the main one so let those that are keen walk, second gate from 10, 1030 for late comers. Helps with balancing out the park too (though takes away the Nemi walk on for the first hour for those of us I the know).
