The Niles Monorail History
Page Six of Nine


It's time to build a train! Carol's father owned this Amigo walker and Erika, Carol's mom, donated it to the Niles Monorail project.


The only piece used from the walker was the motor, gearing and drive wheel.


The drive wheel and guide wheels are fixed, while all other wheels are on bogies that swivel for curves.


On December 3, 2000 we ran the car around the track for the first time under power. Obviously the car body wasn't complete at this point, but it was real exciting to see it run around the track by itself.


The very first power ride with a human onboard, no speed control either. This was the scariest of all rides. The seat was above the motor and that brought the center of gravity up too high. I just didn't ride it, I had to balance myself as well. It was like riding a mobile tight rope. I wasn't sure I could make it work right after this test, but I wasn't about to give up! I modified the car design with a lower seat and made some improvements to the track.

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