Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney
| Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney | |
|---|---|
| Born |
3 February 1881 Geelong, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 15 April 1966 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Other names | Chalmers Kearney |
| Occupation | Railway engineer |
| Known for | Promoter of monorail technology; author |
Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney (3 February 1881 – 15 April 1966) was an Australian inventor, engineer and author. Born in Geelong, Victoria in 1881, he spent most of his life in the United Kingdom. He was educated briefly at Ellesmere College, Shropshire during 1894 but left in October on account of ill health (he suffered chronic asthma and bronchitis).
His work focussed on railway engineering and he was managing director of the Kearney Railway Construction Company Ltd.
Kearney patented an innovative underground monorail railway system, the Kearney High-Speed Tube, which used the effects of gravity to enhance acceleration and deceleration and reduce power consumption with a "roller coaster" type of motion; from shallow sub-surface stations, deep-level tube tunnels would fall away at a 1-in-7 gradient, enabling underground trains to reach an estimated 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) before slowing down as they climbed to the next station. The trains were unusual in that they would run on a single rail with four double-flanged wheels under each carriage; wheels mounted on the roof would run along an upper guide rail above the train. This upper guide rail, along with the carriages' low centre of gravity and the gyroscopic effect of motion, would stabilise the train on the lower rail and reduce the side-to-side hunting oscillation, thus preventing derailments and allowing greater speeds.
At least two models of the system were built, in 1905 and 1908, including dramatic extremes such as 1-in-3 gradients and S-bends. Demonstration lines were planned at the 1911 Festival of Empire at Crystal Palace, in 1914 at the Aldwych in London, and a 1920 proposal between two hills in Brighton and Rottingdean. A full-sized carriage body was constructed by Brush Electrical Engineering Co. Ltd at Lougborough, which was apparently later destroyed by fire in suspicious circumstances.
...
Wikipedia