Creating the most economical transport.
Today we have all become accustomed and fast Eurostar trains operating between London and Paris. However, few people know that instead, they could ply a “flying train” driven by a propeller.
These things, more like some fantasy of the futurist, was invented by George Bennie. Moreover, in 1930, was even built the prototype trains designed to create a more efficient and rapid transport system between the two European capitals.
Test track was built in the suburbs of Glasgow, Scotland, a town called Milngavie. He looked as 120 meters of monorail that is installed at a height of several meters, under which was hung a cigar-shaped car. Brought him to the movement of the propellers. Energy for electric motors were taken from the local tram network. The estimated speed of such an unusual aeropoezd was 200 km/h.
When reporters for the first time offered a ride on the train-the plane in July 1930, they were delighted. All noted that in contrast to the usual rumbling on rails trains, travel in a “flying train” benny was amazing quiet and comfortable. There was only one problem. Nobody wanted to Finance the inventor.
After benny paid for the test track and prototype trains out of pocket, in 1937, he went bankrupt, and the dream of the inventor sunk into oblivion. The monorail has stood still for 25 years in disrepair, rusting, before it was finally scrapped in the mid 1950-ies. Around the same time benny died in obscurity.
Ten years after that destroyed a prototype and it’s very innovative for its time, the train. On the tombstone of the engineer wrote: “his Ideas were correct, but he is not a good time”.
And then came the time of the French…
In an article published in may 1930, was described by the design monorail “flying train” engineer Joseph Archer, but it was still as much as 35 years before the Frenchman could see the “flying Samolyot” that he developed.
Aerotrain monorail train driven by a propeller that was trying to build in France in 1965 – 1977 engineer Jean Bertin. And although the experimental development of this revolutionary mode of transport was abandoned, unlike his British colleagues, still can be found rusting in the forest overhead trestle that runs parallel to the railway line Paris-Orleans, near the town of Gometz-La-Ville.
Some parts of the overpass (which was originally more than 25 km) were demolished to make way for roads, while others remained completely intact and over 40 years later.
The first prototype of aeropoezd set a speed record for trains in the 1960-ies, speeding up to 430 km/h, which was able to repeat the French TGV only 20 years.
Under President Georges Pompidou in 1965, the project received the approval of the government, which continued its successful development until mid-1970-ies. But was replaced by political power, and the new government gave preference to the development of the TGV as the main high-speed ground transportation. It finally finished off the concept of the “air train”.
Prototypes of these trains were stored in the hangar at Chevilly, but their condition left much to be desired. The first prototype was restored and moved to the Association of Jean Bertin, but in 1991, a fire completely destroyed one of the remaining prototypes in Chevilly, severely damaging the others. The charred remains of the trains were scrapped, and an abandoned hangar was finally destroyed in 1997.
Today, of course there is high-speed Eurostar and TGV, but it is a pity that it happened so late.
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