Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Build Your Own Monorail

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the more-things-not-to-tell-your-life-insurance-company dept.

jpatokal writes "Building your own roller coaster may be fun, but how about something a little more practical -- like a monorail in your back yard? Kim Petersen designed his from scratch, building the elevated track from wood, scavenging the engine from a motorized walker and handcrafting the train from sheet metal. Total cost: $4000! See the photo tour and the construction history."

2 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. In case of emergency... er... slashdotting... by cscx · · Score: 4, Informative

    Click here!

  2. Other railroads nearby by Animats · · Score: 5, Informative
    It's appropriate that this is in Niles. It's the home of the Niles Canyon Railway, a full-scale hobby railroad.

    Also nearby is the Redwood Valley Railroad, which is in slightly larger scale than the monorail and runs half-scale steam trains. Redwood Valley has quite a layout, with a roundhouse, turntable, sidings, bridges, and tunnels.

    Niles was once the Western terminus of the first transcontinental railroad. So there's much railroad history there.