After a hard day's monorailing, Pedersen can relax in the hot tub. View Slideshow 
As a child, Kim Pedersen dreamed of building a monorail in his backyard, but his dad wouldn't let him.
Several decades later and now a homeowner, Pedersen has gotten his wish: The 52-year-old Californian is possibly the only person in the world with a working backyard monorail.
"A lot of kids get to build model trains in their basements, but I got to build a monorail in my backyard," he said.
The monorail took five years to construct at a cost of about $4,000.
Standing 8 feet tall at its highest point, the curved track runs about 300 feet around the perimeter of Pedersen's backyard in Fremont, California.
Riding on the monorail is "a little bit unnerving, especially at the high point," he said. "It's 8 feet up and you're looking down on concrete."
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Explore the monorail) in 360-degree QuickTime VR.
The two-car train is powered by a pair of 12-volt motorcycle batteries and an electric motor taken from a scooter. The rails are made of plywood.
Pedersen first made sketches for his homemade monorail when he was in high school in 1969.
Several years ago, he and his wife, Carol, went shopping for a house. While his wife scouted interiors, Pedersen paid more attention to the monorail possibilities of the backyard.
After buying a suitable property, Pedersen said he had to negotiate "permission" with Carol to build his train.
"She wanted a dog, I wanted a monorail," he said. "I think I get the better end of the deal because I really like the dog."
"He talked about it for years but I just ignored him because nothing happened," said Carol. "Then it was, 'Oh my God, he's really going to do it.'"
Carol said she's learned to live with the elevated train. "I wasn't quite happy," she said. But now, "it's not that noticeable. I guess I'm used to it. I don't think about it if I go out there."
Pedersen is founder and president of the Monorail Society, a grass-roots promotional organization with 3,400 members.
He credits the society with influencing Seattle's plan to build a 14-mile downtown monorail next year. He notes monorails are gaining popularity in the United States: Las Vegas is opening a monorail down the strip this summer.
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