The Single-Track Hanging Railway 



It saves money in building and 

 it uses the middle of the street 



The inverted railway, 

 with concrete, support 



THE airplane and the submarine 

 were born years ago. In their 

 early youth they were unable to 



prove how powerful they would be in later 



years, and most people scorned their 



promise for the 



future. Inverted 



railways, so 



called, because 



the cars hang 



from the rails, 



must fight the 



same battle for 



recogniti on. 



There are still 



many people who 



ridicule this type 



of railway, even 



though a suc- 

 cessful one has 



long been in op- 

 eration between 



the three German manufacturing towns, 

 Vohwinkel, Elberfeld, and Barmen. 



A railway somewhat similar to the Ger- 

 man one has been proposed by J. B. 

 Strauss of Detroit. This inverted rail- 

 way has been suggested for use in our 

 large crowded cities where traffic condi- 

 tions are bad. Of the 

 many advantages 

 claimed for this sys- 

 tem, the most impor- 

 tant are the reduction 

 of space occupied, of 

 noise and of danger. 



A general idea of 

 the Strauss system is 

 presented in the il- 

 lustration. Here it 

 will be seen that a 

 central column sup- 

 ports the entire struc- 

 ture. Traffic condi- 

 tions on the street 

 below would surely be 

 better with this single 

 type of column than 

 they are now with the 

 two column system 

 for, with our "keep to 



Central columns filled 

 the entire structure 



The system is 

 constructed 

 so that dc 

 railment is 

 impossibK 

 Guideway 

 prevent the 

 car from 

 s w a y i n y 





the right" regulations, the center of the 

 street is not much used. 



Many ways are suggested by which the 

 customary noise of an approaching train 

 on an elevated railway may be eliminated. 



Since the driving 

 mechanism is 

 above the train, 

 it can be easily 

 enclosed. The 

 way in which the 

 car is supported 

 makes the use of 

 ordinary ties un- 

 necessary. The 

 supporting posts 

 are filled with 

 concrete. 



Since the de- 

 sire for self-pres- 

 ervation is very 

 strong w^ithin us, 

 we naturally feel that the safety of such a 

 railway is really the prime factor. In 

 regard to this, we may be sure that derail- 

 ment is impossible. As the rail is en- 

 closed, snow and sleet cannot affect it. 

 The system is so constructed that the 

 car cannot fall. Shoes at the sides and 

 bottom of the car ride 

 on a guide rail in 

 order to prevent the 

 car from swaying. 



In comparing this 

 proposed system with 

 the successful one in 

 Germany, we find 

 only two noticeable 

 differences: one is 

 that springs instead of 

 a guide rail prevent 

 the car from swaying; the other is 

 that the support which holds the 

 car is of the double column type in 

 the German railway. A very gen- 

 eral idea of this is here shown. One 

 is the type of support used over 

 water, and the other the type used 

 on land. Since these differences are 

 unimportant, the Strauss system 

 may meet with success. 



ir>o 



