Mono Rail Tyre Change ...

[Darren]

I had the opportunity to visit someone new today that's again into small trains .... 'cept this chap is a little different.

He like Mono Rails, has a couple of them from what he was telling me. Well to be truthful he has the largest collection in the world of over 100 trains apparently.

Anyway, a guy that knew a guy that knew a guy that knew me put me onto him for a little job he needed doing. One of his trains needed a tyre change and the new tire didn't fit the hub properly. The tyre in this case is all steel and the old one had a rubber rim.



The Problem: the tyre is the center piece clamped by the two outer rims, except the rims wont clamp fully.



 
After careful scrutiny it was decided to modify the hub.

For this I mounted the hub in my 8" four jaw as it fit better than my 3 jaw due to larger jaws. Please excuse the state of the chuck, I've yet to clean it up and this is the first time time I've used it. The hub was dialed in to 0.0005 in both directions.





The wheel before machining



You can see here what was taken off in the shiny areas, the hub is cast steel.



The wheel after machining the hub



I realise I haven't taken enough pictures to help show this properly, but I hope you get the jist  



One of the bearings in the hub had a dust cover missing, so though I'd make the chap a new one from a bit of SS



Sizing the outer dia



Now the inner

[Darren]

This one is the star attraction at this place I believe?
The only working steam mono train in the world ...!!



http://www.freewebs.com/railmachinesltd/thesteammonotrain.htm

All about 1 mile from my house. I'm amaised at how many steam trains there are around here, they're all over the place and I've only recently discovered that  

[Stilldrillin]

Nicely done Darren!  

It`s a great feeling, when we can easily & happily work a bit of "magic" for someone who can`t......  

David D

[Rob.Wilson]

Hi Darren

Great job  , cool engine , and only  a mile away 

Regards Rob

[Darren]

I took the bits back today and got a look at the engine above. I was surprised how big it was. Very nice condition as well.

And awed at the rows and rows of engines lined up around the place .... along with the vast stacks of unused tracks.

I must go back when it's sunny and not raining, pref when the steam engine is out having a run ....

[John Hill]

I took the bits back today and got a look at the engine above. I was surprised how big it was. Very nice condition as well.

If I read the page correctly it is only a little over ten years old, about the same age as my car!

What does intrigue me is how it ballances on the rail,  I can see little guide wheels but surely the rail would have to be very firmly fixed to terra firma if they were to stop it toppling over.

[Darren]

Hi John,

No, nothing is fixed to the ground, the track just sits there. It's not even bolted together but rather designed for easy erection and dismantling originally for rough terrain.

Particularly useful on new building sites http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/16/Monorail.htm

I have a brochure with some very interesting pictures giving example of where this system takes advantage over conventional twin tracks.

Remember, this is originally designed as a working tool and was never thought as a recreational system until more recent times.

[John Hill]

We have abaout 400 funiculars in our town, mostly serving residential properties, and a some of them are monorails though I have never stopped to look closely at one.

[Darren]

There's a few of them around here as well, though not for residential use .... can you give us some more info please John ?

[John Hill]

This is one company quite active in the area
http://www.accessauto.co.nz/products.php

A lot of the older ones were DIY jobs using all sorts of methods.  There were some, now not allowed, that worked on a counter weight system where city water ran into a tank at the top which then ran down to pull the car up.

[Darren]

Let me get this straight... they don't have driveways right up to the house? 

[John Hill]

Let me get this straight... they don't have driveways right up to the house? 

Thats right Darren.  Some houses have a garage at street level and a funicular to the house, others just park on the street and I guess some might not even own a car.

[andyf]

I looked at the company website you linked to, John, and watched one or two of their videos. Makes me almost sorry I live on the Chshire plain.

One commentary said that people used then to get to houses which were "otherwise inaccessible."
What I can't work out is how they managed to build those houses in the first place 

Andy.

[John Hill]

Andy, the first thing the builders do is put up their own cable cars!   Helicopters are used on some sites and of course mobile cranes are so big nowadays that they are used to get awkward components on site too.

[Darren]

Crikey, is land at such a premium over there then John?

I thought population in NZ was low 

Or is living on such a steep hill considered desirable .... another meaning to "high living" I suppose 

Now if I saw that in Japan I wouldn't be so shocked ....

[John Hill]

Crikey, is land at such a premium over there then John?

I thought population in NZ was low 

Or is living on such a steep hill considered desirable .... another meaning to "high living" I suppose 

Now if I saw that in Japan I wouldn't be so shocked ....

Wellington is the only city where the funiculars are common,  this is a picture of Oriental Bay which is only a few minutes walk from the central business district and of course people like the views too.

[gldwight]

That's a slick idea. I've seen many a location where this type system would have been a major
improvement to what was being used.

Wonder why it's not used much more than it is.
In this part of the states I've never seen one until these posts/links.
Thank you for posting them.
George