Mark IV monorail
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.
With attendance skyrocketing in the mid-70s, Disney increased capacity and by late 1978 some trains were expanded to six cars.
The Mark IV monorails were reliable workhorses with a 99.985% operational readiness and a low cost of $0.06 per passenger mile (PPM).
The door included an opposite hinged side that allowed the passenger to remain in their chair while boarding.
Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between red and amber at a distance, the Mark VI trains added a third color of green.
Cast Members would stand next to the train as it entered and the driver would hold up fingers to indicate how many cars in which there were guests.
When Express trains stopped to embark Contemporary guests, clearances were handled by radio dispatch.
Entrance to the Contemporary was only allowed upon receipt of radio clearance due to the inability of pilots to see other trains in the station.
This allowed for a rotation of units, have trains available in case of a breakdown, or to perform maintenance which took longer than overnight.
If the Magic Kingdom was especially busy a train would be taken from resorts or Epcot to give the parking lot a five-train operation.
Drivers announced by radio when they had reached designated support pylons at various parts in the switching process.
Trains would line up with one at the south side of the switch on the Epcot line (right where the beam turns south after leaving TTC); another train would leave the Epcot Center station and travel opposite of normal direction and hold at that plaza for the Magic Kingdom parking lot (making notification after crossing the bridge over the highway to the Epcot main entrance).
Trains would change direction and operate counter clockwise going down the hill from the Contemporary and through the switch between the Contemporary and Magic Kingdom, switch ends in the Magic Kingdom or TTC and line up in the same manner as express and Epcot trains had done earlier.
To allow sufficient downtime, for cleaning and maintenance typically these were the trains which had run Express or Epcot Center the day before.
During special events such as Grad Nite or Night of Joy, monorail operations might be temporarily suspended.
The Magic Kingdom as well as the Transportation and Ticket Center stations were originally built to accommodate longer trains.
When Red was expanded, Silver was remodeled following the fire of June 26, 1985, and Lime and Coral were launched—all six cars were adorned in blue interiors.
To keep operations consistent, when the sixth car was added, the additional car was designated car "3A" (rather than 4 making the back end Car/Cab 6); that way pilot operations from the rear cab retained the "Cab 5" designation for all trains regardless of size (this practice continued until the Mark VI trains had fully replaced the Mark IVs at which time reverse motion was conducted as "Cab 6 Operation").
By expanding the trains to 6-cars, there was an added benefit—their weight increased which helped to reduce speed on the Epcot Center mainline.
The 5-car trains were proven to easily exceed speed limits as they were some 22,500 pounds lighter than their 6-car sisters.
Additionally, until the late 1980s when the Mark VI was introduced, the Resort Line was limited to 5-car trains.
The stations at the Contemporary Resort and Polynesian Village were too short to accommodate a 201-foot 6-car train and had to be extended before the launch of the Mark VI.
At that time, operation was primarily by visual clearance; there was no train protection system to separate vehicles.
The driver of Blue was injured in the collision but recovered and transferred to the Watercraft Department after being cited at fault for the accident.
[8] On June 26, 1985, a fire engulfed the rear car of the six-car Mark IV Silver monorail train in transit from the Epcot station to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
[10] It is widely believed two of the passengers were off-duty fire rescue men contributing to the safe evacuation and no loss of life [citation needed].
Immediately following the incident, pilots began riding in the inoperative cab to help monitor train status.
In 2004, Lime and Coral (now the MGM and Bally) were replaced by fully automated Bombardier MVI 4-car trains.
[12] It was later sold again on eBay[13] and was on display at Mouse Surplus in Kissimmee, Florida until that business closed.
Separately the rear cab pilot's chair and operating console from Monorail Red were sold on eBay.
