Monorails in Russia
Encyclopedia
Russian monorails date back to the 19th century. The first Russian monorail
was built by Ivan Elmanov
in Myachkovo
village, near Moscow
in 1820. In this "road on pillars", horses pulled railroad carriages placed on a horizontal beam. The wheels were mounted on the beam, not on the carriages. Elmanov could not find investors to fund for his project, and stopped working on the monorail. In 1821, Henry Palmer
patented his monorail design in the UK.
In 1836, Prince Beloselsky-Belozersky proposed another monorail design which contained two rows of wheels on mounted on a pillar structure.
In 1872, monorail designed by Lyarsky was shown at a polytechnic exhibition in Moscow.
In 1874, Alexei Khludov constructed a monorail for transporting wood.
In March 1895, Russian engineer Ippolit Romanov built a prototype of an electric monorail in Odessa
, modern-day Ukraine
. In 1897, he presented a functional model of his monorail at the meeting of Russian technological society. This idea was approved bom the monorail history
y the society, and an experimental electric monorail was built in 1899. In 1900, received an approval from the Empress Maria Fedorovna to build an 0.2 kilometre (0.124274547329961 mi) long electric monorail in Gatchina. The monorail was tested on 25 June 1900. Monorail carriage could be loaded with up to 25 kilograms (55.1 lb) and moved at a speed of 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph).
In 1904 Russian engineer Koshkin in collaboration with Romanov designed a project of a monorail that would connect St Petersburg and Moscow. The proposed train speed was up to 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph). This ambitious project was approved by the Ministry of Roads, but was not financed. A similar proposal of a monorail from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod was not funded, as well.
In 1911, professor of Tomsk Technological Institute B.P. Vainberg invented a train on a electromagnetic support that was driven by linear synchronous electrical motor. This design was similar to the magnetic monorail built by Baschellet in France in 1910. Vainberg's experimental model permitted to transfer 10 kG carriages. In 1911-1913 Vainberg experimented with his model, and then proposed building an experimental track in which trains would move at a speed of 800–1000 km/h. This project was not realized.
In 1921, a construction of a 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) monorail connecting Saint Petersburg
and Tsarskoye Selo
was commenced. Petr Petrovich Shklovskiy was the author of that project. The monorail was planned to have gyroscopic stabilization (first patented by Brennan in 1903). The proposed monorail train consisted of a motor car and a 50-seat passenger car. The travel speed was supposed to reach 150 km/h. A 12 km monorail track was constructed in 4 months, and a Saint Petersburg factory was contracted to build a train. In May 1922, the project funding ceased. Shilovskiy went to the Great Britain where he worked for Sperry Gyroscope Company.
In the 1920-1930s theoretical and practical works on monorails were conducted by Vyacheslav Petrovich Tikhostsky and his colleagues. Several experimental monorails were built: Sipyaginskaya, Solotchinskaya, Lyskovskaya and Redkinskaya.
In the 1950s a monorail construction project was launched in Kamchatka, but only an experimental line was built.
From mid 1950s to 1960s passenger monorails were planned for Karaganda
, Magnitogorsk
and Miass
, but their construction did not begin.
In the 1950s a railway that combined features of a monorail and a cable car was proposed for Volzhskaya hydro-electric power station. A similar design was proposed in 1961 by I. Ivanova for public transportation.
In 1967 scientists of Kiev Polytechnic Institute jointly with engineers of Dzerzhinsky plant pioneered the monorail with linear asynchronous motor. The construction of a 525 metres (1,722.4 ft) circular line at the exhibition of modern technologies in Kiev was funded by Ukrainian government. Similar monorails were built in Germany in 1969.
Intensive research on magnetic monorails was conducted in the Soviet Union in the 1970-1980s. In 1977 the first in the world monorail with magnetic support was planned in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. This plan was not fulfilled.
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...
was built by Ivan Elmanov
Ivan Elmanov
Ivan Kirillovich Elmanov was a Russian inventor. In 1820 he created a "road on pillars" , a kind of monorail located in Myachkovo village, near Moscow. That was the first known monorail in the world, however the carriages were horse-drawn, and the wheels were set on the pillar structure, not on...
in Myachkovo
Myachkovo, Moscow Oblast
Myachkovo is a village in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located near the mouth of the Pakhra River flowing into the Moskva River. It is the site of Bykovo railway station....
village, near Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1820. In this "road on pillars", horses pulled railroad carriages placed on a horizontal beam. The wheels were mounted on the beam, not on the carriages. Elmanov could not find investors to fund for his project, and stopped working on the monorail. In 1821, Henry Palmer
Henry Palmer
Henry Palmer may refer to:*Henry Palmer , Surveyor of the Navy from 11 July 1589 to 20 December 1598*Henry Robinson Palmer , English engineer, in 1824 produced designs for a horse-drawn suspended monorail, precursor of the Schwebebahn Wuppertal*Henry Spencer Palmer ,British army military engineer...
patented his monorail design in the UK.
In 1836, Prince Beloselsky-Belozersky proposed another monorail design which contained two rows of wheels on mounted on a pillar structure.
In 1872, monorail designed by Lyarsky was shown at a polytechnic exhibition in Moscow.
In 1874, Alexei Khludov constructed a monorail for transporting wood.
In March 1895, Russian engineer Ippolit Romanov built a prototype of an electric monorail in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, modern-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In 1897, he presented a functional model of his monorail at the meeting of Russian technological society. This idea was approved bom the monorail history
y the society, and an experimental electric monorail was built in 1899. In 1900, received an approval from the Empress Maria Fedorovna to build an 0.2 kilometre (0.124274547329961 mi) long electric monorail in Gatchina. The monorail was tested on 25 June 1900. Monorail carriage could be loaded with up to 25 kilograms (55.1 lb) and moved at a speed of 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph).
In 1904 Russian engineer Koshkin in collaboration with Romanov designed a project of a monorail that would connect St Petersburg and Moscow. The proposed train speed was up to 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph). This ambitious project was approved by the Ministry of Roads, but was not financed. A similar proposal of a monorail from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod was not funded, as well.
In 1911, professor of Tomsk Technological Institute B.P. Vainberg invented a train on a electromagnetic support that was driven by linear synchronous electrical motor. This design was similar to the magnetic monorail built by Baschellet in France in 1910. Vainberg's experimental model permitted to transfer 10 kG carriages. In 1911-1913 Vainberg experimented with his model, and then proposed building an experimental track in which trains would move at a speed of 800–1000 km/h. This project was not realized.
In 1921, a construction of a 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) monorail connecting Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
was commenced. Petr Petrovich Shklovskiy was the author of that project. The monorail was planned to have gyroscopic stabilization (first patented by Brennan in 1903). The proposed monorail train consisted of a motor car and a 50-seat passenger car. The travel speed was supposed to reach 150 km/h. A 12 km monorail track was constructed in 4 months, and a Saint Petersburg factory was contracted to build a train. In May 1922, the project funding ceased. Shilovskiy went to the Great Britain where he worked for Sperry Gyroscope Company.
In the 1920-1930s theoretical and practical works on monorails were conducted by Vyacheslav Petrovich Tikhostsky and his colleagues. Several experimental monorails were built: Sipyaginskaya, Solotchinskaya, Lyskovskaya and Redkinskaya.
In the 1950s a monorail construction project was launched in Kamchatka, but only an experimental line was built.
From mid 1950s to 1960s passenger monorails were planned for Karaganda
Karaganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
, Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
and Miass
Miass
Miass is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Chelyabinsk, on the eastern slope of the southern Urals, on the bank of the Miass River. Population: -History:...
, but their construction did not begin.
In the 1950s a railway that combined features of a monorail and a cable car was proposed for Volzhskaya hydro-electric power station. A similar design was proposed in 1961 by I. Ivanova for public transportation.
In 1967 scientists of Kiev Polytechnic Institute jointly with engineers of Dzerzhinsky plant pioneered the monorail with linear asynchronous motor. The construction of a 525 metres (1,722.4 ft) circular line at the exhibition of modern technologies in Kiev was funded by Ukrainian government. Similar monorails were built in Germany in 1969.
Intensive research on magnetic monorails was conducted in the Soviet Union in the 1970-1980s. In 1977 the first in the world monorail with magnetic support was planned in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. This plan was not fulfilled.