The Truth About Monorails

[schlimm]

daveklepper

Note that it is possible to construct an elevated light railway with no more "shadow-print" than a monorail. Simply leave out crossties, use thin but strong longitudinal girders, one under each rail, have stainless steel low temperture expansion coefficienet gauge-bard every meter or so between rails mounted on continuos hard rubber pads on the girders, without crossties.

The Wuppertal Suspension Railway (Wuppertaler Schwebebahn) has been in operation since 1901, and carries 25 million passengers annually.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/germany-incredible-hanging-railway/20672

[Paul of Covington]

   I never was comfortable calling these things monorails.   They are big fat beams with wheels running on top of and on the sides of the beam.   If they were to be used more extensively than as a point-to-point novelty ride, the switching arrangements would be unwieldy; you'd have to move a huge, heavy beam a considerable distance.   The only true monorail would be the type where the train is suspended under the rail.   I remember there was one in Dallas back in the early '60's, I think as an attraction at a fair.   I have no idea if it still exists.

[NorthWest]

With monorails, grade crossings and street running are almost impossible. Conventional two rail is just more effective and flexible.

[daveklepper]

Note that it is possible to construct an elevated light railway with no more "shadow-print" than a monorail. Simply leave out crossties, use thin but strong longitudinal girders, one under each rail, have stainless steel low temperture expansion coefficienet gauge-bard every meter or so between rails mounted on continuos hard rubber pads on the girders, without crossties.  The original cable-operated North American rapid transit line, Charles Harvey's West Side Ptent Elevated Railway did not have crossties, which were introduced when steam replaced cable wiith far greater weight and vibration.  If walkways are wanted and fill for safety between the rails/girders, this could be architectural glass, of the type used in Portman's hotel balcony floors.

[blue streak 1]

BNSF your sources neglect one particular item.  Monorails have been found to be dynamically unstable laterally  above 25 - 35 MPH.  That is the reason Seattle, Disney,  and others run at 25 MPH MAS. 

Now active controls can be added to stabilize these trains at higher speeds but if the controls suddenly fail it could be disastrous before the train can slow.  Plus these active controls are very expensive even today  ---  just look at F-117, B-2s and others do cost.  

A good example of instability are racing boats when they slightly yaw or even race cars.

[ontheBNSF]

CSSHEGEWISCH

Monorails ARE snake oil.  The chief attraction to the public is that they look new and futuristic.  However, they lack the flexibility of conventional rail in that they rarely run on the surface or in a subway, switches and crossings are problematic at best, etc.  I've rarely seen them in operation in anything other than a loop or a short point-to-point operation.

That is actually not true a monorail can indeed be built at ground level, it is just not common to do so.

http://www.monorails.org/tmspages/WhatIs.html

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Monorails ARE snake oil.  The chief attraction to the public is that they look new and futuristic.  However, they lack the flexibility of conventional rail in that they rarely run on the surface or in a subway, switches and crossings are problematic at best, etc.  I've rarely seen them in operation in anything other than a loop or a short point-to-point operation.

[NorthWest]

The Seattle Monorail is more of a tourist attraction then a transit operation, and charges much higher fares.

IIRC, Las Vegas is the same way.

[ontheBNSF]

For whatever reason monorail has become the transportation equivalent of snake oil. Whenever a poorly planned rail project in implement or railfans feel the need to bash rail alternatives both groups bring up "monorail" as a comparison. What is forgotten is that many monorail systems are actually quite successful. Japanese Monorail systems are quite successful, the Seattle Center Monorail earns a profit every year which is shared with the city, and even the poorly implemented Las Vegas Monorail has a farebox recovery exceeding 100% (higher than most rail transit and bus lines in North America). In my view monorails are under-appreciated and valuable, but I don't view them as the be all end all of mass transit solutions (nothing really is). I see them primarily as a lower cost alternative to elevated railways or for areas where labor costs are high.

Some sources

http://www.lvmonorail.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Farebox-Recovery.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorails_in_Japan

http://marketurbanism.com/2011/01/02/elevated-rail-vs-road-and-monorails/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Center_Monorail