Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/266

 The Single-Track Hanging Railway

��It saves money in building and it uses the middle of the street

��The inverted railway, with concrete, support

��THE airplane and the submarine were born years ago. In their early youth they were unable to

prove how powerful they would be in later

years, and most people scorned their

promise for the

future. Inverted

railways, so

called, because

the cars hang

from the rails,

must fight the

same battle for

recogniti on.

There are still

many people who

ridicule this type

of railway, even

though a suc- cessful one has

long been in op- eration between

the three German manufacturing towns, Vohwinkel, Elberfeld, and Barmen.

A railway somewhat similar to the Ger- man one has been proposed by J. B. Strauss of Detroit. This inverted rail- way has been suggested for use in our large crowded cities where traffic condi- tions are bad. Of the many advantages claimed for this sys- tem, the most impor- tant are the reduction of space occupied, of noise and of danger.

A general idea of the Strauss system is presented in the il- lustration. Here it will be seen that a central column sup- ports the entire struc- ture. Traffic condi- tions on the street below would surely be better with this single type of column than they are now with the two column system for, with our "keep to

���Central columns filled the entire structure

���The system is constructed so that dc railment is impossibK Guideway prevent the car from s w a y i n y

�� ��the right" regulations, the center of the street is not much used.

Many ways are suggested by which the customary noise of an approaching train on an elevated railway may be eliminated.

Since the driving mechanism is above the train, it can be easily enclosed. The way in which the car is supported makes the use of ordinary ties un- necessary. The supporting posts are filled with concrete.

Since the de- sire for self-pres- ervation is very strong w^ithin us, we naturally feel that the safety of such a railway is really the prime factor. In regard to this, we may be sure that derail- ment is impossible. As the rail is en- closed, snow and sleet cannot affect it. The system is so constructed that the car cannot fall. Shoes at the sides and bottom of the car ride on a guide rail in order to prevent the car from swaying.

In comparing this proposed system with the successful one in Germany, we find only two noticeable differences: one is that springs instead of a guide rail prevent the car from swaying; the other is that the support which holds the car is of the double column type in the German railway. A very gen- eral idea of this is here shown. One is the type of support used over water, and the other the type used on land. Since these differences are unimportant, the Strauss system may meet with success.

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