The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-05-26
SIl7oDle at tie 0ew lE5heW
I5e. Qyro5coDe rests 1en2g M0Ne9
OUf0<XJ 6<a1e at Sod/Io7
THE MONo-RAIL AND ITS
INVENTOR

emily bodies ON their orbits. while child
ish application Of the principle is to be
found in every top.
The proverbial schoolboy knows that
his top will remain upright SO long as it
is rotating.
Triumph Of Science.
Tho equilibrium OF the car upon the
principle. Fitted on the cars are two
fywheels. which are revolved by electric
motors at high velocity in different
directions. To reduce friction, and con-
sequcntly the motive power required. to
"a minimum. the fiywheels revolve In
stored up IN the wheels by this means
that II the driving power is cut Off alto
gether when they are revolving at full
speed the wheels will still run at a SUI
ficient velocity to give stability to the
vehicle for several hours.
Is consequence. thercforc-and this
is great point-the' necessary stability
mechanism can be contained In very
small space. Indeed. Mr.. Brennan has
calculated that the weight of machinery
will not represent more than per cent.
of the total weight that the truck can
carry.
1t might be thought that the shifting
of bodies In the car or weight applied
by an outside agency would upset the
equilibrium of the Brennan Mono-Train.
But this Is to make great mistake.
You can push the car on one side. and
1t pushes back. You can load it with an
al ieyhf hn fvh III
and the right-hand side goes up. while
the lcft-hand side comes down. The
Brennan invention Is indeed as contrary
| as was Mary in the famous poem. 1t is
an active resister to all efforts to rob 1t
OF It's balance. Nothing but the act of
God. such as a thunderbolt or an earth
quake, could disturb the serene eauiibri-
UNI of this amazing train. And it Is the
principle of the top that is its triumph.
Future Possibilities.
It's triumph, too, can scarcely be mea s.
ured at the present moment. It's balance
being assured. there is practically no OBJ
stacle which 1t cannot surmount
A single rail can be hung across ra-
vines and across lakes. A single rail
placed on piles can traverse rolling prai-
RE, the equatorial swamp and the rug
gedest and steepest mountain. Along this
| mono-rai Brennans train might fly
across the chimney tops of thousands OF
cities from the pinnacle of one church
! to the spire OF a nefghbortng cathedral.
1t is the nearest thing to flying that man
ha s, so far devised. 1t is the halfway
house to the kingdom of the air.
| Moreover, Mr.. Brennan estimates that
| the length or the breadth OF the vehicle
| will in no wise affect the principle. Thus
| in n flash 1t is obvious that the travel
| ing of the future will be vastly better
than the travelling of the present
The countries vie one with the other In
producing the most complete and luxuri-
Gus railways. The railways of the world,
with their two rails Will not be able 70
compete with the railway which has only
one.
There will be no jolting. no Earring. no
lateral oscillation; and with all this great
increase in suioothness there will be an
even greater increase In speed. On the
mono-railway a man will be able to travel
at a rate which makes one dizzy even to
| theorize upon now
The carriages of the present-day rail-
! ways are utterly different from the rail-
way carriages OF fifty years ago. Mr..
Brennan anticipates that the carriages OF
the mono-railA Will not be railway car
riages at all as We understand them now:
They will be Immense affairs.
Hotel on Wheels.
The whlrling horoscopes will enable
houses on wheels to be sped along the
mono-rail. The ascent to Mount Ararat
could be made in a. Ritz hotel
The carriages Of the mono-rail will con-
tain every pleasure OF the material kind
that life can give. AS trains rush over
/ the wire, or over the rail, at fully SOC
miles an hour. there will be- music and
dancing, or skittles or billiards. One may
be able to breakfast In New York, read,
write or amuse oneself In any way one
! pleases and arrive ut San Francisco
in the evening, not worn or tired by the
racket and the jostle of the journey. but
rather refreshed by the eXhilaration OF
its ferfcct facility and smoothness.
Il But the principle OF the top. which Is
the secret of the mono-train. need not
only be applied to trains, as the word Is
understood in its general sense but to
motor cars, cabs, carriages, carts and
lorries. All the vehicles In the world ia
!, which mankind is used can be made sub
II iact m This wonurOuS newly CaDtured