Thank Grog It’s Firday!!
It has really been “one of those weeks.” Ok…if I am honest, it has been “one of those months.” As part of my “real life business” I provide news servers for tons of broadcasters across the country. And the news…well…like I said...it’s been “one of those months.”
So…
I AM SOOOOOO HAPPY to get more monorail station(s). Not sure why I wrote it like that, as you can’t get more station. But you could get another station, or more stations. I guess I was just being lazy. But, I digress…
The fact is, as I have stated many times before, I think the monorail(s) is the single most exciting, best-ever, development in TSTO. OK. So I did it again. I don’t think you can have monorails…as mono implies a single rail. But can you have more than one monorail? Of course! And with the addition of the new station(s), it is time to make some serious monorail redesign(s) decision(s)!!
The primary monorail question is…
ONE HUGE Monorail loop? One even huge(r) monorail system that isn’t looped? Or how about many individual monorail systems within the your layout? It’s the kind of question(s) that can drive a train-nut like myself even nuttier!
This is much like some of the municipal projects we have in Eugene. It took them over a decade to decide on a plan for the “rapid transit bus line” in Eugene. It took them another decade to build it (gotta love main thoroughfares being gutted and diverted), and now that it is finished…hardly anyone rides it. Because it’s Eugene…and our “rush hour” lasts about 25 minutes. But, I digress…again…
Let’s take a look at the option(s)…
The first option is a complete closed loop. This is more of a traditional “model train set” loop, and is the way that the original Springfield monorail was laid out in “Marge -vs- The Monorail” (S4E12). As you can see from the original model being sold by Lyle Lanley, it was a simple loop. In reality, as we saw from the control tower, the loop was actually much more complex, even at 180 MPH while it was flying around out of control.
The primary advantage to this system, is that the train is optimized for size (as long a you are using enough track), and it will make a nice, gentle stop at every station on your layout. The disadvantage? It only runs one direction until you close the session…and it is a much shorter “round trip” run. The longest I have had a closed loop run, is a little more than 4 minutes.
Of course, “loop” is a pretty malleable term, as the track can run any number of directions, including through the tunnels to and from Springfield Heights, meandering any place the track can be placed (including beach property) and even across water (not the ocean).
But if you really want to maximize the run time(s) of your monorail(s), you can choose…
Option 2- Non-Loop-Open-Layout or NLOL for short.
The fun part of this, is that you can take your track anywhere you choose…and because you don’t have to worry about a plan that actually ends up tying all of the loose ends together into a closed loop, the train will go from point A to point Z, reverse, and go backward over the entire layout. This is actually more how real municipal monorails run. It is more efficient…and a route can service the same areas, both front and back, without someone having to run the entire rout to get from station to station.
The NLOL is my current layout option, and it means that running from station A to station Z and back again, can take as long as 9 minutes…round trip. Pretty cool.
It meanders through almost all of my layout…in some capacity or other. But it is still just ONE long stretch of track, which is different than those who chose…
OPTION 3- Multi-Service-Route or MSR, has been employed by a great number of my neighbors. I have seen some closed loops, running side-by-side with some short-line routes (one or two stations with train running back and forth), as well as some extensive NLOL layouts running in tandem, and then splitting off into different sectors of their Springfield(s) and Springfield Heights(s).
With the addition of the two latest station(s), I said two…because I didn’t have the Krusty Station before and bought them both…I am seriously considering a very large monorail(s) overhaul! It is time to shake things up…and nothing (except for Nuking a town) shakes things up more than jack-hammering your entire monorail system, and starting over from scratch. I know…with the news these days, “Nuking” is not exactly a popular term. But, the great thing about the Monorail…is that it is NEVER FINISHED, and offers new track (as well as bonus donuts) every week and is a GREAT diversion from real life Nuking threats in the news! Good luck on using all of that track…but I’m gonna give it a try!
HOW DO YOU LAY OUT YOUR MONORAIL(S)??? What do you do to make your layout unique and fun? We want to know!