THE GYROCAR 



The accuracy of this prediction was put to the test in 

 November, 1909, when Mr. Brennan exhibited the first 

 gyrocar of commercial size. The result was demon- 

 strative and convincing. The large car, carrying forty 

 or fifty passengers, operated exactly as its inventor had 

 foretold, and the doubts of the most skeptical were set at 

 rest. Photographs of the car in actual operation, with 

 its load of passengers, were sent broadcast, and it be- 

 came apparent that the introduction of the gyrocar in 

 competition with railway, trolley, and motor cars of the 

 old type would be only a matter of time. 



When we come thus to consider the gyrocar as a 

 vehicle in which all of us may soon have an opportunity 

 to ride, there is one practical question that is sure to 

 present itself to the mind of almost every reader. What 

 will be the efiFect should the electrical power that drives 

 the gyroscopes give out at a critical moment, as, for 

 instance, when the car is just crossing a gorge or river 

 on a cable? Mr. Brennan^s ingenuity has anticipated 

 this emergency. The gyroscopes that balance his cars 

 operate in a vacuum, and all the bearings are so well 

 devised as to give very little friction. The wheels will 

 continue running for a considerable time after the power 

 is shut oflF. The large gyroscopes of the commercial 

 car, it is estimated, will perhaps require two hours to 

 attain the highest rate of rotation, but they will then 

 continue revolving at an effective speed for some hours, 

 even if no further power is applied to them. 



It may be said, too, that the gyrocar is provided with 

 lateral legs that may be let down in case of emergency 

 or when the car is not in use, to avoid waste of energy 



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