The gyro monorail, gyroscopic monorail, gyro-stabilized monorail, or gyrocar are terms for a single rail land vehicle that uses the gyroscopic action of a spinning wheel to overcome the inherent instability of balancing on top of a single rail.
source.image(PrtSc): Primal Space
In this video, we explore the fascinating story of the Brennan Monorail, an innovative train from the early 1900s designed by Louis Brennan. This monorail defied conventional physics by balancing on a single rail, leaning into corners without external input, and remaining stable even when stationary … So why weren’t investors confident in this design? Stick around to find out why and to learn more about how you can enter to win in the next exciting giveaway! Watch the video from Primal Space:
The gyro monorail was never developed beyond the prototype stage. The principal advantage of the monorail cited by Shilovsky is the suppression of hunting oscillation, a speed limitation encountered by conventional railways at the time. Also, sharper turns are possible compared to the 7 km radius of turn typical of modern high-speed trains such as the TGV, because the vehicle will bank automatically on bends, like an aircraft.
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The vehicle runs on a single conventional rail, so that without the balancing system it would topple over. A spinning wheel is mounted in a gimbal frame whose axis of rotation (the precession axis) is perpendicular to the spin axis. The assembly is mounted on the vehicle chassis such that, at equilibrium, the spin axis, precession axis and vehicle roll axis are mutually perpendicular.
