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- 4 Jun 2021
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A brilliant innovation at the turn of the 20th century that failed to take off. I'm surprised that this technology hasn't been used in other applications though. It would be great fun to ride on one of these at a theme park and there might even be one in the UK.
One thing I'd like to know that the video didn't explain, was how was the train was propped up when switched off. There must have been a stand that kicked down, perhaps similar to a bicycle stand.
Also, it's probably for the best that it didn't take off as I can imagine that failure modes would be quite dangerous with the train toppling over, especially during a derailing or gyro failure, or just running out fuel. The fuel issue could perhaps be mitigated if the train was stationary, but I can't see how the others can. Because of these issues, it's probably best that it didn't take off. I see that even with modern technology which could implement a much more advanced solution, it's not been made, so I think these inherent problems are likely to be too much.
One thing I'd like to know that the video didn't explain, was how was the train was propped up when switched off. There must have been a stand that kicked down, perhaps similar to a bicycle stand.
Also, it's probably for the best that it didn't take off as I can imagine that failure modes would be quite dangerous with the train toppling over, especially during a derailing or gyro failure, or just running out fuel. The fuel issue could perhaps be mitigated if the train was stationary, but I can't see how the others can. Because of these issues, it's probably best that it didn't take off. I see that even with modern technology which could implement a much more advanced solution, it's not been made, so I think these inherent problems are likely to be too much.
