The newsreels on the Cross-city ones were somewhat shorter than the journeys from the end of the line to the core, and only updated daily. So by the end of a return trip you could have heard the same bit four times or more. There was also a bias toward more "tabloidy" news.
Not so unlike the Ewing System, as used by the Patiala State monorail. Much more straightforward than the Lartigue, though clearly subject to the very modern challenge of potholes in the roadway. Another interesting concept which didn't catch on.
Yes, I always wonder what the inventor of that was thinking about. If you needed to strengthen the road to carry to monorail loco anyway, why not just strengthen the road and use traction engines? It also strikes me that the amount of friction from the road surface under the wheels of the loco must have been tremendous, so you're not gaining the advantages of steel wheels on steel rails.
I'm not entirely familiar with the whole story around the Pacifics; weren't the BoBs/WCs generally quite successful, though?
The concept seems to be quite an old one, dating from the 1860s. Apparently only about 5% of the load was carried by the outriggers, in which case most of the benefit of reduced rail friction would have been preserved. Presumably maintainng a strip of roadway in good order was reasonably straightforward. This system could also cope with going round real corners, rather than needing more conventional gentler curves. Ewing would seem to agree with your ideas about its potential as a guidance system - I have found mention of a patent to adapt the front axle of a traction engine to engage with the monorail for this purpose. It is rather wonderful that some of the equipment has survived into preservation.
Similar could be said about the Bombardier GLT/TVR system that ran for a while in Caen and Nancy, essentially a trolleybus guided by a single slotted rail in the road surface. This had most of the disadvantages of a tram (a lot of track structure needed, albeit only one rail) and of a bus (increased energy consumption due to rolling resistance, and limited vehicle size). The Translohr is similar but still operating although I'm not sure if anyone is proposing any new ones.
in Mestre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Mestre and a (very) few other places
There are several in Paris too, and a couple in other places I don't immediately recall (China?). My question is: now there is practical experience, whether anyone is considering building a new network anywhere else.
Except you would need solid foundations for the guidance rail, so you might as well build solid foundations for the whole road and use conventional traction engines?
I doubt it. The general Wikipedia page mentions one in Colombia(!) and says Tianjin is abandoned.
AFAIK the locomotives were fairly successful, but relied on Bulleid's chain-driven valve gear to realise the full benefits of light weight and high efficiency. In practice, the valve gear didn't perform as expected, meaning that they were less reliable and less efficient than if conventional valve gear had been fitted.
Has anyone mentioned Personal Rapid Transit yet? That's another one that combines the worst of two worlds: public transport (expensive fixed infrastructure, not truly door to door, having to cope with the debris left by other people if not with the people themselves) with private (low capacity, inefficient use of assets).
If you want to try traction engines with guidance, we should also include the Stronach-Dutton Roadrail System. Seems to have been tried out in a number of countries using steam and or petrol and was on display at the Brish Empire Exhibition in 1924. Another intriguing concept which didn't catch on. Rather more of both rails and road than Ewing required. There is a film of it in operation which suggests that it was not the smoothest of rides!
And griddle cars: the Class 124 Trans-Pennine DMUs and the Class 309 Clacton EMUs had them at least for their first few years of service in the 1960s and early 70s. Not sure how widespread the concept was apart from that, although some trains on the Great Central Railway have them.
Three of the Southern's 4RES units were converted to 4GRI in the 1960s
I remember a drawing of that I had in some sort of railway book when I was a kid, possibly on a page about the future of trains with a shinkansen and BART or something.. The concept still exists as the Translohr guided bus/tram thing which exists in a single digit number of citiesThis?
Uniline Ground level monorail system. It's in Dutch but scroll down for a translationUniline monorail systeem - VanDorpVaria
Rond 1960 is er in Engeland een treinsysteem ontwikkeld met locomotief en wagens op luchtbanden. De banden reden op een betonnen plaat. De geleiding vond plaats met één rail in het midden van de betonbaan. Er was dus sprake van een monorail systeem. Voor zover bekend is het gebleven bij een...www.vandorp.org
+1
The 'Griddle Car' concept may not have worked out well on shorter journeys in the South East or across the Pennies....but they were very popular in Scotland on the four hour plus journeys between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Inverness.
I’ve been in the one in Colombia - Medellin to be precise. One of the few cities where cable cars are legitimate parts of the transport network.
I'll put a post in there.
I wonder if it would be more viable today, with the tram to handle onward journeys from Leith.
My memory might be playing tricks but - were those the sets with "lounge style" bucket seating in the motor second, under the pan roof end? I recall sitting in such seats on a train; but I can't remember which one.
