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Originally Posted by Dave Scheck
If I'm not mistaken, wouldn't the track need to be changed in two axes? It needs to move laterally to be positioned under a different radius, and it also needs to be raised/lowered to make smooth contact.
This reminds me a little of a roller coaster called 'X' at Magic Mountain. The cars move along a 2-railed track like a normal coaster, but there is a third rail between them that changes height. The wheel that rides on this track is attached to a rack and pinion system that causes the car to rotate forward and backward. It's a pretty wicked ride...
Anyways, I would imagine that the same could be done in the case of your wheels. You could have a third track that rotates the wheel assembly. I don't think this would be the greatest of ideas, but it would be an option nonetheless. |
X has two cam rails rather than one, but essentially, you've got it right. It also has been a technical nightmare to operate and maintain.
I don't believe that the rail height would need to change as Ken's described things. Instead, the height of the trainset above the ground would vary with the track guage.
Railroad trucks have flanges on the inside of each rail that keep the train going in the correct direction around curves and through turnouts, however. Without a flange immediately abutting the rail, it seems that the trainset Ken's describing might tend to be thrown from a curve by its centripetal force. I suppose you could always super-elevate the turns so there is no lateral force at all, but that may be a bit extreme for riders.