History of Monorails
The first Maglev train that was used as a people mover was established in 1984 in Birmingham, England. The track is roughly 2,000 feet long and runs between Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International Railway Station. The Birmingham Maglev train could reach speeds of 26 miles per hour. Unfortunately the Birmingham Maglev closed in 1995 because of design and reliability problems.
Another famous train was the German-built Maglev train system that ran in China from Shanghai, China to the airport (roughly 19miles). This monorail made the trip in just 7 minutes and 20 seconds. It reacheds speeds of up to 268 miles per hour and averaged 160 miles per hour.
The highest recorded speed of a Maglev train is roughly 361 miles per hour, which took place in Japan in 2003. One of the contributing factors that slows down Maglev trains is drag. Maglev trains are slightly slower than that of aircrafts, but that is because aircrafts fly at high altitudes where the drag is lower. Maglev technology has the potential to reach speeds of up to 3,977 miles per hour if conduted in an evacuated tunnel.
The first Maglev train that was used as a people mover was established in 1984 in Birmingham, England. The track is roughly 2,000 feet long and runs between Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International Railway Station. The Birmingham Maglev train could reach speeds of 26 miles per hour. Unfortunately the Birmingham Maglev closed in 1995 because of design and reliability problems.
Another famous train was the German-built Maglev train system that ran in China from Shanghai, China to the airport (roughly 19miles). This monorail made the trip in just 7 minutes and 20 seconds. It reacheds speeds of up to 268 miles per hour and averaged 160 miles per hour.
The highest recorded speed of a Maglev train is roughly 361 miles per hour, which took place in Japan in 2003. One of the contributing factors that slows down Maglev trains is drag. Maglev trains are slightly slower than that of aircrafts, but that is because aircrafts fly at high altitudes where the drag is lower. Maglev technology has the potential to reach speeds of up to 3,977 miles per hour if conduted in an evacuated tunnel.
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1825 - Cheshut Railway |
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1876 - Philidelphia Centenniel |
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1878
- Bradford & Foster Brook Monorail |
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1886
- Meigs Monorail |
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1886
- Enos Electric Railway |
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1888
- The Listowel & Ballybunion Railway |
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1901
- Wuppertal Schwebebahn |
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1909
- Brennan Monorail |
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1911
- William H. Boyes Monorail |
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1914
- Genoa Monorail |
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1924
- The Magnesium Monorail |
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1929
- The Bennie Railplane |
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1952
- The ALWEG Monorail |
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1956
- Skyway Monorail |
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1957
- Ueno Zoo |
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1957
- ALWEG Monorail |
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1958
- SAFEGE Monorail |
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1959
- Disneyland/ALWEG Monorail |
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1961
- Turin, Italy |
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1962
- Seattle |
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1962
- Nihon/Lockheed Monorail |
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1964-1965
- AMF New York World's Fair |
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1964
- Tokyo/Haneda Monorail |
Note: For more information on these historic monorails visit: http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/History.html
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