While I am working on my N-Scale layout planning and insulating/finishing my new garage, I was thinking… Not only about proper lighting, but what else I can do to make it a true train room.
My initial idea is to make the ceiling look like the inside of a caboose. Or someting to that effect. I have to finish it off anyway so that isn’t a big deal.
But what about hanging a monorail from the outer edge?
Does anyone make a kit to do that?
Sounds like fun!
Disney offers a monorail set. There are extra pieces of track available too. Unfortunately it runs off 2 AA batteries which I assume are mounted within the train. Powering it externally might be a challenge.
This site talks about building your own track for the Disney set. Unfortunately its a bit dated:
http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/imagineering/Monorail.html
There is also this website:
http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Models.html
You will probably be able to get some ideas from it.
This website was updated fairly recently and talks about some models that are probably a little more robust than the Disney models are. Finding them might be difficult:
http://www.metromodels.net/monorail.htm
One thing to consider is that all of the above are HO scale. If you use HO scale you have to ask yourself if it will look acceptable that high in the air. I think that is a personal choice.
Dave
Sorry to hijaak the thread, but why did the monorail never gain acceptance outside of the Disney Empire?
Thanks Dave. I’ll check into those links.
As far as monorail usage. IDK, but there is one at the MN Zoo that I enjoy taking a ride on. There are chair lifts and gondalas around the state fairgrounds.
Just thinking of something to do with the ceiling before the floorplan takes shape later this year.
Henry.
Apparently there were several cities in the US that did have them but most of them are defunct now. That still begs your question.
Las Vegas has one:
http://www.lvmonorail.com/history/
Regards
Dave
Turnouts.
Monorails work best when they are on a linear track with no way to go but forward or back.
Seattle still has theirs. 
Las Vegas is building theirs.
j…
The SkyTrain isn’t a monorail, it’s an elevated(mostly) light rail system.
Robert:
Oops. My bad!
I edited my post.
Thanks for the correction.
Dave
These days, with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) architectural and engineering requirements built into public ( and private) design, a monorail would require elevators at each stop to accommodate passengers in need of special access. Ground level transit systems are easier in that respect.
Low level monorail-like systems may be more feasible, but not for freight purposes. Modeling a high level monorail might be effective in presenting something “unusual” but other than an urban scenario, why not stick with what works in the real world.
Now…there are concepts already being developed for monorail systems on the moon, or Mars, but think of all the foam carving and plaster work that would be needed to model THAT!!![:D]
Cedarwoodron
Don’t forget the original in Wuppertal!
http://scribol.com/art-and-design/architecture-art-and-design/germanys-incredible-hanging-railway
http://alizul2.blogspot.com/2012/06/germany-hanging-train-worlds-first-and.html
http://www.germany.travel/en/towns-cities-culture/towns-cities/wuppertal.html
By Mbdortmund - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10435669
Any above or below ground system, regardless of number of rails, would require that. Virtually all of the new Silver Line in Northern Virginia are elevated and even the ground level stations still require elevators and escalators. In fact, I can’t even think of a Metro station that doesn’t have an elevator (there’s one that doesn’t have escalators). That’s just part of building a transit system. Monorail has nothing to do with it. You could build a completely at-grade monorail with high level platforms and the beam in a trench if you wanted to.
What probably happened was lack of off the shelf parts, experienced designers and maintainers, and all sorts of other odds and ends.
That would look great hanging from a ceiling! Hmmm… why do I create more work for myself? I just wanted to run a train. 
Not cheap, but they are available RTR in N (and HO, too): http://www.hielscher-dampfmodelle.de/en/Suspension-Railwails-/-Motorail/Gauge-N-1:160
The new bus stops here are all being built door level so wheelchairs can just roll right on. 
I was thinking about building a layout based on the train in the movie, the Ghost of Mars.
You’re on the wrong side of a rather wide ocean.
The Tokyo - Haneda monorail has been operating for about 60 years now. It connects the business district to the domestic airline hub, and has several intermediate stops.
The Tachikawa monorail connects several bedroom communities to the JR-East Tachikawa station and the shopping district.
There are others. All have the following basic characteristics:
On the other hand, the Las Vegas monorail runs from nowhere to nowhere several hundred yards east of The Strip. It doesn’t reach the business district or the main bus terminal at the north end, and is 'way short of McCarran International at the south end. At present, its primary purpose is to serve as a set of moving billboards. I’ve lived in the same county for well over a decade, and have never been tempted to ride it.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - without monorails)
Shanghai China has a maglev which is in the monorail famlily. The max speed is 431 kph (268 mph)
UTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc81Wej6XWI
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train