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| Monorail mania; Just a plan for now | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 4 2009, 12:10 PM (119 Views) | |
| Chuck Doan | Nov 4 2009, 12:10 PM Post #1 |
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Senior Member
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Rather than hijacking Ken's stacker thread, I thought I’d post a few pics of my latest hobby time spender. I like tractors and trains, so what could be better than a tractor locomotive? I still have a 1/16th scale Fordson die cast, so I have been looking for a suitable project. There were hundreds of Fordson loco conversions out there, but the most interesting one I have found so far was a mining monorail that ran in Death Valley in the 1920’s. Several of the locomotives used Fordson tractors, so I am in business. So far I have just done a 3D solid model using Solidworks. If I build it, I will also do a section of the wooden track that will sit on a base with scenery. The ad nauseum photo album is here. There are some links to the history under the first pic. http://public.fotki.com/ChuckDoan/model_projects/death-valley-monorail/       The first pics show a construction “work truck” unit. Once they started hauling bags of Epsom salts, they added some outriggers to help support the loads. The boxes on the ends were for sand to apply to the rails for traction, like regular railroads use:  Edited by Chuck Doan, Nov 4 2009, 12:16 PM.
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| Marken | Nov 4 2009, 01:27 PM Post #2 |
Senior Member
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Interesting project Chuck. Just curious as to why they only used a one rail set-up and what's the purpose of the steering wheel? |
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| khamilton | Nov 4 2009, 01:39 PM Post #3 |
Diorama Moderator
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Thanks for jumping in to enlighten us, Chuck. Beautiful drawings, too. If I were an unscrupulous modeler, I'd be real tempted to steal them and build this thing myself..........  Ken: I suspect the steering wheel is just a hold-over from the donor tractor. It's not like this thing can change direction or anything. |
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| Chuck Doan | Nov 4 2009, 01:45 PM Post #4 |
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Senior Member
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They decided on a monorial design because of the canyons they had to go through. Like Ken said, the steering wheel was left over, and they eventually dissapeared. Anyone can build away, Ken! I don't know if I will ever do it myself. If there was a Fordson in 1/2" scale I would do it for sure. Edited by Chuck Doan, Nov 4 2009, 01:46 PM.
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| DaveInTheHat | Nov 4 2009, 02:52 PM Post #5 |
Advanced Member In The Hat
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I can't imagine riding a two wheeled tractor on a rail through a canyon. I'd need a steering wheel to hang on to just so I could see how white my knuckles get. This would be a really interesting build to watch. I hope you decided to build it and post lots of pictures for us. |
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| khamilton | Nov 4 2009, 04:05 PM Post #6 |
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Diorama Moderator
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The closest thing I've ever seen in plastic is the I-H kit that I used for the old Critter, but there must be something else that would be suitable.... If ever there was a model screaming to be built, that Monorail is IT! |
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| dptydawg | Nov 4 2009, 05:39 PM Post #7 |
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Member
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Hi Chuck Like Ken says the selection of tractors in 1/25th scale is very limited. other than the JD, IH and MF that Ertl did way back when there is nothing else that I know of. There are a few diecast dozers in this scale also. If you are looking for something to do with your tractor Chuck, how about this   This is the only Fordson full track dozer that I've ever seen. Thanks Carl |
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| Hollywood Jim | Nov 4 2009, 05:57 PM Post #8 |
Bronze Medal Member
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Oh wow.!!! Great project idea.!! I love wood and steel, grease and dirt.!! |
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| DamnCranky666 | Nov 4 2009, 06:33 PM Post #9 |
Admin--Chief Crank
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That's the combination, Jim. I agree. I love those elements together too! |
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| Chuck Doan | Nov 4 2009, 07:27 PM Post #10 |
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Senior Member
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Thanks for those, Carl! That kind of thing would be great too. I could find a use for a bunch of those tractors. I have a lot of ideas for a freelanced monorail model, but I was hoping to try some prototype modelling for once. We'll see. |
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| chester | Nov 4 2009, 09:22 PM Post #11 |
Bronze Medal Member
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I wonder if old Henry Ford had anything like this in mind when he came up with his tractor. An unusual project Chuck, but then coming from you....... Fantastic drawings by the way. |
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| Lou | Nov 4 2009, 11:31 PM Post #12 |
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Bronze Medal Member
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Great drawings Chuck. It appears that solidworks is the defacto drawing program for non architectural depictions. What kind of machine are you using to use solidworks? Don't they also make a more sophisticated rendering program for solidworks, or am I thinking of another program they use at Art Center School? |
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| Chuck Doan | Nov 5 2009, 11:05 AM Post #13 |
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Senior Member
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I use a fairly small box with Dell written on it. That's about as much as I know. There is a whole other world out there when it comes to rendering. As a custom machine designer I usually have to wham and cram the designs and get the drawings down to the shop. So not much call for photo realistic renderings. Solidworks has a new thing out that I plan to try. The last version crashed a lot, and when I called Solidworks support, I found I usually knew more than they did which is very bad. |
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