Lartigue Monorail

The Listowel and Ballybunion Railway was the world's first commercial monorail. They linked the city Listowel and Ballybunion in County Kerry, Ireland, together. The web was used both for passengers and for freight.

History

After Charles Lartigue had collected with his self-developed monorail system experiences in Algeria and at an exhibition train in London, he was anxious to make a public railway line in the British Isles to build, which should ideally serve as a model for other projects. Since at the same time was present an application of the population in County Kerry on the construction of a railway line between Listowel and Ballybunion, the decision should have arisen for the construction of the railway to Lartigue idea of it. Its construction cost 30,000 pounds sterling, the project was financed without government subsidies. The railway was opened on 29 February, 1888. Expectation Lartigue, the railway would attract licensees for its patents was not fulfilled, which on the one hand to its location in a secluded corner of Ireland, but on the other hand, located more to the associated with numerous complications technology had.

The trains carried in freight often cattle and sand from the beach. The population of Limerick and Kerry drove it to the beach and the golf courses of Ballybunion and the school children of Ballybunion to Listowel Secondary School. Despite their unusual system and all associated disadvantages the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway was operated for 36 years to have this dropped without ever significant profit. In the Irish Civil War, the railway was damaged and subsequently closed down in 1924 for economic reasons.

Technology

After its founder was the technique, in which the web was performed, also called Lartigue system, the railway also Lartigue monorail.

Track

The Listowel and Ballybunion Railway was 14.4 kilometers (9 miles) long. The trains ran on an elevated track. The course was similar to a hub, realized as a rotatable segments of the elevated roadway.

When Lartigue technology intersections were a problem. The track had so traffic could pass, to be crossed by a drawbridge, a complex process that required at each intersection with a road personnel to operate the system. Where agricultural paths crossed, the legitimate farmers had a key that allowed them to fold away the track. These sites were secured signal, which meant that the agricultural traffic had priority over the rail traffic.

Rolling stock

Companies was the train with three steam locomotives of the " axis sequence " 0-3-0 (driven so three individual wheels ). There were guide wheels that used to bear any weight. Built by locomotives 1888 from the Hunslet Engine Company, Leeds. The maximum speed limit was 29 km / h ( 18 mph ), the locomotives were however able, even 48 km / h (30 mph) to drive safely. During the construction of the railway, it should have been a smaller locomotive. Locomotives had - to balance the weight of - two boilers, one each on each side of the run in the middle rail. The carriage also had a respective carriage body at each side of the track without the need existed between these two parts a passage. The passengers sat on side benches, which were arranged toward the vehicle center. Passenger trains carried out a staircase with them, a kind of " pedestrian bridge ", with the track and the train could be exceeded in order to get to the other side during a budget.

The balancing of the vehicles was one of the biggest problems of the operation: for passenger cars had to be taken for a ride so that the weight of the passengers was about the same on each side of the car. If a single cow are brought to the market, had to be carried to balance the weight on the other side of the wagon two calves, which then - each on one side of the car - had to be scaled back. A railway carriage could invite twelve cows.

Museum Railway

2003 was taken by the Lartigue Mono Railway Restoration Committee, a voluntary association, in Listowel on the original route, a one kilometer-long replica of the historic railroad in operation. It uses a diesel locomotive, which is external to replicate the early steam locomotives. The locomotive and the cars of the simulation were made by Alan Keef (Lea, in Ross-on -Wye in Herefordshire ).

Pictures

Passenger Station in Ballybunion

Transition from one side of a vehicle to the other

Train at crossing points

Railroad crossing with a drawbridge