Patent ID: 6886651

Claim:
A material transportation vehicle for use on a surface of a magnetically attractive pathway, the material transportation vehicle comprising: a friction drive, including: a first axle having an axis; a wheel having an outer surface, the wheel having a magnetic characteristic such that the wheel is provided as a magnetic wheel, wherein said magnetic wheel is supported by the first axle; a second axle having an axis, wherein the first and second axles are disposed such that the axis of said first axle is generally parallel to the axis of said second axle; and a drive cylinder supported by the second axle, the drive cylinder having a surface coupled to the outer surface of the magnetic wheel with the drive cylinder provided from a material such that there is a magnetic attraction between the surface of the drive cylinder and the outer surface of the magnetic wheel, and wherein the magnetic wheel is adapted to rotate about the taxis of the axle in response to a rotation of the drive cylinder about the axis of the second axle.