[gurps] [VEHICLE] of the week 734 -- Mag-Lev Maintenance Car

[Onno Meyer]

> Onno Meyer wrote:
> > 
> > Mag-Lev Maintenance Car v1.0 (TL10)
> >  Copyright 2008 by Onno Meyer
> > 
> >  This specialized car is used to maintain magnetic levitation rails
> > on worlds with little or no atmosphere. The Maintenance Car carries
> > a work party, a supply of spare parts, and a workshop for on-site
> > repairs. One airlock leads to the monorail track, the other has a
> > telescoping ladder to get down to the ground (where the track is
> > elevated on pylons). The car is designed to return at the end of
> > each shift, so there are no living quarters.
> >  The mag-lev car might fit into Traveller games where contragrav is
> > less effective (or more expensive) than described by GURPS
> > Traveller.  
> > 
> > Subassemblies: Body +5.
> > Powertrain: 48,000-lb. mag-lev lifter; 500-kW contact power;
> >  360,000-kWs rechargeable power cell.
> 
> I think this car needs a secondary motive system as well.  Because
> sometimes the problem with the Mag-Lev track will be on the opposite
> side of a non-trivial section of dead track.  So add a set of
> retractable wheels and powertrain, and possibly a larger rechargeable
> power cell.
> 
> - --
> Troy Guffey

When I think mag-lev, I think Transrapid ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transrapid

The carriage encloses the monorail track. Dismounting one in the field 
would be a major engineering project. That means at best it could use 
wheels to travel over the damaged track, and the track isn't designed
for this kind of load. 

Onno