The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-06-04
ONE RAIL FOR TRAINS
enQfsh Inventor Solves Problem
by QueIIing Gravltatlon.
SPINNING TOP THE PRINCIPLE.

louis Brennan Shows How Automatic
ally Balanced Cars Can Cross River.
on Steel hawsers--ttoteI May Trave
= Tremendous Speed AZ sIeepins
Ca, Gays inventor.
Railroad men In New York were
greatly interested the other day In the
News from London Of tho announce
ment before the Royal society and sci
eotiflc men Of Louis Brennan's mono
rail invention. says the New York
Evening World. II Is said that he has
solved the problem OF the one rail
road. and a recent demonstration be
fore the Royal society astounded his
audience with the feats OF little
model car which he has built.
Ho claims for his system that II will
enable q train to race along at tre-
mendous speed on q single raili that
the cars may be thirty or even forty
oect In width; that practically all fsic-
don win be done away with, SO that q
mere fraction OF the power used by 10
comotives today will propel his trains;
that roads may be laid as rapidly as
IN army ON the march can travel, and
mat passengers can be carried more
safely than In the cars built upon mod
eis now In use.
Automatic stability mechanism Is tho
secret Mr.. Brennan, who Is the In
ventor Of the Brennan torpedo, has In
bis thirty years he has applied to the
task succeeded In successfully working
out. The principal Is simple, being
MAt Of the spinning top, yet 1t seems
to the observer that his car acts coun-
eer to the laws of gravitation.
At the exhibition he used a very
small model, but sufficiently large to
show how a car Of any size will work.
de caused It to run on a narrow rail
about the big hall of the society at full
speed. Sometimes the little vehicle
was filled with ballast carelessly
thrown In, and at other times 1t ran
mpty. In every case 1t rolled smooth
" and never left the track.
Mr.. Brennan says Of his invention,
OF discovery, that cars may soon be
carrying loads ten or even twenty
dmes as heavy as those now drawn
with power very much less. The vehi-
eles may be made practically any
width. A veritable hotel may be put
On the rail az sleeping car.
The stability mechanism" Mr.. Bren-
nan says, ''is carried by the car and
enables It to turn the sharpest curves.
q all the load Of the car Is suddenly
shifted to one side the mechanism will
correctly and Instantly readjust the
strain and keep the car level The
pnechanism essentially consists Of two
6ywheels driven by electric motors In
opposite directions, SO that the gyro-
static action and stored up energy may
b utilized. The wheels are mounted
On the highest class Of bearings and
are incased In exhausted chambers, so
that Journal and air friction Is reduced
% the minimum.
'.The wheels will continue to run two
Or three hours after tho power is cut
o6, so great Is the energy stored up In
them. They will not entirely stop for
two or three days. The mechanism oc-
cupies but little space In the car. The
wheels on which the car runs are
placed In a row underneath the center
OF the vehicle instead Of at the sides, as
In the present day trains and are car
r1ed on bogies or compound bogies,
which are not only pivoted to provide
for horizontal curves on the track, but
Tor vertical curves also.
"By this means there Is no ordinary
curve that the car cannot with ease
turn even at high speed without dan
ger Of leaving the track. We Will at
drst use electric motors to run the sta
bility mechanism, but any kind OF
power gasoline, steam or what not
may be employed. The train will be
ever ready for instant use, as the cost
Of keeping It ready will be so slight.
The gear can quickly be changed when
steep hills are to be mounted.
There is practically no limit to the
speed which can be attained. l think
the invention means wonderful saw
Ing In power, greater carrying capacity
Of cars and an improvement In trans
portation all around, which will be the
wonder Of the world"
The war department controls Mr.,
Brennan's invention and has succeeded
In keeping the secret Of It's mechanism
from all eyes. The rails which Will be
used need only to be Of the same
weight and size as rails on two rail
tracks In order to carry the same
weight Of train, Mr.. Brennan explains.
cars will be manufactured, 1t
ID said, which will enable an army to
lay tracks as the car moves ahead and
move right on on tie rail last laid. In
this way an army may be transported
anywhere with great rapidity.
Mr.. Brennan's confident dream Is a
line. furnished with a
hotel, with rooms fifteen to
twenty feet wide, that will carry pas
sengers In perfect comfort and safety
at a speed Of 100 to $50 miles an hour.