Mark VI monorail
Encyclopedia
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
train used in the Walt Disney World Monorail System
Walt Disney World Monorail System
The Walt Disney World Monorail System is a public transit system in operation at the Walt Disney World Resort.The Walt Disney World Resort currently operates twelve Mark VI monorail trains on three lines of service. The monorail system opened in 1971 with two routes and with Mark IV monorail trains...
and the Las Vegas Monorail
Las Vegas Monorail
The Las Vegas Monorail is a monorail mass transit system located on the Las Vegas Strip, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It connects the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester, and does not actually enter the City of Las Vegas. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas...
. The Mark VI started replacing the Mark IV monorail
Mark IV monorail
The Mark IV monorail is a design model of monorail trains. The design was developed by Bob Gurr. Ten were built by Martin Marietta in 1969 at the cost of about six million USD each and they were used on the Walt Disney World Monorail System between 1971 and 1989 before they were replaced by the...
s at Walt Disney World in 1989, replacing the final Mark IV by 1991. The Las Vegas M-VI versions of the trains differ from the Walt Disney World trains in both physical appearance and in that the trains are automated.
Train specifications
- The trains were built by BombardierBombardier TransportationBombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
of CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for a reported cost of over $3.5 million per train. - Each cab is 40 ft 5 in (12.3 m) long and each intermediate car is 28 ft 2 in (8.6 m) long. The 6-car trains in the Walt Disney World Monorail System total 203 ft 6 in (62 m) in length.
- Each car can hold 20 seated passengers and 40 standing passengers. If available (as with the Walt Disney World Monorail System), the cab can hold 4 seated passengers and one pilot. (The cab is actually capable of holding 6 seated passengers; however, the capacity is limited to 4 in the Walt Disney World Monorail System.)
Power
Each train has eight electric motors operating on 600 voltVolt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
s DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
to produce 100 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
(75 kW) each. The motors also serve as brakes via regenerative braking and send power to resistor
Resistor
A linear resistor is a linear, passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element.The current through a resistor is in direct proportion to the voltage across the resistor's terminals. Thus, the ratio of the voltage applied across a resistor's...
banks located between each car. Walt Disney World's trains have been fitted with a governor
Governor (device)
A governor, or speed limiter, is a device used to measure and regulate the speed of a machine, such as an engine. A classic example is the centrifugal governor, also known as the Watt or fly-ball governor, which uses a rotating assembly of weights mounted on arms to determine how fast the engine...
which limits their maximum speed to 55 MPH (89 km/h); however, Disney regulations permit only 40 MPH (64 km/h).
Suspension
Tire code
Automobile tires are described by an alphanumeric tire code or tyre code , which is generally molded into the sidewall of the tire. This code specifies the dimensions of the tire, and some of its key limitations, such as load-bearing ability, and maximum speed...
, and rides along the top of the beam and provides traction for the movement of the monorail. The guide tires are just that; they guide the monorail on the beam. They are filled with nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
to help reduce the chance of fire in the event of tire failure.