Elevated railway
Encyclopedia
An elevated railway is a form of rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 railway with the tracks built above street level on some form of viaduct or other steel or concrete structure. The railway concerned may be constructed according to the standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

, narrow gauge, light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

, monorail
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...

 or suspension railway
Suspension railway
A suspension railway is a form of elevated monorail where the vehicle is suspended from a fixed track , which is built above street level, over a river or canal, or an existing railway track.-Palmer System:...

 system. Elevated railways are usually used in urban areas where otherwise there would be a large number of level crossings.

History

The earliest example of an elevated railway was the London and Greenwich Railway
London and Greenwich Railway
The London and Greenwich Railway was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway to have a terminus in the capital, the first of any to be built specifically for passenger service, and the first example of an elevated railway....

 which was built on a brick viaduct of 878 arches between 1836 and 1838. Various other lines were proposed for London during the 1840s but were never implemented.

From the late 1860s elevated railways became popular in US cities. The New York West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway
IRT Ninth Avenue Line
The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue El, was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, a cable-hauled line. It ceased operation in 1940....

 operated with cable car
Cable car
A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate, or a vehicle on these systems.-Aerial lift:Aerial lifts where the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable:...

s from 1868 to 1870, but thereafter was locomotive hauled. This was followed by the Manhattan Railway
Manhattan Railway
The Manhattan Railway was an elevated railway company in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, United States.It operated four lines* Second Avenue Line* Third Avenue Line* Sixth Avenue Line* Ninth Avenue Line-History:...

 in 1875, the Boston Elevated Railway
Boston Elevated Railway
The Boston Elevated Railway was a precursor first to the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Massachusetts, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, operating rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It was formerly known as the West End Street Railway.The...

 (1887-), and the South Side Elevated Railroad
South Side Elevated Railroad
The South Side Elevated Railroad was the first elevated rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois. The line ran from downtown Chicago to Jackson Park, with branches to Englewood, Normal Park, Kenwood, and the Union Stock Yards...

, Chicago (1892-). The Berlin Stadtbahn (1882) is also principally on elevated track.

The first electrically-operated elevated railway, was the Liverpool Overhead Railway
Liverpool Overhead Railway
The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...

, which operated through Liverpool docks from 1893 until 1956.

Suspension railways

During the 1890s there was some interest in suspension railway
Suspension railway
A suspension railway is a form of elevated monorail where the vehicle is suspended from a fixed track , which is built above street level, over a river or canal, or an existing railway track.-Palmer System:...

s, particularly in Germany, with the Schwebebahn Dresden
Schwebebahn Dresden
The Schwebebahn Dresden is one of the oldest suspension railways — a kind of hanging monorail — in the world, having opened in 1901. It is situated in Dresden, Germany, and connects the districts of Loschwitz and Oberloschwitz . The line is 274 metres long and is supported on...

, (1891-) and the Wuppertal Schwebebahn (1901). Two further H-Bahn
H-Bahn
The H-Bahn in Dortmund and Düsseldorf is a suspended, driverless passenger monorail system. The system has been developed by Siemens, who call the project SIPEM ....

 suspension railways were built in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 and Düsseldorf airport, 1975. The Memphis Suspension Railway
Memphis Suspension Railway
The Memphis Suspension Railway or Mud Island Monorail is a suspended monorail that connects the city center of Memphis with the entertainment park on Mud Island...

 was opened in 1982.

Monorail systems

Most monorail
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...

 transport systems are also elevated railways, such as the Disneyland Monorail System
Disneyland Monorail System
The Disneyland Monorail System is an attraction and transportation system at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, USA...

 (1959), the Tokyo Monorail
Tokyo Monorail
, officially the , is a monorail system connecting Haneda Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, to Hamamatsuchō Station in Minato, Tokyo. The trains operate along an elevated line that follows the coast of Tokyo Bay. The trip from the airport to Hamamatsuchō costs ¥470 each way.-History:The line opened in...

 (1964), or the Metro Monorail, Sydney (1988-). Maglev railways are also elevated.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK