The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-11-11
ONLY ONE RAIL
FOR KICH SPEED
Invention May RevOlntiOnize
Railway Transportation.
GIVEN A PRACTICAL TEST

British Inventor Hastens First Trial
to ForestaIi German Rival-lndla a
Back of the Experiment--Great
Economy In Operation as Com.
pared With Present systems--per.
feet Safety Possible at Speed Of 15o
Miles Per Hour.
London, Nov. 1.-THE new mono
rail railway on the principle of the
gJIOscope. first shown here in model
form Is months ago by its inventor,
Louis Brennan, received its first pub.
lie demonstration on full scale on
the war office grounds near Chatham.
The guests witnessed spectacle as
marvellous and as revolutionary from
the standpoint OF transportation as
that which aeroplanes have furnished
during the past two years.
They saw a car 40 feet long, 10
feet wide and 13 feet high. weighing
% tons. mounted on a single rail,
running freely about curves of all
sorts and angles, carrying 40 rassen-
gers as safely and with vibration far
less than the ordinary passenger car
The vehicle runs in a circle on
eighth OF a mile in circumference. at
a speed of 25 miles an hour, with so.
horsepower, without the slightest ten.
dency to leave the rail. Two gyro-
scopes, weighing three-quarte-s of a
ton each, automatically supply per-
feet stability. The rail closely resem-
bles the ordinary rail except that the
top Is somewhat curved and the rims
of the wheels correspond 70 this
curve. The horoscopes make 10000
rev buttons a minute in vacuum. The
motive power is entirely self.con-
tanned in a petrol engine used to
drive the dynamo.
Mr.. Brennan explained that he
finds the efficiency of the new princi-
pie in full-sized car far greater pro.
portionately than in the model lie
Is convinced that the monorail will
soon revoutionize railroad transpor-
tation. With vehicles double and
treble present size, a speed OF $50
miles an hour can be attained with
greater safety than GO miles an hour
under present transportation condl-
tions.
The present car was built under a
subsidy from the government Of In
dia. and Is designed principally for
experimental purposes. The tests
already made indicate that the size
and weight Of the horoscopes are
much greater than necessary, while
the stability Of the car far exceeds
the calculations. The vehicle Is
mounted on four wheels. The ma
chinery is contained in cablike
structure In the front portion of the
car, in order to be easy OF access
but for future cars ii will be located
beneath the floor. Great speed Is i'm
possible on the present line, on ac-
count of limited length of track.
Tests during the past six weeks
have demonstrated that the invention
win make large reduction I'm cost OF
construction and effect great econo.
my In operation over the ordinary
railroad. IL also gives increased safe
ty at high speed, which is limited
only by the power available for over.
coming wind pressure, which, when
a car is moving over 100 miles an
hour, becomes an important factor
Recent American tests proved that
the limit OF safety on two rails is
little over 70 miles an hour, owing to
the rapid increase in oscillation and
tendency of wheels to climb the rails.
fhis exhibition was given earlier
than was planned, owing to an an
nouncement that a German expert.
menter intended to demonstrate
similar application Of the gyroscope
principle In Berlin. Mr.. Brennan i'm
mediately decided that no rival
should be allowed to display the prac.
tical application of his device in ad
vance of the original inventor. The
car exhibited at Berlin is only 10
feet long, having the shape of a small
motor boat. 1t ran slowly around the
hall In the geological garden.
Big Steel Mill.
Pittsburg, Nov. 1.-THE McClin.
took Marshall construction company,
the biggest rival OF the American
Bridge company, or construction end
OF the United States Steel corpora.
tion, announced the purchase Of 80
acres Of land at Indiana Harbor, Ind,
and its intention to erect there one
OF the largest structural and fabricat-
ing mills in the United States. About
$2,0o0.O00 will be spent on the pro-
ject.
Want Taft In Canada.
Washington, Nov 1l.-It is report.
ed In diplomatic circles that the
British government. through Ambas-
sador James Bryce, will sound condi.
tions as to the possibility OF having