Editing Monorail (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of monorail}}
[[File:Einschienerp.jpg|thumb|[[Gyro monorail|Gyroscopically balanced monorail]] (1909) by Brennan and Scherl]]

===Early years===
The first monorail prototype was made in Russia in 1820 by [[Ivan Elmanov]]. Attempts at creating monorail alternatives to conventional [[railway]]s have been made since the early part of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=Finchley Society Annual General Meeting Minutes|author=Finchley Society|url=http://www.finchleysociety.org.uk/Newsletters/1990s/1997/6-97.pdf|date=1997-06-26|access-date=2009-04-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204205022/http://www.finchleysociety.org.uk/Newsletters/1990s/1997/6-97.pdf|archive-date=2008-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=June 25 - Today in Science History|author=Today in Science History|url=http://www.todayinsci.com/6/6_25.htm|access-date=2009-04-03}}</ref>

The [[Centennial Monorail]] was featured at the [[Centennial Exposition]] in Philadelphia in 1876. Based on its design the [[Bradford and Foster Brook Railway]] was built in 1877 and ran for one year from January 1878 until January 1879.

Around 1879 a "one-rail" system was proposed independently by Haddon and by Stringfellow, which used an inverted "V" rail (and thus shaped like "Λ" in cross-section). It was intended for military use, but was also seen to have civilian use as a "cheap railway."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1376851?searchTerm=cheap+railway#pstart72945 |title=NLA Australian Newspapers - article display |newspaper=Brisbane Courier |date=27 November 1878 |publisher=Newspapers.nla.gov.au |access-date=2010-09-11}}</ref> Similarly, one of the first systems put into practical use was that of French engineer Charles Lartigue, who built a line between [[Listowel and Ballybunion Railway|Ballybunion and Listowel]] in Ireland, opened in 1888 and lasting 36 years, being closed in 1924 (due to damage from Ireland's Civil War). It used a load-bearing single rail and two lower, external rails for balance, the three carried on triangular supports. It was cheap to construct but tricky to operate. Possibly the first monorail locomotive was a [[0-3-0]] [[steam locomotive]] on this line. A high-speed monorail using the [[Lartigue Monorail|Lartigue system]] was proposed in 1901 between Liverpool and Manchester.<ref name="nla">{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10566928?searchTerm=monorail#pstart327212 |title=NLA Australian Newspapers - article display |newspaper=Argus |date=17 August 1901 |publisher=Newspapers.nla.gov.au |access-date=2010-09-11}}</ref>

The [[Boynton Bicycle Railroad]] was a steam-powered monorail in [[Brooklyn]] on [[Long Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]]. It ran on a single load-bearing rail at ground level, but with a wooden overhead stabilising rail engaged by a pair of horizontally opposed wheels. The railway operated for only two years beginning in 1890.

The [[Hotchkiss Bicycle Railroad]] was a monorail on which a matching pedal [[bicycle]] could be ridden. The first example was built between [[Smithville, Burlington County, New Jersey|Smithville]] and [[Mount Holly Township, New Jersey|Mount Holly]], New Jersey, in 1892.<ref>{{cite book
| title = Iron rails in the Garden State: tales of New Jersey railroading
| author = Anthony J. Bianculli
| publisher = Indiana University Press
| year = 2008
| isbn = 9780253351746
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oif8ddRyYMcC&q=hotchkiss%20bicycle%20railway&pg=PA86}}</ref> It closed in 1897. Other examples were built in [[Norfolk]] from 1895 to 1909, [[Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach|Great Yarmouth]],<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/100_years_of_fun_and_thrills_1_500609
| title = 100 years of fun and thrills
| date = September 10, 2009
| newspaper = [[Eastern Daily Press]]
| access-date = 2012-01-20
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055403/http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/100_years_of_fun_and_thrills_1_500609
| archive-date = March 4, 2016
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> and [[Pleasure Beach Blackpool|Blackpool]], UK from 1896.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.fotolibra.com/gallery/332284/hotchkiss-bicycle-railway-great-yarmouth-c-1900/
| title = Hotchkiss Bicycle Railway, Great Yarmouth C. 1900
| publisher = FotoLibra
| access-date = 2012-01-19
| archive-date = 2011-11-19
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111119111242/http://www.fotolibra.com/gallery/332284/hotchkiss-bicycle-railway-great-yarmouth-c-1900/
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

===1900s–1950s===
Early designs used a double-[[flange]]d single metal rail alternative to the double rail of conventional railways, both guiding and supporting the monorail car. A surviving suspended version is the oldest still in service system: the [[Wuppertal Schwebebahn|Wuppertal monorail]] in Germany. Also in the early 1900s, [[Gyro monorail]]s with cars gyroscopically balanced on top of a single rail were tested, but never developed beyond the prototype stage. The [[Ewing System]], used in the [[Patiala State Monorail Trainways]] in [[Punjab, India]], relies on a hybrid model with a load-bearing single rail and an external wheel for balance. A highspeed monorail using the [[Lartigue Monorail|Lartigue system]] was proposed in 1901 between Liverpool and Manchester.<ref name="nla" />

In 1910, the [[Louis Brennan|Brennan]] [[Gyro Monorail|gyroscopic monorail]] was considered for use to a coal mine in Alaska.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5260767?searchTerm=monorail#pstart946719 |title=NLA Australian Newspapers - article display |publisher=Newspapers.nla.gov.au |date=1910-09-05 |access-date=2010-09-11}}</ref> In June 1920, the French Patent Office published FR 503782, by Henri Coanda, on a 'Transporteur Aérien' -Air Carrier. One of the first monorails planned in the United States was in New York City in the early 1930s, scrubbed for an elevated train system.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xSgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71 "America's First Monorail Line Planned For New York."] ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', November 1930, p. 71.</ref>

[[File:Xlg russian monorail.jpg|thumb|300px|[https://books.google.com/books?id=2CcDAAAAMBAJ&dq=new+russian+monorail&pg=PA41 ''Popular Science'' February 1934, p 41]: "A new Russian type of monorail that runs in a chute on large spheres. Fragmentary and contradictory reports have appeared from Russia about a new revolutionary type of railway undergoing secret testing there, sparking the curiosity and interest of the American engineering world, who have recently received the first full confirmations about the details of the new system with photos of the working model in operation."]]
The first half of the 20th century saw many further proposed designs that either never left the drawing board or remained short-lived prototypes. One of the most interesting projects created on the layout was the ball-bearing train by Nikolai Grigorievich Yarmolchuk. This train moved on spherical wheels with electric motors embedded in them, which were located in semi-circular chutes under a wooden platform (in the full-scale project the trestle would have been concrete). A model train, built to 1/5 scale to test the vehicle concept, was capable of reaching speeds of up to 70&nbsp;km/h. The full-scale project was expected to reach speeds of up to 300&nbsp;km/h.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKfWkjpnbE0&ab_channel=enodentetsu}}</ref>

===1950s–1980s===
[[File:Seattle Monorail station.jpg|thumb|[[Seattle Monorail]] built in 1962 and still using the original ALWEG trains]]
In the latter half of the 20th century, monorails had settled on using larger beam- or girder-based track, with vehicles supported by one set of wheels and guided by another. In the 1950s, a 40% scale prototype of a system designed for speed of {{convert|200|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on straight stretches and {{convert|90|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on curves was built in Germany.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zdwDAAAAMBAJ&dq=true&pg=PA127 "German's Develop Fast Monorail System For High Speed Travel"] ''Popular Mechanics'', January 1953, p. 127.</ref> There were designs with vehicles supported, suspended or cantilevered from the beams. In the 1950s the [[ALWEG]] straddle design emerged, followed by an updated suspended type, the [[SAFEGE]] system. Versions of ALWEG's technology are used by the two largest monorail manufacturers, [[Hitachi Monorail]] and [[Bombardier Transportation|Bombardier]].

[[File:6308-DisneyLandHotelMonorailStation.jpg|thumb|The original Red Mark I [[Disneyland Monorail]], with the additional car to make it a Mark II, as seen at the [[Disneyland Hotel (California)|Disneyland Hotel]] station in August 1963]]
In 1956, the first monorail to operate in the US began test operations in Houston, Texas.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QuEDAAAAMBAJ&dq=1954+Popular+Mechanics+January&pg=PA77 "First U.S. Monorail Has Trial Run."] ''Popular Mechanics'', June 1956, p. 77.</ref> [[Disneyland]] in [[Anaheim, California]], opened the United States' first daily operating [[Disneyland Monorail System|monorail system]] in 1959.<ref name="monoraildisn">{{cite journal|title=Disneyland Adds Submarine and Monorail|journal=Popular Mechanics|date=July 1959|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttsDAAAAMBAJ&q=monorail&pg=PA77|access-date=21 December 2010}}</ref> Later during this period, additional [[List of monorail systems|monorails]] were installed at [[Walt Disney World Monorail System|Walt Disney World]] in [[Florida]], [[Seattle Center Monorail|Seattle]], and in [[Monorails in Japan|Japan]]. Monorails were promoted as futuristic technology with exhibition installations and amusement park purchases, as seen by the legacy systems in use today. However, monorails gained little foothold compared to conventional transport systems. In March 1972, Alejandro Goicoechea-Omar had patent DE1755198 published, on a 'Vertebrate Train', build as experimental track in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Niche private enterprise uses for monorails emerged, with the emergence of [[air travel]] and [[shopping mall]]s, with shuttle-type systems being built.

===1980s–present===
[[File:Einschienenbahn (Monorail) im Europa-Park.JPG|thumb|One of three monorails at [[Europa-Park]] in Rust, Germany]]
From the 1980s, most monorail mass transit systems are in [[Japan]], with a few exceptions. [[Tokyo Monorail]], is one of the world's busiest, averages 127,000 passengers per day and has served over 1.5 billion passengers since 1964.<ref>{{cite news | title = 1.5 billionth rides monorail to Haneda | newspaper = Japan Times | date = 2007-01-24 | url = http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070125a2.html | access-date = 2007-01-24 | archive-date = 2012-07-19 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120719134846/search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070125a2.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> China recently started development of monorails in the late 2000s, already home to the world's largest and busiest monorail system and has a number of mass transit monorails under construction in several of cities. A [[Bombardier Innovia Monorail]]-based system is under construction in [[Wuhu Metro|Wuhu]] and several "Cloudrail" systems developed by [[BYD Company|BYD]] under construction a number of cities such as [[Guang'an Metro|Guang'an]], [[Liuzhou]], [[Bengbu]] and [[Guilin]]. Monorails have seen continuing use in niche shuttle markets and amusement parks.

Modern mass transit monorail systems use developments of the ALWEG beam and tyre approach, with only two suspended types in large use. Monorail configurations have also been adopted by [[maglev train]]s. Since the 2000s, with the rise of traffic congestion and urbanization, there has been a resurgence of interest in the technology for [[public transport]] with a number of cities, such as [[Malta]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Monorail system among Malta government proposals for EU funding|date=10 December 2014 |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141210/local/monorail-system-among-malta-government-proposals-for-eu-funding.547680}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Monorail on backburner as Malta remains without EIB financing|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/64417/monorail_on_backburner_as_malta_remains_without_eib_financing#.V_EvMPArJaR|website=maltatoday.com.mt}}</ref> and [[Istanbul]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Istanbul is building a 47km monorail network to deal with its crippling traffic congestion {{!}} CityMetric|url=https://www.citymetric.com/transport/istanbul-building-47km-monorail-network-deal-its-crippling-traffic-congestion-700|access-date=2019-07-16|website=www.citymetric.com|date=30 January 2015|archive-date=2019-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716200900/https://www.citymetric.com/transport/istanbul-building-47km-monorail-network-deal-its-crippling-traffic-congestion-700|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tender for monorail system in central Istanbul canceled - Latest News|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tender-for-monorail-system-in-central-istanbul-canceled-116019|access-date=2019-07-16|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=27 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Istanbul is building a 47km monorail network to deal with its crippling traffic congestion {{!}} Urban Gateway|url=https://www.urbangateway.org/news/istanbul-building-47km-monorail-network-deal-its-crippling-traffic-congestion|access-date=2019-08-08|website=www.urbangateway.org|archive-date=2019-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808042317/https://www.urbangateway.org/news/istanbul-building-47km-monorail-network-deal-its-crippling-traffic-congestion|url-status=dead}}</ref> today investigating monorails as a possible mass transit solution.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703567404576292914218923744|title=Has the Monorail's Future Finally Arrived?|last=Trevisani|first=Paulo|date=23 May 2011|website=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=May 23, 2011}}</ref>

In 2004, [[Chongqing Rail Transit]] in [[China]] adopted a unique ALWEG-based design with rolling stock that is much wider than most monorails, with capacity comparable to [[heavy rail]]. This is because [[Chongqing]] is criss-crossed by numerous hills, mountains and rivers, therefore tunneling is not feasible except in some cases (for example, lines [[Line 1, Chongqing Rail Transit|1]] and [[Line 6, Chongqing Rail Transit|6]]) due to the extreme depth involved. Today it is the largest and busiest monorail system in the world.

In July 2009, two [[2009 Walt Disney World monorail accident|Walt Disney World monorails collided]], killing one of the drivers and injuring seven passengers. The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] found the cause of the accident to be human error by both the driver and controller, contributed to by a lack of standard operating procedures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/RAB1107.aspx |title=Railroad Accident Brief – Collision of Two Monorails in Walt Disney World Resort |date=October 31, 2011 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=October 31, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103191913/https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/RAB1107.aspx |archive-date=January 3, 2015 }}</ref>

[[São Paulo]], Brazil, is building two high-capacity monorail lines as part of its public transportation network. [[Line 15 (São Paulo Metro)|Line 15]] was partially opened in 2014, will be {{convert|27|km|abbr=on}} long when completed in 2022 and has a capacity of 40,000 [[pphpd]] using [[Bombardier Innovia Monorail]] trains.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal" /> [[Line 17 (São Paulo Metro)|Line 17]] will be {{convert|17.7|km|abbr=on}} long and is using the [[BYD Company|BYD]] SkyRail design. Other significant monorail systems are under construction such as two lines for the [[Cairo Monorail]], two lines for the [[MRT (Bangkok)]] and the [[SkyRail Bahia]] in [[Brazil]].