Light Rail Vehicles - LRT, ICTS, Monorail, and more

[Canard]

I don't see the purpose of it. Why not just do light rail?

If I remember correctly, the buses leave the guideway and continue as regular buses.

Exactly - watch the video. Starts out on the road, enters the guideway for some sections, then leaves again.

[KevinL]

It's basically a more formalized Transitway, with a structured guideway to maximize efficiency.

[Canard]

I think this counts for this thread:



I've never seen anything like this. After digging some more there's half a dozen of these still in operation around the world, including this huge one in Spain!

[KevinL]

Ferry meets bridge. Quite the concept.

[jamincan]

I've heard of them before, but I'm not entirely clear why they wouldn't just use a ferry.

[tomh009]

I've heard of them before, but I'm not entirely clear why they wouldn't just use a ferry.

The biggest issue they overcome is a riverbank shape that is not well suited to ferry ramps: either too high (cliffs etc) or too low (prone to flooding).  Still, it's a pretty rare scenario.

[Rainrider22]

Must be an interesting ride in strong winds...Cool thou...

[Canard]

Nah, the cross bracing of the cables make it a kinematically rigid platform. It’s not possible for it to swing.

[chutten]

There's one in Newport, in Wales. YouTube educator Tom Scott covers in an episode of his excellent series "Things You Might Not Know" the reasons why it's useful. In short:

Tides (at low tide a ferry won't be anywhere near the bank)

Low riverbanks (For taller ships, you'd need to build the bridge high above the riverbanks to get it high above the river. This means cost, and extending the bridge far beyond either bank.)

Age (Now, we could build tunnels. Or we could divert the motorway a few km in either direction to a better crossing location. A few km was a bigger deal back when these were built and cars weren't as fast or prevalent.)

Deep, fast, currents (Any bridge would require in-river supports. Things large ships could crash into.)

I recommend "Things You Might Not Know" to anyone who appreciates interesting things. Of particular interest to this crowd might be the episodes on The Falkirk Wheel  or perhaps the one on Ascensore Castello d'Albertis-Montegalletto

[timc]

I recommend "Things You Might Not Know" to anyone who appreciates interesting things. Of particular interest to this crowd might be the episodes on The Falkirk Wheel  or perhaps the one on Ascensore Castello d'Albertis-Montegalletto

I think those are actually "Amazing Places" instead of "Things You Might Not Know". But still Tom Scott. You should also see the one about the Wuppertal Monorail, which has probably been linked somewhere around here.

Seeing the Falkirk Wheel reminds me of the Kirkfield lift lock here in Ontario. Not quite as wheel-like, but still amazing to see in operation. I gather that there is one in Peterborough as well, but I haven't been there.

[chutten]

I think those are actually "Amazing Places" instead of "Things You Might Not Know". But still Tom Scott. You should also see the one about the Wuppertal Monorail, which has probably been linked somewhere around here.

Seeing the Falkirk Wheel reminds me of the Kirkfield lift lock here in Ontario. Not quite as wheel-like, but still amazing to see in operation. I gather that there is one in Peterborough as well, but I haven't been there.

Duh, of course. Amazing Places.

Along the same lines as the lift locks, at Honey Harbour (north of Barrie) there's the Big Chute Marine Railway. In the summer it cycles constantly up and down quite imposingly. A pity they took out the Visitor's Centre. But the original railway's still in place, too, for contrast, and plenty of historical plaques.

[Canard]

It's worth the drive - an incredibly unique feat of engineering!

Here's some video I shot from a visit there in summer 2015:



You can look through windows into the machine room.  Perhaps my favourite feat about this is the symphony of kinematic coordination performed by the four servo-driven winches that pay in and out the haul ropes at different rates as they pass over the midpoint (you can see this happening at 5:30; I wish I'd shot some footage of half of the winches decelerating and reversing in perfect harmony at this point).  Absolutely breathtaking.  I literally gasped.

I really want to go see the giant one in Belgium (Ronquiers?) someday.  Or that ridiculous one in Russia that has a 90 degree turn halfway through.

[KevinT]

Here's some video I shot from a visit there in summer 2015:

I did a SeaDoo trip from Ramara to Big Chute just to ride this thing down and back up again.  Heck of an experience, loved going through the gorge at McDonald's Cut too!

[Canard]

With tunnel boring now complete in Rennes for Ligne B, here's one of those beautiful scrolly-type picture-heavy webpages/articles about where they're at:

https://social.shorthand.com/metropolere...ceptionnel

I love this line and can't wait to see it completed, since it's the world premiere of CityVal, the next generation VAL!

[Canard]

Bombardier's latest INNOVIA 300 APM opened today for trial operations in Shanghai!

This was a joint-venture project.



I love the new track system (first used on DFW Skytrain), which greatly simplifies the guideway construction over the older Westinghouse/Adtranz (100/200) system which is common throughout many airports.