# Monorail Playset Motor Thread



## reactortrip

I joined this forum because I was searching for broken monorails to experiment on, I didn't find any, but I did start experimenting with mine and decided to share what I have learned so far and what I am doing as I go along.  I fully encourage anyone else to add what they have done to this thread as well.  I am a DIY person and am a huge advocate of open progress.  However I will warn you, this is potentially hazardous to your monorail and proceed at your own risk.  

I am probably like many of you who bought this set thinking it would be supremely awesome around my christmas tree:





Unfortunately it's much better looking stationary then it is limping around the tree because of a poorly sized motor.

Well I have since removed the engine from the tree.

First thing I did was remove the batteries.  Always remove the power source before you play with electrical systems.  I am a safety nazi on this aspect as I have been zapped and know the dangers.  Of course I have hot handed 161kV, so I am not a smart cookie.  LOL

Next remove the 5 screws on the bottom of the engine:





Now that you have those out, you need to seperate the two pieces.  THESE PIECES HAVE WIRES BETWEEN THEM, SO BE VERY CAREFUL AT THIS POINT.  You need to push on the LED lights on the front and kinda push back and ten slant up, this is not for the nervous and I take no responsibility if you choose to do this yourself:





Next you need to remove the three screws covering the gears:





Now you have full access to your motor, the gear closest to the worm gear is removed in this photo:





I used a caliper to take some eyeball measurements on the motor:
2mm shaft
10mm long and 6mm wide worm gear
29 mm long 20 mm wide and 15mm tall body

I found the 10x6 worm gears in the UK called MOD 0.5 worm gears.  They were $8 for 10.  I went ahead and got a pack because I will probably being testing several different options.

Next phase is some electrical testing.  I will keep you updated of my progress in the future.


----------



## reactortrip

Selected my first motor for testing.

Going to try the Tamiya 15256 Hyper Dash 2 High Speed motor.  measurements are close and it has a 2mm shaft.  I should be able to rig some mounts/spacers to get it to fit similar to stock.

19300 rpms at no load

It was made for racing 4wd RCs, LOL.  Runs anywhere between 1.2 to 4.8V with no issues.  It is a the high speed/high torque replacement for the Mabuchi FA-130 motor which could very well be the stock motor from what I have learned so far.

Here's a stock photo of it, mine is in the mail:


----------



## NHMickey

Hmmm....  A faster monorail.  I took mine down as it drove me nuts that it would just limp around...  Nice post


----------



## reactortrip

Small update, still waiting on the worm gears from Europe.  Received the Hyper-Dash 2 motor from Japan this morning.

Looks like we got a perfect fit.  Can't wait to start testing this puppy out.


----------



## CandyMandy

Upgrading to a higher torque/rpm motor is nice.  

But moving to full remote control via radio of speed and direction is even better.  

We have done that, to a Monorail purchased from the guy on eBay who sells the sets with an already installed higher power aftermarket motor, using the instructions in the link below. 

http://www.mindspring.com/~bobquincy/wdw/monorail/rcmonorail.html

The hack work described on the R/C receiver and servo wasn't that hard, the slightly trickier part (as the link warns) is squeezing the results into the tight spaces on the monorail (get ready for a lot of quality time with Mr. Dremel).

But once that's done the results are spectacular.

For that upgrade takes this from being a toy to a _working scale model_. 

Throw in a modified Disney monorail switching station (with a mechanical tweak to remove the design flaw that lead to switch jamming issues and audio upgrades in the form of a larger,  beefier speaker as well as a low level audio line out jack) and you _really_ impress the Christmas guests.


----------



## reactortrip

nice, didn't think to do the full remote servo radio, that may be my next step.  I may try to find something more updated than his thread to save space.  These have shrunk considerably

edit: Nevermind, he has a better version that does fit better:

http://www.mindspring.com/~bobquincy/wdw/monorail/rcmonorail2.html

He does sacrifice the soundboard and honestly, I felt like chucking that thing out the moment I opened mine up.  It annoys me so; and without it; the kids can't asked to hear it.

I may move to a different power source even more juice than what he switches too and go bigger with the motor as well.  

Well for those people who just want to get their's faster first.  I will finish this portion of it.

Got my worm gears in, fitted them on the motor.






Desoldered the old motor, the cap on top is just a small .1uF






Soldered it all back together same as it was before






Got it all back together






Back running like a Champ:






On my track around my christmas tree.

Original stock motor: 40 seconds to complete a lap.

Hyper Dash 2 motor: 16 seconds to complete a lap.

It is quick and torquey.  Very very much improved and runs a respectable speed.


----------



## reactortrip

Shot a short vid that shows the difference, new motor is in the pip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfPb09oTnrc


----------



## CandyMandy

U


reactortrip said:


> nice, didn't think to do the full remote servo radio, that may be my next step.  I may try to find something more updated than his thread to save space.  These have shrunk considerably
> 
> edit: Nevermind, he has a better version that does fit better:
> 
> http://www.mindspring.com/~bobquincy/wdw/monorail/rcmonorail2.html
> 
> He does sacrifice the soundboard.



And in the process (a) contradicts his entire original design philosophy (add enhanced functionality while retaining as many original features as possible, especially the OEM lights and sound), then (b) recommends an approach which requires more, not less fussy Dremel modification of the cab unit and (here's the kicker) let's the reader know the material costs triple.  All for the  supposed "benefit" of keeping the r/c components solely in the cab unit.

I'll stay with the fully featured (more realistic), proven and lower cost method!


----------



## reactortrip

CandyMandy said:


> And in the process (a) contradicts his entire original design philosophy (add enhanced functionctionaity while retaining as many original features as possible, especially the OEM lights and sound), then (b) recommends an approach which requires more, not less fussy Dremel modification of the cab unit and (here's the kicker) let's the reader know the material costs triple.  All for the  supposed "benefit" of keeping the r/c components solely in the cab unit.
> 
> I'll stay with the fully featured (more realistic), proven and lower cost method!



Ah, that stuff doesn't really bother me.  I don't mind spending the coin to do it.  As I said losing the sound isn't a problem for me because I am not a fan of it.  I am replacing my original LEDs anyway.  I don't want the green.  I've got some white ones I plan on replacing the old ones with and thinking about running additional lighting to the rear.  Because the "realistic" version isn't green.  So re purposing how they are mounted within the monorail would be relatively easy. 

Heck, I may not even use the radio he is using in either of the ones posted.  He just suggests them as a baseline to give people an idea of what he did.  I may as well just go my own route instead of following that plan.  I have plenty of in house small RC devices I can use.  I know I have some very small IR controllers that I may be able to fit to this application.  I will just have to think about how much I want to do to it.  Stepping up from 3V to a higher voltage would give me access to a much faster motor and different radios.  I am not limited to his plan.


----------



## reactortrip

I got bored.  I could easily put this little IR receiver into the monorail without any modification to the monorail.  Even with this little lipo it could spin the stock motor.  If it can handle the amperage of full load in the monorail with a better power source is the big question.  The traces look like they should be able to, but we will see.  I am not too worried about it, it's from an old POS 2 channel heli that someone gave me because it was broken.  Probably cost $5 at the mall.  I did some testing of the IR and it looks like the IR should work without for the range I am needing.






Bob's builds were from 07 it looks like, the chinese have seriously flooded the market since then with cheap decent small size receivers that are much cheaper than the route he recommended years ago if you really want to go as cheap as possible.

Actually his first build is from 2000, his selections for something small were almost nil when trying to do it on the cheap side.


----------



## simzac

To each his own, but I like the slow moving one much better. It's a monorail, not a racecar.


----------



## CandyMandy

Note to anyone looking to do the remote control upgrade:  The other factor to take into account is battery strategy.   

The link to the mod overview shows two approaches, one first one being four standard AAs (to give you the nominal 6V to get standard RC equipment running) or the later one using rechargable smaller AA ni-cads.    

The tradeoffs?  The standard AAs are definitely easier to fit; you already have a working bay for two in the cab and it is easy to add two readily accessible AA battery holders in the car behind the cab (the newer monorials with the opening roofs are ideal for that, that door is just large enough to allow batteries to go in and out, no need to unscrew anything).   But their higher weight does result in some additional load that slows the train down a wee bit.

And while the smaller rechargable ni-cads are fussier to work with (the soldering connections) they offer the advantage of being a little lighter and staying permanently in the cab if you add a recharging jack (no ned to remove any batteries).   The downside is waiting to recharge the train when said batteries run down (using the regular AAs means just a brief delay while you swap in a fresh set).


----------



## Micca

This is great stuff.  I'd love my trains to run more smoothly around the track.
Please update the thread with any future mods.


----------



## CandyMandy

Another note: the Tamiya Hyper Dash 2 motor upgrade reactor trip walked us through does have more torque and definitely adds speed to the train.  If you are just interested in that (not remote control), changing to that motor is a nice, simple mod.  Also, you don't have to go to Japan to find it, the Hyper Dash 2 is readilly available at many domestic online hobby stores and is cheap (around $4-5).

However, if you want to both do the Tamiya motor upgrade and get into remote control, be aware the amperage draw on the Tamiya (almost 1 amp when running on 5V, according to tests my husband did) is much higher than the stock (or Ebay seller upgrade) motor and will fry the driver chip on a typical servo board unless you modify the circuit.  We've done that, and can share the changes with anyone interested.


----------



## wyattsdaddy2

Hi kids, 
figured it was time i joined in, hope you don't mind the company.
I am the unofficial "king" of the disney high speed monorail and have been for years. I've installed no fewer than 1000 of these via ebay and c-list, local ads and such and i do about 6 a week. If you don't feel like getting into it yourselves i do it for $25 plus $5 shipping under "collectitall41". There is a better motor than all have suggested and no additonal power is needed, 2 aa's works fine and for a long time considering mine triples the actual speed.
If you'd like to see my work, go to youtube and type in custom monorail, my vids always come up first (wyattspoppa) or you can find the links on my ebay auctions, both for a total monorail in a box fully custom done already or you can just ship me your engine car. I can also rebuild the rides that always die, dumbo and astro orbiter, and they will run forever, that took me a year longer than the mono engine to custom-rebuild. I've done so many monos that i do one from start to finish in 9 minutes flat and never, ever had one fail in 4 years of doing these. The motor was everything, no custom gears needed or jury-rigging the innards as many have tried or suggested here. Because this is my business i can't publicly disclose where i finally found the perfect motor but i will answer inquiries individually as i was a fan and hobbyist long before i added it to my business so i'll pm you if you need help. Check out my vid racing a solo diz mono with my motor pulling all 5 cars and lapping in a quarter lap! Sorry about the caps, i'm not yelling i just left it on and didn't feel like re-typing!


----------



## reactortrip

hmm, 6 a week, maybe I need to start listing some on ebay with the link to this board in my auctions so if anyone wants to attempt it themselves they can.

I don't see any "jerry"  rigging on anything I posted as far as the engine upgrade.  The custom gearing is the same exact gearing as comes standard.

The other stuff about turning it into an RC vehicle is on a whole never level than what your upgrade does, so please understand Candy was trying to provide us with some better mods.  Which I fully appreciate her for adding valuable information to this thread on the monorail for us who like to tinker beyond a basic motor upgrade.  It's a whole lot better than a sales pitch without providing any information.

BTW,  I took your video and did a comparison test to my video and my train was slightly faster than yours through a single turn piece.


----------



## wyattsdaddy2

Easy there champ. only my friends are invited to be so abrupt with me so throttle back on the lecture, and only my English teacher is welcome to critique my writing, you are neither. The whole "happiest place on earth" got by you that day huh? I've forgotten more about Disney Monorail playsets than you'll ever know. I've custom built well over 1,000, I'm the only guy on planet earth who can rebuild all 7 Disney animated Monorail rides (4 DCA, 3 Diz) and I did the remote years ago using a ceiling fan remote first, a helicopter servo later, but Bob Quincy is the master. It's all a moot point as Disney is introducing the Mark VII playset at the D23 Expo today and it has a remote, I'll be one of the first in line. As for your dad being bigger...errr I mean your Mono going faster than mine, if you watched my video, I raced a stock Disney motor as you did, but I'm guessing you missed mine was pulling all 5 cars, the stock Diz motor I raced was solo. I could have (and have) made it much faster, but it chews through batteries twice as fast and gets the PCB dangerously hot, henceforth 19,000 rpm's is a poor choice. Also, should you add custom tracks that are popular with my clients, ones that allow for tighter turns and inclines, your motor will constantly "spin-out" and hesitate, wearing down the rubber wheel to boot. I wasn't pimping my wares, simply sharing my success on the project with fellow Monorail enthusiasts and 90% of folks who'd like to have this done, won't or can't do the work, I do it for them. Think many mom's are gonna have time to learn how to use a soldering gun, further still, about one in ten I do is mailed to me from wives who's husbands tanked the job asking me to fix it, so plenty of men out there aren't skilled with intricate wiring either. I do it for them fast and cheap. I was working on the inertial navigation systems of the F-15 Eagle when I was barely 18, chasing open circuits in a $30 million aircraft, about the time you were watching Sesame Street, but please, feel free to teach me about a $3 RC motor anytime. I can do 5 of these in about 30 min!


----------



## CandyMandy

wyattsdaddy2 said:


> It's all a moot point as Disney is introducing the Mark VII playset at the D23 Expo today and it has a remote, I'll be one of the first in line.








Enjoy your new purchase.  Knowing the type of sourcing Disney does for these toys, I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the remote it includes is very, _very _basic.

Specifically, it *doesn't *have the "Bob Qunicy-inspired" highly variable, independent speed control for two different trains at once-- which is precisely what the Futaba RC transmitter unit we use as our remote provides.   The speed control in particular is critical if you want realistic scale operation, without it what you end up with is cheap  toy-like motion.  And being able to run mutiple trains at once from one remote makes an additional huge difference in realism. 

And the sound function on your new remote *can't *activate the six different resort and park destination audio tracks in a WDW TTC switching station unit.   Ours_ can_, via a small, leftover Sony remote my husband hacked.  He did this over the spring (said it was relatively easy since the trigger path for each of the different soundtracks in the TTC unit are all individually, directly accessible through existing traces on the manual selection switch on the station).   The small Sony remote is attached to the side of the Futaba transmitter, leaving us with overall "choice of which sound and when" control capability that is superior to what that new Mark VII of yours comes with. 

I say that because -- given that single yellow sound button on your remote-- whatever ranges of sounds your new monorail has, inevitably they all are accessed through the tired, annoying "one-at-a-time-in-the-same-repeating-sequence" fixed toggle mode.  That cheapo design is also how the stock sound effects in the Disney Main Street Train Station model work - which is precisely what led my husband to hack that item so we could make the different sounds directly accessible.  That's a tangent which will ultimately lead to a future, whole separate discussion on modding the WDW HO scale theme park train set Disney sourced from Lifelike (pictured below).  Out of the box, the stock version of that product is very, very cheap, almost junk.  But in terms of accuracy to prototype (particulary the Walter E. Disney locomotive and tender units) it holds real potential and can be dramatically improved.  






But back to the monorail: also in comparison to your Mk VII, all six of our monorail destination sounds are heard via an upgraded 3" speaker inside the TTC unit , _not _that cheap tiny plastic thing in the monorail cab unit, which is probably what your Mark VII uses.   Which again leads to better quality (clear audio at adequate volume, not the "squeaky, tinny 1960s transitor radio" sound one gets from a stock monorail).   

And lastly, our remote control trains are in authentic WDW color schemes that make our layout more truly prototype, *not* the Disneyland colors of your train, which don't go with any of the more extensive range of WDW monorial accessories (I guess some people are waiting -- and will likely be waiting forever -- for  playset versions of the Disneyland Hotel, The Grand Californian, the Paradise Pier, etc., etc.)  That or enaging in very involved re-painting of their Mark VII to reftofit it to WDW colors.


----------



## tcsta

Candy - any chance we could see some pics or a write up describing some of the details of your set? It sounds really neat, and I would love some new ideas to try.


----------



## CandyMandy

tcsta said:


> Candy - any chance we could see some pics or a write up describing some of the details of your set? It sounds really neat, and I would love some new ideas to try.



My husband finally took shots of the whole layout over Christmas (the one time of year the whole shebang is set up), I will see if I can upload some.  The pictures will help with descriptions of how things have been modfied and function.


----------



## tcsta

Great! Would like to see them. I might take a few shots of my fledgling layout as well, but they will mostly be of my cat stalking ther trains. She also seemed to enjoy it inside the Contemporary as I was building it.


----------



## Micca

FWIW I'm still here too Candy and I'd like to see the photos as well.  We didn't set our layout up this year as we're preparing to move.  Hopefully the new digs will have a space to run the 'rail year round.


----------



## Abbysilver

Hi,  I used to share in your's and anyone elses frustration about the slow speed of all Genuine Disney Monorail Playsets.  Almost 6 months ago while living in Orlando, FL I asked a hobby shop to build me a remote controlled prototype for the Mark VI version.  After relocating to Portland, OR I fine tuned the original prototype and with the help of others, have developed a very responsive and fast RC Monorail Train.

I now have a 7.4v LOSI ESC system now available for the Mark VI (original Versions) and the newest Mark VII Disneyland version.  I use a custom made  7.4v circuit board having realistic white LED head lights, realistic beacon light, and circuitry to wire the original WDW sound board announcements, 7.4v high speed motor and a LOSI MRX-3100 receiver.  Also a 350mAh 2 cell LiPo rechargeable battery is now installed in the battery compartment.

All of this gear is installed in the engine and first passenger car with no noticeable modifications to the integrity of the Monorail Playset.  With the LOSI DSM transmitter I have full control of sound and lights via steering wheel, variable speed forward or reverse with the trigger and hands free operation via trim control dial.  It goes Fast!!!

Also for the Mark VI old and new versions I have available a 3v high speed motor that increases the speed by almost 3 times of the original stock motor.  

These items are available at my eBay store "The Monorail Store and More".  You should take a look


----------



## brivers

Hi, I bought a monorail playset for my son this summer at WDW. Right out of the box the performance was horrible. It barely limped around the track and sometimes even stopped. So I found this thread, pulled out the old motor and popped in the HyperDash 2 motor. It was pretty speedy after that, but it only lasted about 5 minutes. The worm gears basically just ate themselves up. Does anyone know of a metal gear set or can you suggest any parts? I've been looking around and can't find the right gears. I'd like to upgrade all the gears in the gearbox to metal if I can find them.


----------



## Micca

I am the worst DIY guy on the planet.  I usually end up destroying anything I try to work on, so I leave it to the pros.

Based on Abbysilver's post, maybe a shop that specializes in model railroads or remote controlled planes would have someone knowledgeable about this?

Good luck brivers, and if you find a solution please come back & post your findings.


----------



## boBQuincy

So there *is* still interest in modifying Disney monorail models!  

I have been working on the N scale version for so long that the NiCad batteries in my original model finally stopped taking a charge.  Oh, I replaced them but that technology is so last millennium!  From working on the N scale models I have found a lot of great new parts that will work in the larger models.

Deltang makes the best and smallest receivers I have seen so far.  They are 2.4 GHz so the antennas are on a couple inches long and the Rx60 series is a great match for a monorail (Rx43 for N scale).  These will easily fit in the monorail while still keeping all the features.  Besides controlling the motor (smoothly) the Deltang receivers also have on/off out puts for lights and sound.

Deltang also makes transmitters, designed for model railroads and perfect for our use.  For less $$$ you can use an Eflite transmitter, I bought one (new) on eBay for $12!

AA lithium cells are available, 3.7 volts in the same space as a standard 1.5 or 1.2 V AA.

Although I am still working on an N scale layout I plan to upgrade one of my larger monorails to a Deltang setup in March.  A full writeup will be posted at:
http://monorail.suzieandbob.com

Monorail enthusiasts have a one track mind!

boB


----------



## Micca

Thanks Bob!  I'm retiring in a few years...sooner if I don't find work.  The ultimate monorail may be my defining achievement in my golden years.


----------



## boBQuincy

brivers said:


> snip...The worm gears basically just ate themselves up. Does anyone know of a metal gear set or can you suggest any parts? I've been looking around and can't find the right gears. I'd like to upgrade all the gears in the gearbox to metal if I can find them.



Northwest Shortline (NWSL, which is now part of Osorail) makes some of the best small gears for trains and other hobbies.  They may have some gears that fit the monorail and they will be much better than what comes from Disney.  

I have found that *all* the gears are poorly molded and the two large ones are difficult to find.  So I made an entirely new drivetrain!  Details and photos on this forum...

Also on this forum, I made a new drivetrain for ultra high speed, the monorail no longer stays on the beam so I figure it is fast enough.


----------



## boBQuincy

Speaking of gears, here is an assortment with some that fit the monorail.  Just the thing for modifications or replacing worn/poorly molded gears:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K67YCMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Only $3.99!

And speaking of modification, two of these gears could be used to change the ratio of the gears that go from the dual gear/worm shaft to the right side main gear.  That is a change from 24:42 to 34:36, about a 75% speed increase!


----------



## boBQuincy

Research and development continues on the Disney model monorail!

Here is the stock gearbox:





and here is the high speed modification:





another view, showing the worm gear underneath the new gear:





Do not use a Plasma Dash motor unless you want your batteries to go dead in about 5 minutes and the monorail to run off the beam, it's that fast!  However, with the new gearing and a much milder motor the monorail goes around a circle in less than 10 seconds, more than twice the speed of the original!  The modification changes the overall gearing from about 26:1 to 15:1.

This other design is not about speed but it runs smooth and runs on scale appearance beam:





Finally, I made a new improved drive wheel to replace the one that is usually out of round and sometimes cracked (one of mine was cracked when I bought it).  It is being tested and may be available soon.


----------



## boBQuincy

This is an old thread and could use some updating.  Replacing the motor in the monorail only addresses the speed issue, the drive wheels are still mostly out of round and the gearbox is noisy.  Here is a completely new drive system that is quiet, smooth, and fast, WhisperJet:





and here is the video: 




Ignore the additional radio control and enhanced audio system.


----------



## boBQuincy

To revive this old thread: I keep adding monorail enhancements, the latest is lights and audio for the rear cab.  The lights are modeled after the monorails at WDW.  The audio is greatly improved over the original with up to 10 messages and a larger speaker.

http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/rearcab_lights.html


----------



## Jason Risner

wyattsdaddy2 said:


> Hi kids,
> figured it was time i joined in, hope you don't mind the company.
> I am the unofficial "king" of the disney high speed monorail and have been for years. I've installed no fewer than 1000 of these via ebay and c-list, local ads and such and i do about 6 a week. If you don't feel like getting into it yourselves i do it for $25 plus $5 shipping under "collectitall41". There is a better motor than all have suggested and no additonal power is needed, 2 aa's works fine and for a long time considering mine triples the actual speed.
> If you'd like to see my work, go to youtube and type in custom monorail, my vids always come up first (wyattspoppa) or you can find the links on my ebay auctions, both for a total monorail in a box fully custom done already or you can just ship me your engine car. I can also rebuild the rides that always die, dumbo and astro orbiter, and they will run forever, that took me a year longer than the mono engine to custom-rebuild. I've done so many monos that i do one from start to finish in 9 minutes flat and never, ever had one fail in 4 years of doing these. The motor was everything, no custom gears needed or jury-rigging the innards as many have tried or suggested here. Because this is my business i can't publicly disclose where i finally found the perfect motor but i will answer inquiries individually as i was a fan and hobbyist long before i added it to my business so i'll pm you if you need help. Check out my vid racing a solo diz mono with my motor pulling all 5 cars and lapping in a quarter lap! Sorry about the caps, i'm not yelling i just left it on and didn't feel like re-typing!


Are you still doing this?


----------



## boBQuincy

In years of testing many motors in monorails I have not found a "magic motor" that provides a big boost in power with no increase in current draw.  If someone has found one I understand their reluctance to give away the information but at least show the data regarding the current draw.  I test all my motors with an ammeter attached to a monorail car, it is a sure way to show how much power we are taking from the batteries under operating conditions.


----------



## boBQuincy

Replaced a burned out motor in a monorail today.  Someone had replaced the original motor with one that had metal brushes.  These do not last long and make a mess (burnt copper dust) when they wear out.  I replaced it with my usual Tamiya Torque Tuned motor and replaced the metal brushes with carbon brushes so it will last a long time.


----------



## cometpilot

Looking for someone that installs the faster Disney monorail motor. I read that wyattsdaddy2 is the man to call, are you still out there doing this work? Please let me know.


----------



## boBQuincy

Since no one has answered this in almost a week I will give you my take     on it.

The quick answer: Installing a faster motor in a monorail usually doesn't work as well as we would like.  Installing a faster motor in a Mark VII monorail usually doesn't work at all.

Most monorails have issues besides being slow: noisy gearbox; out of round drive wheel making it wobble and porpoise on the beam, sticking/out of round rollers...   ***Any problems the monorail has will only be amplified with a faster motor!***  Because of this I do not recommend installing a faster motor until the other problems have been resolved, and gearbox noise can not usually be fixed.

It is not difficult to install a faster motor in a monorail (WDW model only): 5 screws to open the shell; 4 screws to remove the      gearbox; two wires to solder to the motor, swap the worm gear on the motor.  There are plenty of faster, inexpensive motors,      Tamiya's Hyper-Dash is a common choice.  The question is, will you be happy with more speed if it comes with more noise?

Power out requires power in, I have not seen a magic motor that produces more power without taking more power*, in other words      battery life will be reduced.  The power switch on the WDW model is already operating at its limit, more power may shorten the life      of the switch.  

The Mark VII models have a different gearbox and are even noisier than the WDW models.  The Mark VII models usually will not power a faster motor, the remote system limits the power (there are ways around this).  



*There are more efficient motors but they cost about $65.  I installed two and the performance is better than the original while battery life is the same or better.  But $65 will buy a lot of batteries.


----------



## cometpilot

Thank you for the info. Are you marketing these Whisperjet drive units for the WDW monorail sets? If you are what is the price? I have a very long run along the ceiling of my basement bar with a long strait run and the whisperjet would be perfect.


----------



## boBQuincy

cometpilot said:


> Thank you for the info. Are you marketing these Whisperjet drive units for the WDW monorail sets? If you are what is the price? I have a very long run along the ceiling of my basement bar with a long strait run and the whisperjet would be perfect.



Here is some information on WhisperJets and other monorail modifications:
http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/svc_prices.html
Wyattsdaddy and I corresponded years ago, sharing ideas about some fun potential upgrades for the monorail models.  I have not heard from him for a long time, hope he is still working on monorails.


----------



## boBQuincy

Lots of modelers have a monorail running around their Christmas tree but very few have one *in* the tree!

http://monorail.suzieandbob.com/images/monorail_xmas.mov


----------



## Cinerama261

Just took this out from Xmas. It's making a very high pitched noise going forward and not in reverse. Any suggestions to fix this?


----------



## boBQuincy

The motor probably needs oil, particularly on the bearing opposite the gear.  It is easy to over oil this bearing, too much oil can get on the motor brushes and cause the motor to quit running.


----------



## Cinerama261

What kind of oil should I get? Where do I apply it? Thanks!


----------



## boBQuincy

Since there are plastic pieces all around we need a plastic-compatible oil: this one works well: https://labelle-lubricants.com/shop/labelle-108-fine-oil-for-z-n-and-small-ho-locos/

The WDW and Mark VII monorails are different but the idea is the same: remove 5 screws holdng the upper and lower shells together; lift the rear of the upper shell and slide it back a bit to undo the headlights (WDW); rotate the upper shell away from the lower shell being careful not to break any wires (easier said than done, the wires are fragile).
Remove the 4 (6 Mark VII) screws holding the gearbox then lift it up and forward to get to the motor (Mark VII requires unsoldering the motor).  Lightly oil the front and rear motor bearings.  Reassemble being careful not to pinch any wires.
It is no fun!


----------



## carevalog26

Hello Bob, I just bought the Mark VII for Christmas and it has been less than a week and it is dead, no motor response at all with new batteries in train and remote.

All cables and soldering look ok.

Any thoughts??, totally interested in doing an upgrade as it was painful to see the model struggle around the track, just want to be sure the board and remote are ok,

thanks!


----------



## boBQuincy

carevalog26 said:


> Hello Bob, I just bought the Mark VII for Christmas and it has been less than a week and it is dead, no motor response at all with new batteries in train and remote.
> 
> All cables and soldering look ok.
> 
> Any thoughts??, totally interested in doing an upgrade as it was painful to see the model struggle around the track, just want to be sure the board and remote are ok,
> 
> thanks!


Sorry to read that your monorail didn't even last a week.    Does the sound or headlights work?  A real shadetree test of the remote is to use your phone camera to see if the remote is sending out infrared (phone cameras will usually see infrared).  I have only found one Mark VII with an electrical problem (no reverse, transistor fell off the circuit board) but the quality control seems to be slipping.


----------



## Rchenely92

Hi, I just got a used monorail, looking to upgrade it. I opened it up and saw one of the gears is pretty worn out, also it barley moves backwards. I'm trying to do this cheaply so just a motor and gears replacement, any suggestions? I can do miner adjustments and soldering. I also have access to a 3d printer if your willing to share your designs! I have the WDW version, I don't know exactly which one though


----------



## boBQuincy

Rchenely92 said:


> Hi, I just got a used monorail, looking to upgrade it. I opened it up and saw one of the gears is pretty worn out, also it barley moves backwards. I'm trying to do this cheaply so just a motor and gears replacement, any suggestions? I can do miner adjustments and soldering. I also have access to a 3d printer if your willing to share your designs! I have the WDW version, I don't know exactly which one though



Unfortunately no replacement parts are available.  A popular motor upgrade is Tamiya's Hyper-Dash although I consider it to be a bit much and prefer Torque-Tuned (but the metal brushes should be replaced with the original carbon ones).
Searching eBay for "gear assortment" will bring up plenty of packs of gears at low cost.  Some may fit the monorail but it is hit and miss.
My designs are a complete (and difficult) replacement of the entire motor/gearbox/drive wheels.  The parts can not be printed on a consumer FDM printer (several modelers have tried) and some require finishing on a lathe.


----------



## Rchenely92

boBQuincy said:


> Unfortunately no replacement parts are available.  A popular motor upgrade is Tamiya's Hyper-Dash although I consider it to be a bit much and prefer Torque-Tuned (but the metal brushes should be replaced with the original carbon ones).
> Searching eBay for "gear assortment" will bring up plenty of packs of gears at low cost.  Some may fit the monorail but it is hit and miss.
> My designs are a complete (and difficult) replacement of the entire motor/gearbox/drive wheels.  The parts can not be printed on a consumer FDM printer (several modelers have tried) and some require finishing on a lathe.


I saw the set up you had on the previous page of this thread with just a replacement of gears, do you know the actual gears you used? I was looking on ebay and it looks like most packs don't have duplicate gears which you would need for the two drive gears... I am a DIYer but not usually with things like this so any help would be much appreciated. The 3D printer is only a consumer grade unfortunately but I do have access to a lathe as well, my work has a bunch of fun toys  Also, have you tried putting a larger battery pack in the back cart for longer run time? i was thinking of running wires through the middle carts to the back with a larger pack, I am experienced with rc planes so I was thinking of a similar system used for extending those batteries.


----------



## boBQuincy

Rchenely92 said:


> I saw the set up you had on the previous page of this thread with just a replacement of gears, do you know the actual gears you used? I was looking on ebay and it looks like most packs don't have duplicate gears which you would need for the two drive gears... I am a DIYer but not usually with things like this so any help would be much appreciated. The 3D printer is only a consumer grade unfortunately but I do have access to a lathe as well, my work has a bunch of fun toys  Also, have you tried putting a larger battery pack in the back cart for longer run time? i was thinking of running wires through the middle carts to the back with a larger pack, I am experienced with rc planes so I was thinking of a similar system used for extending those batteries.



Asking me to remember something I did years ago is a stretch when I sometimes can't remember what day it is.    However I still have the modified gearbox: the gears are 32 and 34 teeth (original is 26 and 42).  I don't recall why not use 34 and 34 since that seems like it would fit the original spacing of 68 teeth, the 32/34 seems a bit loose.  The new gears were in one of the eBay packs, maybe there was only one 34.
*update: the 32 T gear (the one near the motor) needed some grinding of the gearbox for clearance. As I now recall the hard part was fitting the 32T to the gear below it, the 32T is a double gear (32/12) and the 12 T part has to be filed to a square to mate with the lower gear.  Fun!

I have not tried larger battery packs, my WhisperJets draw about 300-400 mA so they should run for at least a few hours with Eneloop batteries (rated at 2000+ mAH)


----------



## mlittig

Any tips on how to put the tracks together when the tracks don't slide into the support easily?? I am afraid I will break something if I push too hard. Some tracks go on fine but most of them do not. Thanks.
Edited to add: I got it to work!


----------

