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The Mark IV monorail is a design model of straddle-type monorail trains. The design was developed by legendary Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr. Ten trains were built by Martin Marietta in 1969 at the cost of about $6 million USD each and they were used on the Walt Disney World Monorail System between 1971 and 1989 before they were replaced by the Mark VI monorail,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bigfloridacountry.com/monorail.htm )〕 although a few lasted until 1991. Sometime between 1991 and 1994 Monorail Coral and Lime (which had been introduced new in 1984) were sold for $3.5 million each, refurbished, and used to begin the Las Vegas Monorail operations. In 2004 Lime and Coral (now the MGM and Bally) were replaced by fully automated Bombardier MVI 4-car trains.〔 As Walt Disney Productions began to finalize its plans for Disney World in Florida it was decided that monorails would be used as a primary means of transportation for this new “Vacation Kingdom." While the monorail system would not be as extensive as Walt Disney's original plans for the Florida site, it would still be the primary mode for transporting guests throughout the resort. Walt Disney envisioned that the monorail would be the transportation system of the future. To preserve the aesthetics of the resort and to separate the theme park from the outside world the parking facilities for the Magic Kingdom were built nearly a mile across the 200–acre Seven Seas Lagoon creating one of the world’s largest park and ride operations. This would be the first Disney monorail system that had a real transportation purpose. It was no longer a ride in the park but a necessary element to the resorts continued operation. Disney put its nearly 10 years of experience with the Alweg–designed monorails of Disneyland to good use and began the process of creating the monorail system. Inspired by the look of the popular Lear jets Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr〔 designed the new Mark IV trains. The Mark IV trains were manufactured by Martin Marietta in Orlando, Florida with 10 trains originally being built. When two additional trains were needed in the mid-1980s as attendance increased, Disney turned Walt Disney Imagineering to build the additional units. The trains originally consisted of five cars (all of Mark VI trains were introduced as 6-car units). With attendance skyrocketing in the mid-70s, Disney sought to increase capacity and by late 1978 some trains were expanded to six car trains. Expansion of the trains continued through the mid-1980s. The Mark IV monorails distinguished themselves as reliable workhorses with a 99.985% operational readiness and a low cost of $0.06 per passenger mile (PPM). When the Mark IV monorails were retired, most of the trains were scrapped. Monorail Red's first car was sold online to Chip Young of Georgia.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/CPMarkIV.html )〕 It was later sold again on eBay and is now on display at Mouse Surplus in Kissimmee, Florida. Separately the rear cap pilot's chair and operating console from Monorail Red were sold on eBay. As noted above, Lime and Coral were sold to the Las Vegas Monorail operation to be used as their initial trains. ==Design== The Mark IV monorails were the first of the "Learjet" styled monorails used by Disney (long, sleek white trains with mid-level windows). The design was also used for the Mark V (Disneyland), Mark VI (WDW) and inspired the look of other systems such as the Las Vegas Monorail as well as systems in Asia. Each car featured brown interiors (seat material and carpet) with four double sided and two single (at the front and rear) bench seats which stretched the entire width of the car. The cars were accessed by doors which were automatically opened using a pneumatic system (a loud clunk would be heard and the doors would swing open at the press of a control button on the outside of the monorail near the driver door) and manually closed by a Cast Member who would walk from one end of the train to the other with his hand out, pushing the doors shut as he walked by). Unlike the current Mark VI trains in use at Disney World, Mark IV's were shorter, the cabins were somewhat narrower, and had no standing room capability. Although the trains were equipped with air conditioning and heating, to help with ventilation, each window could be cracked open with a latch. The pilot's compartments (cabs) were not heated. Passengers in wheel chairs were boarded in the middle door of the third car. The door included an opposite hinged side that allowed the passenger to remain in their chair while boarding. Guests in chairs were boarded using a metal ramp (the floor of the train was several inches higher than that of the station) and one bench seat folded up allowing the chair to be anchored securely for travel without inconvenience to the guest. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mark IV monorail」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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