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I've seen some pretty impressive LEGO tire driven/cushioned monorail displays that put miles of wear on the track and the train cars that ride on it.

I'm hoping a monorail expert can tell me (about) how many hours of travel do you get out of the rubber monorail train wheels before you have to replace them?

Do you have to use something to clean the tire marks off the track, or does it wipe away?

monorail

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    Are you talking about brick-built monorails, or the official LEGO monorail? – Nick2253 Sep 18 '12 at 22:00
  • I'm asking about LEGO element monorails :) – Major Stackings Sep 18 '12 at 22:25
  • As far as the official LEGO monorails go, I don't think I've ever worried about replacing the tires because of wear. The load on the tires is really low (LEGO bricks don't weigh that much, after all). The bigger problem is age. LEGO's rubber doesn't age that well (I find), so depending on how you care for them, you may have to replace them once every few years. Other people may have different experiences. – Nick2253 Sep 18 '12 at 22:31
  • @Nick2253 That sounds like the makings of an answer. I'm planning on asking this question at the Brickcon convention next month. The monorail guys put a lot of miles on their models. – Major Stackings Sep 18 '12 at 22:36

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I went to Brickcon 2012. I asked Joe Meno about his red Monorail and he was most helpful. He flipped it over to expose the undercarridge and he was able to show me LEGO tires with fifteen hours of running time. The tread does indeed wear off and the tires actualy begin to split. The rubber doesn't cling to the rails themselves, but residue does begin to accumulate below the tracks. The ease of clearing the area of the tire debrie all depends on what you have built below the track. It can be blown clear, or wiped away. Tires These two sizes of tires were used to run Joes train. worn out ...The tread on the driven tire is beginning to wear down. split ...and you can see the non-powered wheel has begun to separate.

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    But you were asking about real monorail parts originally, right? That said, GBC modules which use fast-spinning wheels & tires to propel balls are also subject to tyre disintegration, very similar to what your pictures show. – Joubarc Oct 08 '12 at 11:21
  • Actually, I was asking about rubber wheeled LEGO monorails in general. – Major Stackings Oct 08 '12 at 15:18