Monorails of Yore
Maggie Koerth-Baker digs into the history of monorails, and finds examples in the United States as early as 1876.
A steam monorail first appeared at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It ran approximately 170 yards, and had a double-decker passenger configuration. Koerth-Baker points to a website with all the details, including cross-sections of how the train worked.
Ten years after the Centennial Exposition, another unique monorail appearing in Boston with a unique rounded shape and top speeds of 20 miles per hour.
Koerth-Baker links to other resources for early monorail information.
Published on Thursday, May 19, 2011 in
- A City With Room for Everyone
- Why was BART's Ridership Forecast for Millbrae Station So Wildly Off-Base?
- Comparing the World's Urban Tree Canopies
- Desert 5, Humans 0
- An Investigation of Affordable Housing Failure on the Atlanta Beltline
- The Roots of Racial Transition
- How Planners Can Liberate the Next Amazon
- The Secrets of 'Place Making' Success
- Trump Administration Suddenly Drops Fair Housing Concerns in Westchester, New York
- A New Video to Explain the High Cost of Free Parking
- Property Tax in Africa
- An App Launches 'Smart Bus' Service in London
- Big Transit Plans Approved for Richmond, Virginia
- An Interactive Map of the World's Climate in 2100
- New Poll Shows Broad, Bipartisan Support for Hiking Federal Gas Tax
- Controversy Follows Proposed Midtown East Plan
- Eminent Domain Sparks Controversy in New Jersey
- Could Baby Boomers Make Room for Millennials?
- Millennials Prefer Revitalized Historic Areas, Not Malls
- Friday Funny: Infrastructure Woes Cause National Case of Insomnia
