Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-12-16
POSSIBILITIES OF
MONoRA|LW
Chicago Witnesses Say It May
naVOIutiOnize Traffic.
TRAIN LIKE HOTEL POSSIBLE.
Economy Seen In Louis Brennan's In
vention, That Seems to Defy Laws Of
Gravitation-Speed of One Hundred
and Fifty Miles an Hour Predicted.


Chicago railroad officials who have
recently returned from London are
inclined to believe that in the mouO-
railway, or gyroscope railroad. Louis
Brennan. Il. c.. has an invention wh,oh
bids fair to revolutionize some ul ..e
fields. at least. Of transportation.
What they saw at the public demon
strations at Chatham, England. of the
possibilities of the monorailway was
a railroad car forty feet long, ten feet
wide and thirteen feet high. weighing
twenty-five tons. mounted on a single
rail- and running freely around curves
while safely carrying forty passengers.
who experienced less vibration than
would have been the case III an ordi-
nary passenger coach.
The principle upon which the mono
railway operates Is that Of the spin
ming top, which maintains its equilibri
um by means Of its rapid revolutions
or gyrations. The characteristic fea-
ture OF this system of transportation
Is that each vehicle is capable of main
rail laid upon sleepers OH the ground.
whether it is standing still or moving
in either direction at any rate of speed.
This Is done Notwithstanding the fact
that the center of gravity Is several
feet above the rail and that wind pres
sure. shifting Of load, centrifugal ac-
ton or any combination of these forces
IN CT
bility mechanism of extreme simplicity
carried by the vehicle itself endows
it with this power.
Principle of Mechanism.
The mechanism consists essentially
of two hywheels rotated directly by
electric motors in opposite directions
at very high velocity and mounted
so that their gyrostatic action and
stored up energy can be utilized. The
hywheels are mounted on high class
bearings and are placed in Il vacuum,
so that the air and friction are reduced
to Il minimum and consequently the
power required to keep them in rapid
motion is very small The stored up
energy in the tlywhpels when revolv-
ing ut full speed is so great and the
friction so small that if the driving
current is cut off altogether they will
run at sufficient velocity to impart
stability to the vehicle for several
hours, while it will take from two to
three days before they come to rest
The stability mechanism, whose weight
is small. occupies but little space in the
cab ut one end of the vehicle.
The wheels of the car are placed in
Single row beneath the center of
the vehicle and are carried on bogy
trucks which are so pivoted as to pro-
vide for horizontal curves on the track
and also for vertical ones. This en-
ables the vehicle to run upon curves Of
even less radius than the length of the
vehicles itself or to run on crooked
rails or on rails laid over uneven
ground without danger of derailment
The motive power of the monorailway
may be either steam, petrol. oil. gas
or electricity. In the experiments
made thus far petrol has been used as
an electric generator, the power of
each vehicle being self contained and
ready for immediate use. Use of it
any moment is made possible by keep
ing the gyro wheels In constant rota-
ton by current from small accu-
mulator, the engine being at rest. In
order that the vehicle may be able to
ascend steep inclines the wheels are
| all power driven. and change gears are
provided for use in billy country.
Large Coach Made Possible.
Great economy is obtained by max
ing the vehicles much wider than the
ordinary passenger coach. On this
point Mr.. Brennan claims that he has
plans for passenger car 100 feet in
length and 20 feet wide. He also de-
clares that such coach may be driven
safely at a speed Of $50 miles an hour
while travellers are making a trans
continental journey in rooms as large
and as luxuriously furnished as those
of a modern city hotel.
The rail upon which the car runs has
curved top, and its weight Is that of
the ordinary rail, but the sleepers, or
ties, are only one-half the usual size
Of railroad ties. 1t Is stated that flying
lines of monorailway can be built
with great rapidity over uneven ground
| with but slight expenditure of labor.
The bridges required for the use Of
the monorailway are Of the simplest
possible construction.
Hotel on Rails Predicted.
The expenditure Of fuel necessary to
operate the monorailway is very much
less than it is with an ordinary rail-
road. This fact Is due to the absence
Of flange friction on curves and to
the vehicles running without oscilla-
ton or jolting. The absence of these
same factors makes an increase of 200
or 800 per cent in the speed Of the
train safe possibility; consequently
Mr.. Brennan confidently declares that
his dream of transcontinental rail-
road furnished with a travelling hotel
having rooms fifteen to twenty feet
wide and carrying passengers in per-
feet comfort and safety at speed Of
120 to 100 miles an hour will surely be
realized.