go Book of Engineering 



It may be wondered how the barges are 

 got upon the mono-rail. This is really an 

 automatic procedure due to the gradual 

 narrowing of the channel, which forces the 

 barges into a confined space at the centre 

 in which are the piles and their super- 

 imposed rail. 



Each barge has a helmsman afloat, and 

 he becomes the brakesman ashore. The 

 change over from screw drive to wheel 

 propulsion is accomplished as soon as the 

 tug is astride of the rail and whilst the 

 propellers are still submerged ; this prevents 

 the screws racing with possible damage to 

 their shafts. 



The change over from water to rail takes 

 less than ten minutes, and although the 

 speed on the rail is less than in the water, 

 a rate of five miles an hour was maintained 

 when the trials were carried out on the 

 canal at Willebroeck just outside Antwerp. 



The operation of the river train will be 

 watched very carefully by those who are 

 faced with similar transport conditions, but 

 it needs little consideration to arrive at the 



