Aminated People at Station - Similar to Magnorail

Great post and video! Thanks for documenting everything. It's a very cool animation - kinda reminds me of how the K-line operating shanty works.

The operating bicycles from some of the European brands are neat. I wonder if you could adapt an Arttista bicycle for a similar look. Maybe the old-time style one with the large wheel?

One of my ideas for this animation was to have an "entrance" and "exit" on the platform.  Here is a photo and video of the prototype.  I can't decide whether it adds or detracts.

For future moving people, cars, etc, I might use a smaller chain (#25) or possibly a small timing belt.  The disadvantage of the timing belt is that the magnets have to be glued to the side and not the top edge. This means that only internal sprockets and pulleys can be used, limiting the routing options.  Has anyone else done this?

I probably can adapt a Peco O scale bicycle for an animation.  They are very reasonably priced.   Alex W's suggestion for an old time bicycle is a good one, it might be easier to get the large wheel to rotate than a smaller one.

@Mr Fixit posted:

One of my ideas for this animation was to have an "entrance" and "exit" on the platform.  Here is a photo and video of the prototype.  I can't decide whether it adds or detracts.

Nice work, and great idea!

My 2 cents, FWIW: I think the effect might be better if the box was moved to a corner, so that people were entering the box on the  side facing the track (as though exiting the station), and reappearing from an opening at the other end perpendicular to the track (as if entering), possibly extending the box so that both entrance and exit face the track (You might add a cutout in the middle to briefly show the people moving 'in' the station.).

Placing a guard rail in between those 'entering' and 'exiting' might further would enhance the realism IMHO, as might reducing the number of pedestrians somewhat, and/or separating them into several 'clumps'. You could also add some of the available station porter figures and carts, to simulate a passenger luggage operation.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Here is a mockup of what you suggested (I hope).

I definitely  need porters and carts.   As mentioned at the beginning, I am going to make something similar to JohnnieWalker's wonderful standard gauge glass top station Standard Gauge Station

It may be that the whole idea of the boxed sections would not work with the rest of the station, but possibly somewhere else on the layout.  I liked Johnnie''s  finished pictures with the people sitting around.  I could add seated figures in the middle with the others walking around them.  I will not be using erector set pieces.  I am planning to create a nice design using steel rods that I can weld together.  If I had a 3D printer (and the knowledge to use it), I might just print out the supports.

@Mr Fixit posted:

Here is a mockup of what you suggested (I hope).

Yep, I think you got it in one!

I'd really need to see it in motion to confirm the effect, but the whole idea would be to break up the uniform motion into somewhat realistic and explainable bits, rather than just show an endless cycle. Rather than an uninterrupted (well, except for the box!) circle, I believe the people now would seem to be flowing onto and off of the platform in a more explainable pattern, and clumping them in groups might further reduce the "cattle call" appearance. To provide further visual separation of the people in the middle of the box from the platform, you might put up some kind of lattice or 'glass' over the opening and provide sort of decorating on inside (ticket windows? luggage rack? newsstand?).

Oh, and one last "brilliant thought" -- you'd probably want to make the box structure easily removable, to make retrieving the inevitable wayward traveler(s) easier! Again, good luck!

O.K., I woke up this morning with a further twist: if you can add a few more pulleys (three or four, to be exact), you might want to consider a "W" configuration, with *two* V-shaped legs between the train side of the platform and the station box (four separate entrances/exits), with a cutout between them, showing passengers moving in *both* directions at the same time, perhaps behind a window grille. If you space it right, I think you can realistically simulate loading/unloading two passenger cars (or at least both ends of one) at the same time, concealing the direction change behind the passenger car(s), and I like the idea of passengers being shown moving both ways behind the window. Here's a rough sketch:

I know you were worrying about the capacity of the current motor, so my suggestion to add the extra hardware will certainly do nothing to help, but I think the extra 'people motion' produced might be worth it. Again, good luck!

[Sorry, don't mean to hijack your project, but once the "design" portion of my brain jumps into action, it's Katie bar the door! ]

Thanks for the suggestion!  My thoughts for now are to leave it as-is and add seated people in the center.   I may use something similar to your idea on the other side of the train where I have the brick wall.  The passengers could disappear behind the wall for a time.

@Mr Fixit posted:

Thanks for the suggestion!  My thoughts for now are to leave it as-is and add seated people in the center.   I may use something similar to your idea on the other side of the train where I have the brick wall.  The passengers could disappear behind the wall for a time.

That sounds like a plan! Good luck!

I've just found that, with animation, the effect is almost always greatly enhanced when you can't clearly see what's really happening, and by visually breaking up the animation, or doubling back the direction of that action (as in the center of the station), I think you'll get a lot greater "bang for your buck"! 

@Mr Fixit- What a great idea. I agree that some visual breaks and more grouping of the moving people mixed with the static display would look better. Along the lines of Steve's idea to add turns to break up the straight run, how about adding an idler pulley to either move the chain in toward the middle of the platform or out toward the edge?
Additional realism could be done by placing something such as a bench, luggage cart, or garbage pail, for the people to go around.

Bob

This is just Awesome, thanks for sharing!  As far as the groupings of people, what you have reminds me of real operation in Grand Central, where they hold a line of people upstairs then let them filter down one by one to the train once it arrives.
And then train unloading is a single line up the stairs back into the station

If you really wanted to get tricky, you could trigger the people motion based on a passenger car arriving in the station using a photoeye or switch to detect the car.

@EmpireBuilderDave posted:

This is just Awesome, thanks for sharing!  As far as the groupings of people, what you have reminds me of real operation in Grand Central, where they hold a line of people upstairs then let them filter down one by one to the train once it arrives.
And then train unloading is a single line up the stairs back into the station

If you really wanted to get tricky, you could trigger the people motion based on a passenger car arriving in the station using a photoeye or switch to detect the car.

I have done that with other accessories and people - works well along with manual control.  I will have to figure out how big my station will be before modifying or adding more animations in this area.  It is easy to change the grouping, I just move the magnets that sit on top of the chain.

"I've just found that, with animation, the effect is almost always greatly enhanced when you can't clearly see what's really happening,"

Thanks for that bit of wisdom Steve, the proverbial light bulb over the head came on when I read that.  I am always thinking about how to add additional interest on my layout.  Anything is possible with the advent of inexpensive microprocessors, servo motors, gearboxes and strong magnets.  Here are some of the other areas that may eventually have animated people.  I prefer simple back and forth or circular movement due to the simplicity of the mechanism.