Opening Day! First Images, first impressions
Page Four of Six
Pictures and commentary by Kim Pedersen (except where noted)

Las Vegas local, Karl Buiter, found this wonderful vantage point for us in the Venetian parking lot. In the distance you can see the Bally's S-curve and the Flamingo Hilton Station. The Borg train is arriving at the Harrah's/Imperial Palace Station. An elevated pedestrian walkway allows guests easy access to the system at several of the stations.


The longest no-station track is from Harrah's/Imperial Palace to the Convention Center, about two miles. Here we see the Nextel train after it has negotiated a tight over-ninety degree turn.



Koval Lane has a short stretch of monorail. The track carefully wraps around a convention center and hotel , who's owners fought the monorail tooth and nail. If you're in Vegas and happen to see gondoliers inside an Italian-looking resort, ask the employees and management where their monorail station is, snicker, snicker! "Eeesa notta funny, meataball!"


On opening day there was a lot of road work being done to Sands Avenue. I happen to think this will be one of the prettiest stretches of the monorail line when the road work is finished, because of the proximity of the very-green golf course of the Wynn Resort (formerly the Desert Inn). The massive Wynn Resort tower is seen here, due for completion in 2005.


One straddle bent helps the dual-tracked line move from Sands Avenue to the parking lot of the Chamber of Commerce.


On the Chamber grounds there is a mid-point switch. Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud of the builders, with all the clean-line cantilever structures.

Next >>>
Page One / Two / Three / Four / Five / Six

/ back to the Special Features Page