From: halcyon!monorail@seattleu.edu
Date: 20 Sep 91 13:44:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: The Monorail FAQ List *LONG*


   Hello Everyone.  The response to monorails was so overwhelming that I
decided just to compile all the stuff and post it as a FAQ list.
The technical and operations data is for the Mark VI trains at WDW.
I much preferred the Mark IVs, but it's unlikely you'll see one of
those again.  Theye were a LOT more fun to drive.  They were
clunky, but they had personality!

   Thanks to everyone who sent me mail or posted questions.  If I
didn't respond to you, please forgive me, as I only get 40 minutes
a day on line.  If you have anything else or if one of these
questions raises another pleas feel free to ask...



   OK.  I'm gonna try to cover this stuff from ground zero,
hopefully I'll catch myself before saying something too
technical or specific.  The Mark VI trains are really big on
acrynyms for simple stuff.


The Basics:

>How do you make it go?

   On the control console in the cab at each end of the train is
a M.C.U. or Master Control Unit (the stick).  Also on this
console, next to the stick are two rocker switches.  One is a
forward/reverse selector, the other is a run mode/stop mode
selector.

   The train won't go anywhere without the selector in "run".

   The forward/reverse switch controls not only the direction of
the train's movement, but the direction in which the MAPO system
receiver (I know you don't know about that - It' coming) is
pointed.  The train can travel equally well in either direction
driven from either end - It can't tell the difference.


>How do you make it stop?

   The MCU has 10 selections, 5 forward, 1 center, and 4 back.
The 5 forward positions are propulsion selections labelled P-1
through P-5.  They correspond to speed travelled as follows:

    P-1    15 mph
    P-2    20 mph
    P-3    25 mph
    P-4    30 mph
    P-5    40 mph

   35 zones are a real pain in the posterior.

   The center position is Neutral.  In this setting the train
will do whatever it was doing.  If youre cruising along and put
it in neutral, the train will coast.  If you're sitting still
with brakes on, the train will leave on brakes until you give it
a power selection.

   The four rear positions are labelled B-1 through B-4 (for
Braking).  The higher the number the harder the brakes.  How
much dynamic current or air pressure you get depebds on how fast
you're going.  For those who don't know what dynamic braking is,
imagine that the wheel of the monorail is a windmill.  When you
take the train out of propulsion, the wheel is still spinning
because youre still moving.  Use that spin just like a windmill
blase to provide electricity.  Use that electricity to slow the
motor down, using it's own energy against it.  Its cheap, and
efficient.  (NOTE to all Engineer types:  This is how
maintenence always explained it to me.  If I've grossly
oversimplified please forgive me.  I'm a driver not a techie.)


>How do you keep from crashing into each other?

   On the beamway at certain points there are transmitters.
These MAPO transmitters send an electrical signal through the
track.  When a train is on the track, it blocks that signal.

   These transmitters correspond to locations on the beam called
Holdpoints.  The holdpoints are located at certain numbers,
which must all be committed to memory (your memory, not the
train's)

   Each train has a receiver that can tell how many of these
signals it is receiveing.  Say  Monorail Red is driving behind
Monorail Blue.  If there are four transmitters between the
trains, Red will only get four signals, because all the signalls
ahead of Blue are blocked by that train's presense.

   If Red gets within two holdpoints of Blue, the train's MAPO
receiver will say "Hey, you're gettin' close buddy!" and turn on
an amber light on the console with a beeping alarm.  At that
point the driver consults his super-keen monorail-intellect and
figures out where the next holdpoint is.  He then stops there
and tells all the passesngers that the train is "waiting for
further traffic clearance."

   If Red doesn't stop at that holdpoint?  When he passes over
the transmitter at that holdpoint, and his MAPO is then only
receiving ONE signal, the train will automatically assume the
driver is insane: "Hey this idiot is tryin' ta dent my nose!"

   The train puts on 85-90 psi air brakes and stops on a dime,
then you get canned.  Well actually you're allowed three
"overruns" (the term for crossing the line).  If however you do
something that is really dangerous, Good Bye.  Three overruns is
the limit for your entire career.  They never go away.

   What do we do with overrun victims?  Send 'em to Buses of
course!


>What does MAPO stand for?

   MAPO is a subsidiary of WED (Walter Elias Disney)
Transportation.  The name is short for Mary Poppins.

   The MAPO system is also called the MBS (Moving Blocklight
System).


>How much track is there?
 
     There are 13.6 miles of rail including all spurlines.  The EPCOT
rail is 7.6 miles of that, the Lagoon (Hotel) beam and the Exterior
(Kingdom Express) beam are about 2.6 miles each.

 
>How do you move trains between beams?     

    We can and do move trains back and forth between beamways constantly,
depending on guest flow.  With all beams in operation it looks like this.
The Lagoon and Exterior beams are set up with one inside the other.  One
circle nested in another without touching it.

    In the diagram below, the  Lagoon beam is on the
left, Exterior on the right, and the spur to shop on the far right (coming
to an abrupt end).  This is of corse a veiw from above.  This is a drawing
of Switchbeam 1 and 2, between the Contemporary and the Kingdom, right on
the footpath from one to the other.
 
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |  0  |
           |     |    \
           |     |     \
           |     |      \
           |     |       \
           |     |        \
           |     |         \____________ to shop
           |     |
 
 
Connecting Exterior to Lagoon looks like this.
 
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |    /
           |   /
           |  0  |  \
             /   |   \
            /    |    \
           |     |     \
           |     |      \
           |     |       \
           |     |        \____________ to shop
           |     |
 

 
Connecting Exterior to spur looks like this.

           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |     |
           |      \
           |       \
           |  0  |  \
           |     |   \
           |     |    \
           |     |     \
           |     |      \
           |     |       \
           |     |        \____________ to shop
           |     |

 
>Is there any way to see switching in progress?

   Yes. Just take the footpath from the Contemporary to the
Kingdom, it runs right under switch 2.  Trains come out between
6:30 and 8:00 am during a regular openning.  You might have trouble
getting past the Guard at the head of the footpath, but if you tell
him you only want to walk over to the switch and take some pictures
he should oblige you, (this IS WDW after all).

 
>* when were the new style trains at WDW introduced, the ones
>with the mediocre  standing space and the quiet doors ? (missing
>the old !BANG! after a stop :))  BTW, I apologize for 'mediocre'
>to people with strollers or wheelchairs, but  for my height
>(1.89 m), standing in that train is strainful.

   I'm 2m. tall.  I agree.
 
   The Mark VI Monorails came on line in the spring of 89, but
we didn't start loading them until X-Mas.  The intervening time
was all test and adjust period.  We had a third shift crew
(which I was on) that came in at 8pm and ran the trains around
in circles all night trying to get malfunctions (and boy we sure
did).  It was endurance testing and de-bugging.
 
   Even after the Mark VIs went on line, we had problems.
 
     a.  Before we got the trains we realized that the design
wasn't going to let them fit through the air door at the
Contemporary Hotel.  We went down for several months in the fall
of 88 for widening of the openning at the Hotel and for extra
concrete to be poured on the platforms (the trains are taller
than the Mark IVs.
 
     b.  Once we had the first one on line (they came on about
one per two months at first) we found that the power draw was
too high.  We couldn't operate two of them within a certain
distance of each other.  Major changes were made to the power
grid to compensate.
 
     c.  The software had so many bugs I could've caught fish
with it.  The trains were very prone to shutdown from software
glitches.  The Mark IVs were built in 1969 and had squat for
electronics, so this was really new to us.
 
     d.  The doors were a mess at first.  Jim Whitman's arm got
broken in a recycling test (the door DIDN'T recycle).  Forever
after that we used special bat-like clubs (made by Disney
Central Shops - Disney doesn't send out for anything that it can
make) that were known as "Whitman Probes" to test the doors.
 
 
 
>* who actually builds the monorail trains ? I recall that the
>original design  (Alweg ?) was of Swiss origin, but this could
>be related to the first DL monorail only.
 
   Alweg built up to the Mark IIIs, all of which operated only at
Disneyland.  I know this because the nose-cone door from Monorail
Gold Mk.III is displayed at Monorail Shop and is clearly labelled
"Alweg".
 
   The Mark IVs (used at WDW from opening until replaced by
Mk.VIs) were built by WED Enterprises and Martin Marrietta at a
cost of around six million per train.
 
   The Mark Vs that replaced Disneyland's Mk.IIIs were designed
by Ride and Show inc. I think.  I'm not completely sure about
that one, but Ride and Show's press packet claimed it.
 
   The infamous (two years late and hideously overbudget) Mark
VI trains were designed and built by Bombardier of Quebec, (the
lowest bidder).
 
 
>* how are the tracks maintained ? The concrete did not look as
good as it once did, when I saw it last September.
 
   Ummmmmm.  weeeeeeeeeell.   It's like this.
 
   Me: "Hey, there's a chunk missing near pylon 24!"
   Maintenence: "Keep your britches on."
   Me: "Monorail red just plunged to it's doom!"
   Maintenence: "Woah, good thing we bought new ones."
 
   Just kidding.  The beam is supposed to be inspected yearly
and drivers report anything that looks interesting.

   The original tracks (MK loop) are lots better than the EC
tracks, which were manufactured in 1981.  Strange how quality goes
down through the years...

 
 
>* ever had any safety problems with the exposed electric rails
at the track ?
 
   Yes.  People can be really stupid.  I personally watched
several people jump into the trough with the live bar and trains
barrelling down on them.  Twice to retrieve a lenscap, and once
was a teenager showing off.  All should've been killed but got
lucky.  Can ya believe it?
 
 
>* ever had a runaway train :) ?
 
   Yes.

 
>Ever had any accidents?

   Yes.


>Ever had a train get stuck and the people on it have to be
>rescued?

   Nope.  The procedure for stuck trains is to try everything
possible to make that sucker move.  If it's too broke, we bring
out a diesel powered work tractor to tow it to a station where
the people can be unloaded.  This HAS resulted in people getting
stuck for hours (worst case - two mark VIs on EPCOT died
simultaneously along with one on Exterior beam - suicide pact I
guess...).  The guest relations folks were handing out free
passes like candy.


>Are the drivers allowed to "ad lib" their speeches or is there
>a "Disney Approved" script?

   As long as you get all the pertinent info in there and don't
offend anyone, go for it.  Sometimes we can cut loose, like Grad
Night or at the Cast Christmas Party.  (Want to have the best
time of your life at the MK, get a job at WDW and go to the Cast
Party in the Magic Kingdom!)


>Are there any plans to extend the monorail to the MGM studios
>or to the EPCOT hotels / Marketplace?

   Plans?  Sure.  There have been PLANS to do that since the
park was built.  World Showcase is sitting on top of buried
pylon footers for track extension from there.  The problem is
that it's expensive and impractical.  The amount of constructin
would be disruptive, and the sites can be served fine with
buses.  There are plans to construct a light rail trolley (San
Francisco style) to those areas.  We don't have one of those
yet...


>When were each Mark model (I, II, etc) introduced?
 
   The Monorail Mk.I at Disneyland started running in 1959. I
don't know when the II and III replaced it.  The Mk. IV went on
at WDW in 1971, and the Mk.V replaced the Mk.III at Disneyland
sometime after that, Early-mid '80s I think.
 
 
>What are the differences between the models?
 
   The I,II,and III had the "bubbletop" design that had the
driver sit up in a bubble on top of the train (similar to the
way the Submarine Pilots sit in 20,000 leagues - which is
incidentally a lot like monorails for ops purposes).
 
   The biggest change for the Mk.V was the automatic door
system, and the VI is tall enough to stand in and carries a LOT
more people (244 in the IV vs 350+ in the VI).
 
 
>What is the energy effieciency of the monorails?
 
   Don't have numbers but it's pretty good.  Granted it would
have to be utilized by people in order to be efficent enough, so
planning would be a major factor in setting up a real monorail
system.
 
   Interesting Factoid: Houston appropriated a billion dollars
to start a monorail project downtown.  They'll be licensing the
tech from Disney and their trains will be commuter models of the
Mk.VI built by Bombardier.
 
 
>How much power do they consume?
 
   They run on 600 volts DC, rectified from (don't quote me on
this) 13,000+ AC.  We make our own power at the plant north of
the contmporary, across the street from monorail shop.
 

>What kind of brakes do they have and what is their stopping
>distance?
 
   Dynamic braking slows the train down, but is ineffective
below 7-10 mph.  Air brakes are used to stop.   Distance depends on
how fast you're going.   At 40 mph, roughly (very) a hundred feet
with regular braking.  Emergency brakes are faster, but REAL rough
on the passengers.  (see also "How do you make it stop?")
 
 
>I'd like to know, for example, about the markings on the pylons.
 
     The pylons are all numbered for location reasons.  If my
train has a problem and dies, I can't say to  Central  "Well I'm
sort of near that big tree..."  The pylons are for traffic
control as well.  Remember that there are three or four other
trains out there on 2.6 miles of loop.  If somebody gets stuck I
want to know EXACTLY where they are before I find 'em the hard
way.


>Do you use the numbers to judge where to sit and wait before
>pulling into the station?
 
     What I assume you mean is that the train sometimes stops in
mid-beam, for no reason that's apparent to you.  The train isn't
required to stop before pulling into a station, but often has to
because there's still another train inside.  The numbers on the
pylons dont tell us where to stop, but there are designated
holding points for each zone (which you have to memorize).  When
you get an amber signal you have to stop at the designated
number (see also "How do you keep from crashing into each other?")
 
     Stopping at weird points is frowned upon because it might
cause the train behind you to get an indication at an unexpected
time, overrun his holdpoint, and beat you up after work.  This is
the preferred method for dumping undesireables out of the
department, as safety violations are not tolerated in rails.


>  Is there one central command, or is there a separate "command
>center" at each station?
 
     Each station has a Lead, who CAN give orders to trains if
necessary, but only as pertains to his station.  For instance the
Kingdom Lead could call the train approaching his station and
tell him to hold for some reason (someone fell in the track or
something...)  but if he calls down a train at EPCOT, he'd better
have a good reason.
 
     Monorail Central is at the Transportation and Ticket Center
(TTC), on the "To EPCOT Center" side of the station building.
The enclosed glass tower (just like at an airport but smaller) is
the Central Console.  Mind you though, Central doesn't actually
have any control over the trains outside of dealing with unusual
situations.  Just driving around it's the driver's responsibility
not to bump into anyone.  Central can only give orders, it's not
like he has a remote control...
 

General Layout:

    This is the best I can manage  with the computer.
 ("Dammit, Jim, I'm a monorail pilot not an artist!")
 
 
 
 
         _______MK____*___
       /                   \
      /                     \
     |                      CO
     |                       |   _______
     GF                      |  /       \
     |                       |#|         |
     |                       TTC         |
      \                      | |         |
       \                    /  |         |
        \                  /    \_       |
         \_______POLY_____/       \_     \______
                                    \__________ \
            ^                                  \ \
            |                                  | |
      The above section is actually            | |
      two tracks, one inside the other.        | |
                                               | |
                                            A long way
                                               | |
                                               | |
                                               | |
                                               | |
                                               | |
                                              /   \
                                             /     \
                                            /       \
                             EPCOT CENTER  |    SE   |
                                            \       /
                                             \     /
                                              \___/
 
TTC       The Transportation and Ticket Center, (also called
           the Ticket and Transportation Center by Tickets
           people, but they don't count.)
 
MK        The Magic Kingdom station
 
GF        The Grand Floridian (oops, I mean "Disney's Grand
           Floridian Beach Resort."  - the Duty Manager can be
           touchy about that!)
 
CO        The Contemporary Resort
 
POLY      The Polynesian Resort

SE        Spaceship Earth (the big golf ball at Epcot)
 
*         Switchbeam One and Two (see "switching") -
           goes between Exterior, Lagoon, and Spurline.
 
#         Switchbeam 8 & 9 -  goes between Exterior, Epcot beam,
           and Epcot spurline.


   That's it (wheeew!)  See ya round!


                                             Monorail Green

                                               aka B-Man

--
  The 23:00 News and Mail Service - +1 206 292 9048 - Seattle, WA USA
                          PEP, V.32, V.42bis
                  +++ A Waffle Iron, Model 1.64 +++

From: halcyon!monorail@seattleu.edu
Date: 20 Sep 91 13:45:16 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Monorails: In Training


   This was written by my old roommate John, the hardest workin'
man in Monorails.  He also no longer works in Rails.

                                             -Monorail Green

                                                aka B-Man



 
             AN INTRODUCTION TO DRIVE TRAINING
                             BY
                    JOHN ROBERT KAPPELER
 
 
     Welcome to the wonderful world of drive training.  For
the next six days, I will be your sole Lord and Master,
otherwise referred to as your drive trainer.  During this
time, we shall learn how to operate the Mark IV or Mark VI
Monorail Train, and how to use them on the Walt Disney World
Monorail System.
     You're probably exited about drive training, and who
could blame you?  After two or three months of repeating
"How many in your group?" or "Take this train to the next
stop and get on another." six or seven hundred thousand
times a day, you'd be excited about anything.  Just keep in
mind that the time you spent on the platform was well worth
it.  It built up your anticipation for driving.  Think about
it.  While you were on Exterior Load, busting your butt to
get five hundred Brazilians onto Monorail Gold, you saw all
the drivers at the water cooler, or in the console, or on
unload, not doing any work, and the same thought kept going
through your mind. . .
     When will I be able to do that?
     Soon now, very soon.  Soon you'll be able to get out of
going to turnstiles, or taking hour lunches and not getting
docked, or getting back cab times where you're allowed to
turn your brain off.  Soon, very soon.
     But first, comes training.
     I realize there's a great deal of resentment between
drivers and platform people.  Drivers are always the
"snots", while the platforms are always the "slaves".  I
remember when I was a platform-only.  I used to hate drivers
just like you probably did.  I worked like hell, and they
did nothing but ride around in trains all night, and
actually bitch about it sometimes.  I used to resent them.
In fact, I began to hate them.  Especially whenever I'd put
people in their front cab and they'd look at me like I'd
just asked them to donate their liver.  Drivers were stuck-
up jerks, and I swore I'd never be like them.
     Then I became a driver.
     I saw what makes them that way.  I saw what makes them
stand around while the platform people do all the work.  I
learned the truth.
     I became enlightened.
     Drive training is hard.  Real hard.  It looks like a
piece of cake from a platform person's point of view.  After
all, all they do it push the stick to go, pull it back to
stop, and talk into a microphone.  That's it.  Pretty easy.
     Well, as I learned, there's more to that.
     Much more.

     Driving a monorail is a lot like driving a bus filled
with drunk people on a crowded highway with your fuel gauge
hovering just above "E".  There's a lot to do.  A lot to
look out for, and a lot of bad things that could happen to
you.  It can be fun, but it takes a lot of practice.
     In comes me.
     For the next week, I'm going to show you just what it's
like to drive that bus, with all those drunks vomiting all
over the place, and trying to find a gas station that will
accept your expired Radio Shack credit card.
     Before we begin drive training, I will sit you down and
discuss something with you.  Call it a sort of disclaimer.
I will look you in the eye and say something like:  "Listen,
it's going to be rough out there, and I'm going to be rough
on you.  The pressure will be on you like you've never felt
it before.  I'll be asking you to do sixteen things at the
same time, and if you mess up, I'll be on your case about
it.  But just keep one thing in mind--nothing personal."
     This will probably make more sense after about three
days of training.  Day Four of training is often referred to
as, "Hell Day".  That's when it suddenly dawns on your that
driver's don't really have it that easy.  That's when you
realize that you're operating a monorail carrying anywhere
from 244 to 364 people, and you have to get then to the next
destination, preferably alive.
     A lot of trainees quit after Hell Day.  We don't think
any less of them, they just couldn't take the pressure,
that's all.  They just usually announce that "This isn't
worth $5.25 a @!&%!! hour!" and quit.  The main reason they
quit is that they didn't realize the pressure involved.
That's why I wrote this.  To let you know.
     But I don't want to scare you.  I don't want you to
think that I'm going to prod you with sticks and make you
accept Satan as your Supreme Being.  All I'm doing is
attempting to bring out the best in you, and make you the
best damned monorail pilot you can be.
     So don't hurt me, okay?

--
  The 23:00 News and Mail Service - +1 206 292 9048 - Seattle, WA USA
                          PEP, V.32, V.42bis
                  +++ A Waffle Iron, Model 1.64 +++

From: halcyon!monorail@seattleu.edu
Date: 20 Sep 91 13:46:52 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Monorails: Radio Ops  *Funny!*


   My roommate, John Kappeler, wrote up the following treatise
on monorail radio operations.  I couldn't improve on it a bit...

                                      -Monorail Green

                                        aka B-Man

 
 
                    TALKING ON THE RADIO

                   by John Robert Kappeler
 
 
     Talking on the radio is one of the most important
aspects of drive training.  Our goal is to make you sound as
professional, accurate and most of all, coherent as
possible.
     This is not as easy as it sounds.  Talking on the radio
is the major stumbling block to most trainees, because it's
your responsibility to repeat back verbatim whatever it was
Central or Shop has told you to do.  Still sound easy?  Okay
then, try doing this:
 
     CENTRAL:  Monorail Green from Central.
     GREEN:  Green bye.
     CENTRAL:  I show you clear MAPO Bypass through
Switchbeams 8 and 9 to the EPCOT Center Mainline, following
Monorail Pink Delta in a temporary three-train normal visual
operation.  You're clear normal visual to pylon 95, hold and
notify Central.  Also notify Central upon passing pylons 27
and 45.
     GREEN:  (30 second pause)  What?
 
     Not very professional, is it?  That's why we have the
most important radio code you can use--10-9.  10-9 means,
simply, I don't have the slightest idea of what you just
said and would you mind repeating it very much.  Here's an
example of how the code 10-9 improves the professionalism of
your radio work.
 
     CENTRAL:  Monorail Pink from Central.
     PINK:  Pink bye.
     CENTRAL:  I show you clear to put your train in stop
and your control arm in neutral.  You're clear to press
Linebreaker Reset and Group A/B Reset for fifteen seconds,
hold and notify Central the status of your groups.
     PINK:  (30 second pause)  10-9?
 
     See?  Much more professional.  To help you sound even
MORE professional on the radio, we use a variety of
different codes to make your radio experience as confusing
as possible.  Here's a listing of the codes you will need to
know.
 
     10-1:  Reading you poorly, get a new battery
     10-2:  Reading you perfectly, you don't have to shout
     10-4:  Okay, yes, acknowledged, sure, uh-huh, whatever
     10-6:  Busy, (Only supervisors can be busy.  You can't)
     10-7:  Out of service, off, broken beyond repair
     10-8:  In service, on, "My God!  It actually works!"
     10-9:  Repeat, say what?, I ignored you the first time
     10-20:  Your exact location, (In pylon numbers, please)
     10-22:  Disregard, never mind, I goofed
     10-23:  Stand-by, wait, hold, don't move or die!
     10-26:  I understand, (Only Poly leads can say this)
     10-36:  The current time of day, (In military time)
     10-45:  Phone call, you were speeding through the Poly
     10-51:  En route to, hope to get to. . .
     10-52:  E.T.A., (Always say 5 minutes, no matter what)
     10-56:  Come here, you're in biiiiig trouble!
     10-99:  Deadheaded, no guests on board. . . I think
     SIGNAL 25:  Fire, flames, Chernobyl
     SIGNAL 96-S:  There's a huge snake on my train!
 
     As a Monorail Pilot, you will use each and every one of
these codes during your career, although the last one might
not come up as often.  I put it there just in case you do
get a huge snake in your front cab, you'll know the exact
radio code to relay this information to Monorail Central.
(Chances are, however, they won't know what the hell you're
talking about.)
 
     RED:  Central from Red.
     CENTRAL:  Central bye, Red.
     RED:  Be advised, I have a Signal 96-S on board.
     CENTRAL:  (30 second pause)  10-9?
     RED:  Be advised, I have a Signal 96-S on board!
     CENTRAL:  I copy you have an auto accident on board?
     RED:  Negative!  A Signal 96-S!
     CENTRAL:  I copy you have a robbery in progress?
     RED:  10-22, I threw it out the window.
     CENTRAL:  I copy, you threw the robber out the window?
 
     I think you get the picture.
     Now then, it's important to learn those codes, because
in the coming days, Central, Shop, Maintenance, Leads, and
just about everybody with a radio is going to be calling you
up to see if you know them inside and out.  This is
especially true after Day Three of training.  On Day Four
comes a lot of radio from Central.  It's used to see if you
can talk and drive at the same time.  Up front, it sounds
pretty easy.  Here's an example of radio Mark VI trainees
receive:
 
     CENTRAL:  Monorail Gold from Central.
     GOLD:  Gold bye.
     CENTRAL:  What's the status of your CMPAS?
     GOLD:  Be advised, my CMPAS is 10-8.
     CENTRAL:  10-4, what mode is your CMPAS in?
     GOLD:  Be advised, my CMPAS is in 'play'.
     CENTRAL:  What's the status of your Car 3 LMCU?
     GOLD:  Uh. . . 10-8?
     CENTRAL:  10-4, how do you know that?
     GOLD:  Uh. . .
     CENTRAL:  What's the status of your Group A PECU?  And
     while you're at it, give me the status of your Group B
     BECU, your VOBC, your DPAS, your BCS, your TIM, your
     LVPS, and the OVERHEAT light in your upper display.
     GOLD:  (30 second pause)  Central from Gold.
     CENTRAL:  Central bye.
     GOLD:  Please 10-56 hell, Gold clear.
     CENTRAL:  10-4, will 10-56 he. . . 10-9!?
 
     Take into account that while you're attempting to
answer Central's questions, you're also attempting to keep
your train from smashing into the one ahead of it, spieling
to your guests, and watching your trainer's face distort in
disgust whenever you mess up.
     When you first start out, the trainer will be there to
coach you along the difficult radio parts.  But after
awhile, the trainer will no longer take an active interest
in what you say over the radio, and begin taking an active
interest in his nails, the weather, or the gorgeous blonde
on the Grand Floridian's beach.
     After some practice, you'll notice that you will know
ahead of time what it is Central, Shop, Etc. is going to say
to you, so it gets easier to repeat it back.  The reason it
takes practice is because there are a lot of people on the
Monorail System who are not easy to understand over the
radio.  This is especially true when you're taking a train
to or from Shop.
 
     SHOP:  Mo'rail Peenk fro' Shap.
     PINK:  Uh, Pink bye. . . I think.
     SHOP:  I sho' ya cleer usin' MAYPO Buypays outta da
     Shap to th' No' Side o'th' Shiller Playnt, hol' an'
     notify Swiytchbeem.
     PINK:  (30 second pause)  What?
 
     It's not just Shop.  There are some Central Leads who
are a bit difficult to understand at first.  But, if you
know what he/she's going to say ahead of time, you'll be
able to repeat back the commands with no problem.  Just
listen to any veteran operator on the radio, and you'll see
how it's done.
 
     CENTRAL:  Monorail (Garbled) from (Garbled).
     BLUE:  Blue bye.
     CENTRAL:  I show you (Garbled) to use (Garbled) to
     (Garbled), hold (Garbled) (Garbled) (Garbled).
     BLUE:  10-4, MAPO Override to pylon 34, will hold and
     notify Monorail Central.  Blue clear.
 
     That's why it's important to study your radio codes and
scripts.  If you memorize them, then you won't have a cow
trying to talk on the radio and drive your train at the same
time.
     In all seriousness, if you have a problem repeating
back a command, just ask them to 10-9.  They know you're in
training, and won't get it perfect!  A lot of trainees get
all flustered on the radio, that's perfectly understandable,
and acceptable.  What isn't acceptable, (at least to me), is
keying your radio to talk back to them, messing up, and
continuing to hold down the radio button!  All this does is
make you sound unprofessional, make me look like an idiot,
and give Central Leads funny stories to tell each other at
their parties.
     An example:
 
     CENTRAL:  Black from Central.
     BLACK:  Black bye.
     CENTRAL:  You're clear in reverse, MAPO Bypass if nec-
     cessary to reach pylon 62, hold an notify Central.
     BLACK:  10-4. . . clear MAPO. . .uh, necessary to. . .
     in, uh, reverse. . . what did he say?  Huh?  Why are
     you giving me the 'cut off the flow' hand signal?
     What?  I didn't hear what he said!  How can anybody
     understand what he says?  All I heard was 'Black' and
     'MAPO' something.  Hey!  Why are you grabbing my ha-
     CENTRAL:  (Laughter)  Monorail Black, please have your
     trainer 10-45.
 
     See what problems that causes?  And don't think to
yourself that you won't do it.  You will!  Everybody does it
during training.  But with me, you will do it once.
     Now then, I don't want to give you the idea that
talking over the radio is going to be the worst experience
of your life.  Come on now!  There are a lot of things worse
than that.  Drinking Oven Cleaner comes to my mind.  But if
you practice, practice, practice, and know your radio codes
and scripts, you will find that talking over the radio is
easy.
 

--
  The 23:00 News and Mail Service - +1 206 292 9048 - Seattle, WA USA
                          PEP, V.32, V.42bis
                  +++ A Waffle Iron, Model 1.64 +++

From: halcyon!monorail@seattleu.edu
Date: 23 Sep 91 11:58:22 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Monorails: Some safety discussion/ranting

~From: cscon134@uoft02.utoledo.edu (John Heiden UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO)

>Well, according to my brother (who work at THE DISNEY-MGM STUDIOS),
>DISNEY plans to begin construction on a new monorail segment that extends
>to DISNEY-MGM sometime in 1992.  (Remember, this is what HE said.)

   Don't bet on it.  The rumor mill has been saying that ever since
the Studio got under construction.  It's not feasible.

   First, where would it go?  EPCOT?  Not likely.  The
configuration of the station would make it impossible to run a
rail near the loading side of the station for a "bridge" to let
people transfer from MGM's rail to EPCOT's rail.  The other option
is to take people from the unload side.  That would be a nightmare.
 Changing the load to unload side was shown (during rehab of the
load side platform in '89) to be SUPER-difficult, because the
loading side is completely different in construction, and has the
control console.

In any case the MGM park is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to EPCOT.
Buses are cheaper and in this situation just as fast.  TTC?  This
would be crazy.  The beam from MGM to TTC would run right alongside
the EPCOT beam and that seems damn redundant.


>Well, when I asked this question, I was told that the monorail runs
>on precisely 13,800 volts.  (Sorry to be so picky.)

   Hey, I don't know everything.  I'm not in maintenence, I just
keep my ears and eyes open.  I like to know what I'm doing.


>Well, one other fact I found to being interesting...  The monorail trains
>run on either EXACTLY or PRECISELY 100 wheels each.

   That's not true of the 4s or the 6s.

   The trains have 136 side tires and 12 load tires.  Side tires
are those little tires that run along the side of the beam.  Load
tires are between the cars.

  A load tire sits inbetween cars like this...

             (side veiw)
__________________________    ___________________
                   /      ||||      \
                  /       ||||       \
                 /        ||||        \
  cabin area    /   OO    ||||    OO   \     cabin area
               /  OOOOOO  ||||  OOOOOO  \
              /  OOtireOO |||| OOtireOO  \
_____________/    OOOOOO  ||||  OOOOOO    \_______
                    OO            OO
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||CONCRETE BEAMWAY||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||


  A side tire runs along the side like this:

    (REAL simple drawing)
        ______________________
       /                      \
      |                        |
      |                        |
      |                        |
      |       front view       |
      |                        |
      |                        |
      |                        |
      |________________________|  __cabin floor level
      |                        |
      |   ______||||||______   |
      |  |_tire_||||||_tire_|  |
       \_______ |||||| _______/
                |beam|

    If you go somewhere where the train passes over you, you can
look up and see the side tires under the train.


>I have one question now.  How does each Mark VI cost?

    Between 6 and 9 million depending whether you include certain
aspects, (refitting powers systems, post delivery mods, etc.).


>About a week ago, I got stuck on a Mark IV for about 30 minutes.  It appeared
>to be the only Mark IV in operation at that time.  After being on it for
>that long, I MUCH prefer the VI's.  (Bu then, my experience on that day
>was already a rather unpleasant experience.  Perhaps I should write about
>that day.  Boy am I mad!)

   Those trains are twenty years old, but given the choice, I'd
rather be stuck on a Mk.4.  The 4 has openable windows instead of
the "ventilation openings" of the Mk.6.  Those "vents" are one inch
wide and abou four feet long, 2 of them located at each end of a
car that's supposed to hold *65* passengers, most of them standing.
It's cramped, and it gets hot dangerously fast, especially in the
cars located next to resistor banks.

   If you'd been on a 6 you'd have been STANDING for that time.

   The 4 also has a MUCH better chance of being troubleshootable by
the driver, and thus getting moving faster.  Also it might not have
been your train that was broken.  I might infer from your
dissatisfaction with the wait that the AC units were probably off.
In that case power was off and the train style makes no difference.
If you wrote me with more data I might be able to say more
accurately what might have happened.

    And remember THIS tidbit.  My roommate trained the last Mk.4
pilot to be checked out.  This means that anyone in control of a 4
is a pilot with AT LEAST 2 years experience on the system, AND is
someone who could handle the MUCH more difficult (IMHO) Mk.4
training.  ("Mk.6 onlys" will say that this isn't true, but they're
talking from conjecture, not experience...)

   Also remember that we have 12 mark 6 trains.  We only usually
run 3 on EPCOT and Exterior (MK express) - 4 at peak,  and 4 on
Lagoon (resort).  This means we only need 9 trains to operate.
The fact that the Mk.4 was out means that THREE Mk.6s were
inoperable at that time.  We only had 11 Mk.4s.  If 3 went down the
system was screwed.  This almost never happened.  I've seen three
Mk 6s die AT THE SAME MOMENT of different ailments.

   Three time during the Test and Adjust phase the 6s were declared
too unsafe for further operation, and we had to use the 4s
exclusively.  This became a problem when they started to take the
4s off the beam to make room for 6s.  When the 6s would get
grounded we'd have only 9 Mk.4s TOTAL, but we got by.  We used to
joke about what was gonna happen when they found such a problem
after we didn't have enough Mk.4s to run with out the 6s.

   The answer?  Run the 6s anyway.  I saw more fires on Mk. 6s in
the 2 years that I drove them than anyone could remember EVER
happening on the 4s.  Hydraulics don't catch on fire, electrical
relays do.  And on top of this, the rear cab operator was
eliminated "because the Allison heat detection system can detect
any fires in the train."

   The Allison only covers the wheelwells of the train.  If a car
were burning the Allison would never know till it burned through
the wall to the wheelwell.  On top of this if there's a fire, the
driver cannot possibly evecuate all the passengers to the roof of
the train (YES, that's the procedure) by himself.  Truthfully you'd
be pressed to do it with two people, but for one it's not possible.

   I had over a hundred Allison alarms in my time, only ONE was
real.  On the flip side I saw a train come in (during testing) with
it's ALLISON heat detector ON FIRE and not going off...

   I sound pretty cynical don't I?  Well I'm not saying that the
Trains are deathboxes or anything.  But In my opinion it's only a
matter of time before there's a serious accident, probably a fire.
A Mk.4 could drive in flames, but the Mk.6s electronics would
overheat and die, leaving the train stranded.  This might sound
silly, but when we got the trains we had a lot of trouble with the
electronic door controls everytime it rained.  Turned out the
boards weren't covered from rain.  They just got soaked if it
rained.   AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRG!

   Maybe when they have to get Mk.7s (in a few years, since these
will NEVER last 20 like the 4s did) they'll do it "in house"
instead of by the lowest bidder, and they'll ask the drivers how
it should be...


                                          Monorail Green

                                            aka B-Man

--
  The 23:00 News and Mail Service - +1 206 292 9048 - Seattle, WA USA
                          PEP, V.32, V.42bis
                  +++ A Waffle Iron, Model 1.64 +++

From: halcyon!monorail@seattleu.edu
Date: 24 Sep 91 15:33:22 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Monorails: Yet more discussion


sumax!gte.com!krs0 (Rod Stephens) asked:

>What is the complete evacuation procedure for when a monorail is going
>up in flames? You mentioned that you move the passengers onto the
>roof, but then what?

   The truth?  You're supposed to take a rope from the cabinet
under the driver's seat, attatch it to a clip on top of the train
near the nose.  Repel down the windscreen to the beamway.  Attatch
the other end of the rope to a clip near the headlight. The
passengers are supposed to follow you down the windshield and walk
down the beam to a station.

   They don't figure you'll be wanting to save any handicapped
guests, I guess.  In fact, for $5.25 an hour, most pilots
probably wouldn't get out on the roof anyway and have said so.  I
would because I'm me, not because of any S.O.P..  The whole thing
is nuts considering that a full car's load of people couldn't get
on the roof all at once anyway (not enough space/handholds).


>
>Can the trains be separated easily? Like can you break the train and
>leave the burning car(s) behind?

   Nope.  The trains are assembled as one unit.

   I should clairify that.  Monorails come in 1 car portions on
the back of a flatbed truck.  They are assembled onto the beam
with a crane, not to be separated until they're dismounted for
scrap.  One Mk.6 got misassembled (they reversed cars 3 & 4) and
had to be taken down and switched before it could run...

   A monorail isn't
like a normal train in that it has an engine and the rest of it is
dead weight.  A monorail train has 8 motors in it, 113 horsepower
each in the new trains, 100 HP each in the mk.4s, spaced through
the train.  The resistors and other components aren't set up in a
fashion of "one per car" either.  You can no more split a monorail
than a bus, but maintenence HAS tried...


  WARNING!  MONORAIL WAR STORY TO FOLLOW!!

   When Adrian Scott was new to the department and going through
drive training, he was assigned one morning to bring monorail
orange out of shop.  He and his trainer were getting the train
though switch #3, south of shop, but Adrian was taking a REAL
long time because he was a trainee.  Book procedure calls for a
train to notify shop by radio when he's clear of switch #3, since
shop can't really see there. Shop then knows that its OK to move
the switch for the next train.

   Well, since most of the opening crew are vets, we never much
bothered with extra radio traffic and got pretty loose on this
point.  Shop would hear us notify switch #2 of our position and
know that we'd gotten clear of #3, so why bother?

   Adrian was two cars over #3 when shop decided that it had been
SOOO long that he HAD to be clear of #3.  They just must not have
heard the call to #2.

   Adrian's train started to shake.  It made a funny noise that
made his trainer say "What the #@*%! is that!".  Cars 3-6 started
moving sideways in his mirror.

   After a judicious amount of Adrian screaming into the radio,
shop turned the switch motors off and went to see what happened.
The train wasn't torn in half, so they OKed it to continue on out
and we ran it that whole day.  We just kept waiting for it to
"liberate" cars 1 & 2...

                                       Monorail Green

--
  The 23:00 News and Mail Service - +1 206 292 9048 - Seattle, WA USA
                          PEP, V.32, V.42bis
                  +++ A Waffle Iron, Model 1.64 +++

