Subject:
|
Re: Roller Coaster runs on Monorail Track
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.technic
|
Date:
|
Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:11:30 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
9627 times
|
| |
| |
In lugnet.technic, Jason J Railton wrote:
|
In lugnet.announce.moc, Chris Phillips wrote:
|
I have designed a minifig-scale roller coaster that can run on standard
monorail track.
|
Its a neat design, and I like the idea of using monorail track to do smooth
loops.
|
Thanks! I actually got the idea when I displayed a not-yet-working prototype
coaster on the NELUG train layout last weekend. We posed the broken coaster
in our amusement park with a working monorail (Airport Shuttle) running through
the center of the loop-de-loop. This is a complete re-design since then.
|
4ft is a hell of a lift to make out of LEGO though! Id be happy
with something smaller, even if it meant going without the loop.
|
If you do away with the loop then you dont need much vertical lift. You also
dont need any monorail track, either. The pin-in-tube method is good for doing
curves, and the SNOT tiled stack of 3 1xs is an economical, sturdy, and
low-friction way to synthesize straight track.
|
Have you thought of fitting more wheels on the vertical spigots to act as
rollers? I suppose you could have wheels underneath the rails too, using
this method. It gets a bit bulky for minifigs, but I dont know if you could
get round the loop at a lower speed.
|
Yes, Ive tried things like this, but simplicity has serious advantages. I
first tried to do
something like Nico Bestanpouri, and
could usually do a couple loops before the track broke apart somewhere. A more
recent design had a third wheel directly beneath each rear wheel by about 1
brick height. But ultimately, I found that not having that third wheel
eliminated so much friction that it wasnt worth the drag.
Ive been toying with the idea of doing this ever since I saw
pictures of Matt Chiles
coaster several years ago, so Ive tried a lot of different techniques.
Once I had a reliable slope and loop (which wasnt changing shape with every
trial run) I learned a lot from repeated experimentation. One thing I noticed
is that a heavier car can loop from a lower starting point. I havent tried to
load a weight element onto the car- yet, but the track could probably support
it.
One consideration that really drove this design was a desire to make it true
minifig scale, suitable for use in our club layouts. Ive discarded a few
superior wheelset designs, for example, simply because I couldnt reconcile
them with a proper-scale passenger compartment for four. Whatever else you do,
youve got to maintain a low center-of-gravity.
I also plan to do a variation on this design as a GBC module for a
club-sponsored event coming up this summer.
That is a cool design! Definitely the most compact working design Ive seen.
Im surprised that I never noticed this before. I bet you could eliminate a lot
of friction by using a layer of SNOT for the rail bed. I also used plastic
wheels (no rubber) because I dont mind if the wheels skid all the way down the
hill. All the better if they do!
|
I tried using pneumatic tubing for the rails, but it just kept giving way.
It was a bit too sticky too. Track System isnt flexible enough to maintain
a gradient, so I had to resort to making my own rickety stairs, which jam up
quite often.
|
I actually have considered using a loop of pneumatic tubing as a conveyor to
pull the cars up the incline. I would prefer to use string, but I think itll
just slip over the pulleys. Ive also tried building chains out of discrete
Technic parts.
I want this to be very reliable. Our amusement park displays are expected to
run continuously for at least six hours at a time, and I dont want to spend the
whole weekend picking up after derailments and answering minifig lawsuits.
|
|
Message has 1 Reply: | | Re: Roller Coaster runs on Monorail Track
|
| (...) It was designed to be modular - each section is 16x16, and drops either 2 bricks (straight) or 4 bricks (corner). I carried it all in flight luggage, each part wrapped in tight cling-film (plastic food wrap) and I'm amazed the curves held (...) (18 years ago, 29-Mar-07, to lugnet.technic, FTX)
|
Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Roller Coaster runs on Monorail Track
|
| (...) It's a neat design, and I like the idea of using monorail track to do smooth loops. 4ft is a hell of a lift to make out of LEGO though! I'd be happy with something smaller, even if it meant going without the loop. Have you thought of fitting (...) (18 years ago, 29-Mar-07, to lugnet.technic, FTX)
|
5 Messages in This Thread:
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|