Stupid Guest Tricks

kurtisnelson wrote:Now you just need to throw those on a Google Map and we have the monorails study guide.

PS
I cheated, I don't know them all yet by memory, I have them written down :D:

It would be cool to put those on a map. Although we would have to guesstimate their locations since that you can't see the pylon #'s on Google Maps. Could add them to something like this:

Big Wallaby wrote:Don't remember, but the amperage is fairly low once cruising... about 200. I don't think we ever see wattage. When we're pushing out of a station for 40 (which is how we should ALWAYS leave a station, even if the limit is 20) we can actually go over the 600 volts, almost 700 volts at 2000 amps.

That's 27,000 Watts or about 18 hair driers. Pretty efficient!

Big Wallaby wrote:When we're pushing out of a station for 40 (which is how we should ALWAYS leave a station, even if the limit is 20) we can actually go over the 600 volts, almost 700 volts at 2000 amps.

Now the fun part of the power is the Dynamic Braking, which creates energy and puts it back into the bus bar.

Okay, terminology check here from someone with experience in electric and diesel-electric railway locomotives. In railroading:

"Dynamic Braking" is used for systems that put current from the motor/generator into a resistor grid; and

"Regenerative Braking" is used for systems that put current from the motor/generator back onto the power source.

It's my understanding that the monorails use Dynamic Braking, as they have resistor grids on the roof. Grids that get hot enough on the Mark VIs to blister the paint on the roof of the MK station before they modified it.

While Regenerative Braking would be a nice, green thing to do, are you sure the monorails actually do that?

Zazu wrote:Okay, terminology check here from someone with experience in electric and diesel-electric railway locomotives. In railroading:

"Dynamic Braking" is used for systems that put current from the motor/generator into a resistor grid; and

"Regenerative Braking" is used for systems that put current from the motor/generator back onto the power source.

It's my understanding that the monorails use Dynamic Braking, as they have resistor grids on the roof. Grids that get hot enough on the Mark VIs to blister the paint on the roof of the MK station before they modified it.

While Regenerative Braking would be a nice, green thing to do, are you sure the monorails actually do that?

According to the information I received...

The propulsion system is called the "Propulsion and Dynamic Braking (P/DB) System." There are two redundant P/DB systems per train, and either is capable of running the train. Each train consumes 138 KWH (kilowatt hours) per operating hour. This translates into a per-train mile of 10.78 KWH, or 0.13 KWH per passenger mile. Power is applied to the traction motors in steps to keep current consumption within the proper limits. Acceleration is 1 mph/s, deceleration is 0.44 mph/s.

Monorail_Red wrote:10-22, I think that I can answer my own question here...the train looks for the transmitters, not the sections of the beam divided by the holdpoints.

I had to get over that hurdle myself. By looking for the transmitters, it is seeing if the track is clear to the transmitter. For those who might not be quite as quick, three transmitters (GREEN MBS) equal (at least) two open sections of track, two transmitters equal one full section of track, and one transmitter means you could theoretically be looking at that next train from inches away and still have the transmitter between you.

Monorail_Red wrote:I will try to recite them here...

Exterior (from TTC):
BASE, 10, 17, 26, 34, 45, 53, 66, 73, MK, 91, 99, 108, 116, 125, 135, 145, 155

Lagoon (from TTC):
BASE, 152, 145, POLY, 129, 120, GF, 103, 95, 86, MK, 68, 55, 45, CO, 24, 15, 6

Epcot (from TTC):
CC, 5, 14, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 204, 210, Epcot, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 274, 285, 294, 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, 355, 365, 372, 379, 385

Hey BW, did I get them all?? :D:

Aye, that you did.

Monorail_Red wrote:PS
I cheated, I don't know them all yet by memory, I have them written down :D:

It would be cool to put those on a map. Although we would have to guesstimate their locations since that you can't see the pylon #'s on Google Maps. Could add them to something like this:

I know pretty well where most of the hold points are by visuals. I'll see what I can put together as far as a map... I don't have a whole lot of interest in doing Epcot line, except where the numbers don't end in 5, or where there is some special thing. On Epcot, the holdpoints are not necessarily where the transmitters are. If I get an Amber on Epcot in the straightaway I am stopping as soon as possible and not moving up to the next mark. But then, that would mean I see the next train ahead and I'm pretty much stopping at that point anyway.

I wish the paint job on Coral was as nice as on the picture above.

hobie16 wrote:That's 27,000 Watts or about 18 hair driers. Pretty efficient!

I'm going to have to look that up again. It sounds too low. I would be willing to believe 70 hair driers, but 18 is too low.

Zazu wrote:While Regenerative Braking would be a nice, green thing to do, are you sure the monorails actually do that?

Okay, I am now going to have to ask a tech. I was told that it put power back on the Bus bar, and I would hate to be watching ALL that energy expelled as heat, but maybe it's not regenerative. I would like it to be.

Big Wallaby wrote:I had to get over that hurdle myself. By looking for the transmitters, it is seeing if the track is clear to the transmitter. For those who might not be quite as quick, three transmitters (GREEN MBS) equal (at least) two open sections of track, two transmitters equal one full section of track, and one transmitter means you could theoretically be looking at that next train from inches away and still have the transmitter between you.

Are these orange things said transmitters? I always see them at a holdpoint and a station. & From the POLY, if you're walking out of the lobby on the 1st level under the monorail platform, you can look up at the beam and see three of these within inches of each other?

Big Wallaby wrote:Okay, I am now going to have to ask a tech. I was told that it put power back on the Bus bar, and I would hate to be watching ALL that energy expelled as heat, but maybe it's not regenerative. I would like it to be.

I don't think that it's regenerative. Too bad something else couldn't be done with that energy other than burning it off. Anybody ever notice the burn marks in the Contemporary on the low ceiling where the resort trains stop?

Big Wallaby wrote:Okay, I am now going to have to ask a tech. I was told that it put power back on the Bus bar, and I would hate to be watching ALL that energy expelled as heat, but maybe it's not regenerative. I would like it to be.

Every where I read say it WAS regenerative. It was yor quote in the PM that made me update my site to Dynamic.

a quote from http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/TPDispr.html

The Mark VI trains have eight 100hp, 600-volt DC electric motors. These motors also act as brakes by turning the motors into generators and dissipating the power into resistor banks between each car. This is called regenerative braking.

PapaMouse wrote:Every where I read say it WAS regenerative. It was yor quote in the PM that made me update my site to Dynamic.

a quote from http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/TPDispr.html

It is regenerative but the question where does the power go...it looks like that it's just burned up in the resistors rather than being put back into the BUSS BAR.

I love all this technical stuff on the monorails. BTW, I'm able to sit at the computer long enough that I've resumed work on my Virtual WDW for the Trainz monorail -- I just finished modeling the MK station. (It helps also that we have a shiny new 20" widescreen LCD monitor!) I am trying to decide what to do next -- whether to build the TTC, the GF station, or just improve the landscaping.

So... while all this monorail info is flying around, will one of you please post the speed limits for the system??? Right now I just drive around at 40 MPH (or faster!) and brake as necessary, but it's not that realistic.

BRWombat wrote:I love all this technical stuff on the monorails. BTW, I'm able to sit at the computer long enough that I've resumed work on my Virtual WDW for the Trainz monorail -- I just finished modeling the MK station. (It helps also that we have a shiny new 20" widescreen LCD monitor!) I am trying to decide what to do next -- whether to build the TTC, the GF station, or just improve the landscaping.

So... while all this monorail info is flying around, will one of you please post the speed limits for the system??? Right now I just drive around at 40 MPH (or faster!) and brake as necessary, but it's not that realistic.

I can get the speed info for you once I get home later this afternoon. For the holdpoints, that is going to be hard to model because in Trainz it's a blocklight system, which works differently from the MAPO system. I will get that info for you as well.

From memory I can tell you that each station has a limit of 15MPH. 25MPH on express and 15MPH through the Contemporary. Again, I'll look up the exact info as well as the placement of the Speedboards and the Beamtop Visual Signals. :D:

I did some experimenting in Trainz to see how the AI trains would interact and I'll give you the info based on that so we can work with the Trainz defaults to make it as real as possible.