Miami Seaquarium Spacerail
Encyclopedia
The Miami Seaquarium Spacerail was a monorail
at Miami Seaquarium
. It was the first hanging monorail in North America
. It existed solely for entertainment, not transportation, as it had only one station. It offered views not only of the Seaquarium exhibits and buildings, but also of the Miami
skyline
. There were six cars, though only five were run at a time, and the cars had names after fish
. The cars had unique styling until they were redesigned in 1978 to be rectangular and their names were removed. The cars operated around the loop counterclockwise
, and had an Automatic Block Signal
system.
In 1991, the Seaquarium was to be expanded. By that time, the monorail ridership was low, due to a loss of novelty. Furthermore, it was obsolete and labor-intensive. There was some consideration to turn the monorail into a parking lot
, but in the end, the monorail was demolished, because the expanded park crowded out the views from the ride, although this may not have been an issue if the monorail had been built to operate in the opposite direction. The cars are now used as storage sheds, although there are some calls to preserve them.
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
at Miami Seaquarium
Miami Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is a oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is located near downtown Miami. It is the longest operating oceanarium in the United States. In addition to the marine mammals, the Miami Seaquarium also...
. It was the first hanging monorail in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It existed solely for entertainment, not transportation, as it had only one station. It offered views not only of the Seaquarium exhibits and buildings, but also of the Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
skyline
Skyline
A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
. There were six cars, though only five were run at a time, and the cars had names after fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. The cars had unique styling until they were redesigned in 1978 to be rectangular and their names were removed. The cars operated around the loop counterclockwise
Clockwise
Circular motion can occur in two possible directions. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top...
, and had an Automatic Block Signal
Automatic Block Signal
Automatic Block Signaling, or ABS, is a block system that consists of a series of signals that divide a railway line into a series of blocks and then functions to control the movement of trains between them through automatic signals...
system.
In 1991, the Seaquarium was to be expanded. By that time, the monorail ridership was low, due to a loss of novelty. Furthermore, it was obsolete and labor-intensive. There was some consideration to turn the monorail into a parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
, but in the end, the monorail was demolished, because the expanded park crowded out the views from the ride, although this may not have been an issue if the monorail had been built to operate in the opposite direction. The cars are now used as storage sheds, although there are some calls to preserve them.