The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1909-12-09
POSSIBILITIES OF
MON0RAlLWA
Chicago Witnesses Say Il May
RevOIutI0nlze Traffic.
TRAIN LIKE HOTEL POSSIBLE.
Economy Seen In Louis Brennans In
vention, That Seems to Defy Laws of
0ravitation--Spesd Of One Hundred
and Fifty Miles an Hour Predicted.


Gravitation--Spesd 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 mono
railway, or gyroscope railroad, Louis
Brennan, Il. O.. has an invention which
bids fair to reyolutionIze some of the
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 in IN 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
ture Of this system Of transportation
is that each vehicle Is capable OF main
tanning Its balance upon an ordinary
rail laid upon sleepers on 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.
tion or any combination Of SIese forces
may tend to upset IT, Automatic sta
biity mechanism OF extreme simplicity
carried by the vehicle itself endows
II with this power
Principle Of Mechanism.
The mechanism consists essentially
OF two fywheels 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
nywheels are mounted on high class
bearings aud are placed In vacuum.
SO that the air and friction are reduced
to q minimum and consequently the
power required % keep them In rapid
motion Is very small. The stored up
energy in the fiywheels when revolv-
ing at full speed is so great and the
friction SO small that II the driving
current is cut off altogether they will
run at sufficient velocity to impart
stability to the vehicle for several
hours, while 1t 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 al one end of the vehicle.
The wheels OF the ear 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 ou the track
and also for vertical ones. This en-
abes the vehicle to run upon curves OF
even less radius than the length or 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 ii !
any moment is made possible by keep
ing the gyro wheels In constant rota- I
tion by a current from d small accu- I
fhe 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 100 miles an hour
while travellers are making a trans
journey in rooms as large
and as luxuriously furnished as those
Of modern city hotel.
The rail upon which the car runs has
a 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 a wonorailway can be built
With great rfpidity over uneven ground
with but Slight expenditure Of labor.
The bridges required for the use OF
the monorailway are OF she simplest
possible construction.
Hotel on Rails Predicted.
The expenditure OF fuel necessary TO
operate the monorailwgy Is very much
less than it is with ain ordinary rail-
road. This fact is due TO the absence
Df hange friction on curves ana to
The vehicles running without oscila- \
tion or jolting. The absence of these
same factors makes an increase of 200
Or 300 per cent in the speed of the
train a safe possibility; consequently
MIR. Brennan confidently declares that
his dream Of a transcontinehtai rail-
road furnished with travelling hotel
having rooms fifteen TO twenty feet