American atmospheric railway prototype

[w0033944]

I'm not sure whether this is the correct sub-forum for something like this, but I've just seen a Youtube video that I thought might be of interest, concerning an elderly American semi-retired engineer who has what appears to be a miniature protype for a modern version of Brunel's atmospheric railway concept in a vineyard he owns. It appears very different to the Hyperloop concept due to the fact that the vacuum tube is below and between the rails, and is sealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KniP3T_PPB4

 

[Jonny]

I'm not sure whether this is the correct sub-forum for something like this, but I've just seen a Youtube video that I thought might be of interest, concerning an elderly American semi-retired engineer who has what appears to be a miniature protype for a modern version of Brunel's atmospheric railway concept in a vineyard he owns. It appears very different to the Hyperloop concept due to the fact that the vacuum tube is below and between the rails, and is sealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KniP3T_PPB4

Nice idea; he has managed to solve the main problem with Brunel's design by maintaining a seal.

 

[NSEFAN]

Nice idea; he has managed to solve the main problem with Brunel's design by maintaining a seal.

Isn't that why this new idea uses magnets? The atmospheric tube can remain sealed from end to end. Pointwork might be a bit complicated, but then for simple long-distance rail it might be more suitable.

I wonder how the efficiency compares to 25kV OLE. There is also the problem of a rather large magnetic field needed to hold onto the train, which might pose both problems in getting the magnetic field and also safety concerns for the passengers!

 

[w0033944]

Isn't that why this new idea uses magnets? The atmospheric tube can remain sealed from end to end. Pointwork might be a bit complicated, but then for simple long-distance rail it might be more suitable.

I wonder how the efficiency compares to 25kV OLE. There is also the problem of a rather large magnetic field needed to hold onto the train, which might pose both problems in getting the magnetic field and also safety concerns for the passengers!

I did wonder about that! Do we have any experts on electromagnets on the forum?

 

[jopsuk]

I'd be interested in how the magnets would scale. Also, point switches- conventional rail can handle diverging and converging routes at high speed, which is useful when you've got a network