Lartigue Monorail
The Lartigue Monorail system was developed by the French engineer Charles Lartigue (1834–1907). He further developed a horse drawn monorail system, which had been invented by Henry Robinson Palmer in 1821.[1]
Lartigue had seen camels in Algeria carrying heavy loads balanced in panniers on their backs. This inspired him to design a new type of railway. Instead of the conventional two parallel rails on the ground, it had a single rail sitting above the sand and held at waist height on A-shaped trestles. The carriages sat astride the trestles like panniers.
The most famous Lartigue
Despite how it is referred to, the Lartigue system was not truly a monorail, since it was necessary to add two further rails, one on each side, lower down the A frames. These did not carry any weight, but unpowered stabilising wheels fitted to all the engines and wagons contacted these extra rails to prevent the vehicles from overbalancing.
Listowel and Ballybunion Railway
This was a 14.4 km (8.9 mi)
Loads had to be evenly balanced. If a farmer wanted to send a cow to market, he would have to send two calves to balance it, which would travel back on opposite sides of the same freight wagon, thereby balancing each other.[4]
Another problem with using the Lartigue system in populated areas was that, due to the track's design, it was not possible to build conventional
Passengers could not pass from one side of a carriage to another while in motion. A kind of footbridge was built into one end of some of the passenger coaches, while at least one such bridge was carried on a separate wagon. That allowed passengers to cross from one side of the train to the other when stopped at a station.
Conventional railway
The three
The track, installations and rolling stock were damaged during the Irish Civil War of 1922-23, but services continued. However, the failure to include the railway in the Great Southern Railways, the company created by the Irish Government to run the railways in the Irish Free State, left the financially struggling operation no choice but to close.[3] The last train ran on 14 October 1924 and everything was scrapped, except a short section of the track.
Accidents
On 29 September 1889, a passenger train was derailed near Galey bridge, probably as a result of sabotage to the line. Several bolts were found to have been removed from the track and discarded some distance away. Fortunately no-one was injured.[5]
On 28 November 1907, a double-headed train on a busy race day collided with some sleepers on a trestle and derailed.[6]
On 14 October 1914, a train heading towards Listowel reached Moybella at 18.00 and hit James Lynch a milesman, who died from his injuries.[7]
Restoration
In 2003 the Lartigue Monorailway Restoration Committee, a voluntary organisation from
Other examples of Lartigue monorails
Built
By 1875 Lartigue had built a 90 km (56 mi)
At exhibitions in Paris and Rouen in 1884, demonstration lines were showcased. These were electrically powered using either the running rail or side rails for conduction to the locomotive.[9]
Following these demonstrations, a mineral railway was built at the Ria copper mines in the eastern Pyrenees. This was also electrically powered, with the electricity for ascending trains being generated by the trains descending.[9]
In 1886, to promote the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway, a demonstration track was built in Westminister, London. It showed off the features and advantages of the system, including steep gradients, sharp curves, points and level crossings.[9]
A line 17 km (11 mi) long was built in 1895 between Feurs and Panissières, in the French département of Loire. However, it never opened after it failed certification testing in both 1895 and 1896. The track and equipment were scrapped in 1902.[10]
F. B. Behr's 'Lightning Express' concept was shown at the 1897 Brussels International Exposition. This was a development of the Lartigue system which enabled higher speeds using electric power, articulated chassis and two guide rails on either side of the trestle. This demonstration train reached speeds of over 75 miles per hour (121 km/h).[9]
In the northern
A mountain railway was built between Chilecito and Famatina in La Rioja, Argentina. It was 44 kilometres (27 mi) long and had a maximum gradient of 33%, necessitating the use of rack rails.[9]
Not built
The Lynton Railway was a planned Lartigue monorail between Filleigh and Lynton in Devon, England. It was approved by an act of parliament in 1886 but was not proceeded with.[9]
The Manchester and Liverpool Express Railway was the closest that the 'Lightning Express' concept came to becoming a reality. This would have been a 34+1⁄2-mile (55.5 km) long double-track railway with a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h). It would have run between Deansgate in Manchester and Church Street in Liverpool with no intermediate stops, covering the distance in 20 minutes. A joint committee of the major stakeholders in both cities was formed and in May 1899 it reported that the total cost would be £1,487,311. Soon after, the Manchester and Liverpool Electric Railway Syndicate Ltd was formed to construct the line. In 1901, the railway was approved by an act of parliament, however it included a clause which enabled the Board of Trade to require testing of the design at the company's expense to certify the system's safety. The company agreed to build 7 miles (11 km) of the route for this purpose, however the substantial cost of this scared away most investors, who did not want to finance the construction of a railway which might never be allowed to open. By 1903, the company had gone bankrupt.[9]
See also
- List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland
- History of rail transport in Ireland
- Aldershot Narrow Gauge Suspension Railway
References
- ^ "The Lartigue Railway". Australian Town and Country Journal. NSW. 19 March 1887. p. 32. Retrieved 23 February 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
- ISBN 0-9513549-0-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-85361-376-1. Locomotion Papers LP33.
- ^ Sekon, G. A. (November 1924). The Railway Magazine. London.
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(help) - ^ "Listowell And Ballybunion Railway" (PDF). London: Board of Trade, (Railway Department). 7 December 1889 – via railwaysarchive.co.uk.
- The Freeman's Journal. Vol. LVIII, no. 3592. Sydney. 28 November 1907. p. 8. Retrieved 31 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Esbester, Mike (8 October 2018). "Monorail, monorail, monorail …". Railway Work, Life & Death. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "Listowel and Ballybunion Railway".
- ^ .
- ^ "Panissières The monorail, a politico-financial scandal ". Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ Jahns, Richard H. "The Epsom Salts Line - Monorail to Nowhere" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. (Republished in Trains and Travel, October 1951)
Further reading
- Newham, A.T. (1998) [1989]. The Listowel and Ballybunion Railway (LP33 ed.). Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-376-1.
- The Graphic (January): 61. 1887.
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External links
- The Rebuilt Lartigue Monorailway website
- "Lartigue Monorail Locomotives". The Museum of Retrotech. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018.
- The Lartigue Monorailway Photos
- Article in the Scientific American Supplement No. 584 (12 March 1887) pages 9325-27
- British Pathe film