The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-01-08
THE MONORAIL ROAD.

We have become so accustomed to seeing rail
roads with two rails in parallel lines that the an
nouncement of the perfection of a system-three
systems, indeed-by which cars may be operated
over single rail appeals at once to the imagina-
ton in the possibilities of its development The
three systems of monorail construction are digni-
fed as the American, the English and the German,
from the fact that the inventor of each is native
of the country from which the system is named.
The English type depends upon system of rap
idly revolving horoscopes to maintain the equilbr
um of the car. These horoscopes, or fywhees,
maintain the balance of the car upon the prin
cple that top remains upright so long as 1t con-
tinues to revolve sufficiently rapid An expert
mental line has been constructed with the only
objection to the system the danger of the fywhees
bursting or some defect in the mechanism result
ing in the cessation of the revolutions of the bal
ancing device.
The German type of monorail car is also under
practical experiment. This system suspends the
cars from massive elevated structure, and has the
disadvantages of great cost disnclination of cities
to permit the encumbrance of their streets with
the necessary framework to hold the cars up, and
a decided swinging of the car as it makes curves.
experimental way at the Jamestown exposition, and
now line is being built in New York, in Pelham
Bay park, near the city's northern boundary line,
to connect Barlow station of the New York. New
Haven & Hartford railroad with Belden Point,
City Island. The American system offers advan-
tages over the other two which promises to meet
with success. The equilibrium of this car is main
tanned by trolley arrangement of steel rods which
engages in an overhead guide which is so arranged
as to tip the car at the right angle as it makes
curves and hold it upright on straight tracks or
when standing still. There is but small strain ON
the overhead guides, as the is held in perfect
balance at all times on the rail beneath The line
now building in New York will be finished some
time next summer.
The advantages of monorail road, if the Sc
cret of maintaining the equilibrium of the car is
really solved are many. Greater speed viii be pos
sible. On the standard railroad, when a speed of
sixty miles on hour is attained the oscillations of
the locomotive become so great to render derai-
ment imminent should any defect in the track pre-
sent itself to the fanges the front trucks of the
locomotive. 1t may be said that the speed of the
standard railroad train is limited by the efficiency
of its rails and the evenness of its roadbed The
strain the track is so great that high speed is
impossible except on tracks of the most perfect
character. With the monoral track the greatest
difficulty of maintenance of way is eliminated from
the fact that the necessity of perfect alignment of
the track is gone. Just as bicycle rider maintains
perfect equilibrium at a high rate of speed, the
monorail will do also. The wear and tear on the
track will be reduced to minimum. Whereas now
less than 20 per cent of the ties have to be re-
placed each year to keep standard track in good
condition and this at expense of so to IS cents
each for the ties to say nothing of the cost of put
ting them in, and eighty-fve-pound rails on curves
must be replaced every four to six years, the
monorail car of the American type is not subject
to oscillation, the inventors claim, and hence the
greater part of the cost of maintenance will be re-
moved.
If the experimental line in New York shall
prove successful the promoters profess to be-
lieve it WILL railroad construction and operation
are due for revolution quite equal to that which
overlook city street railway lines by the introduce
ton of electricity motive power to succeed the
horse and mule.