@@MarkMcCluney Of course the buildup of sand would be very very quick anyway, so the monorail would not work in Sahara as designed (apart from the rocky parts of course). It is basically a snow fence (or in this case a sand fence) making sure the sand is deposited where the train line is.
Ahahaha... The lamp is a clear message from the engineers to aliens. Beam us up, we are bored with logical solutions to simple problems. We invented double redundancy. If the boiler on the right fails, we have a spare on the left. But let's be honest, unlike conventional rails, nobody was killed while walking down the track
LOVED the anecdote about the soap! :D Sounds exactly like the sort of thing "youths" would do, and listening to it in that wonderful Irish accent only made it better! I was cracking up the whole time! :D
Thing is, it's exactly the type of thing that Irish youth has got up to over the last couple of centuries - never ones to take life seriously. Nowadays, of course, there are things like antisocial media, recreational drugs and fast vehicles available, but that's another story.....!
Hilarious story. 'Boys will be boys' was never truer. When I was a boy, we used to stand on the local railway footbridge and try to drop pebbles down the chimneys of pass passing steam locom locomotives. But those naughty boys on the Lartigue line had wonderful imaginations, bless them.
And this was built by the engineers that built the majority of the great railways round the world. Most of the amazing steam innovation came from Britain. Those practical, hard headed engineers got it wrong this time. Ahahaha. 😱
I must say you inspired me and when I was in western Ireland recently I dragged my two unknowing friends along to Listowel. :)) I knew the railway was closed due to Covid but had to see it anyway. :)
I and my family travelled on this wonderful Monorail a few years ago. It was great fun and the staff were very friendly. I can recommend the experience.
For those who are confused about the monorail having three rails there not, those are called guide rail's so the fecking thing doesn't completely tip over the train still only uses one rail for traction much like a modern rollercoaster
I have heard about this railway/momrail and even though I have been to Ireland once I have never been on it and I would really like to so it is great to see this line from a different angle and even have a ride and learn about the history. Well Informative and Interesting. I will ride it, just you wait MONORAIL.
You know, we Americans, lost as we are over here on the other side of the pond, don't get around very much, and we take our ques from what we see on the television, what you would call the "telle," or something. The other day I was watching SPIKE MILLILGAN, and he had that skit going titled "Irish Astronauts." After seeing THAT, I was afraid to find out what an "Irish Monorail" would look like. Spike is my hero!
There was a similar monorail, the Larmanjat Monorail, it got even a network of about 80 km in Portugal between Lisbon, Sintra and Torres Vedras. It last only 4 years from 1873 to 1877.
I live in southwest Arizona in the US, and the trains around here are ALWAYS plagued by sandstorms! Just kidding, never heard of that issue until I watched this video, LOL. This is a wonderful video and the train looks like something I want to add to my bucket list to ride on! Thank you for sharing!!
The old train's held together with rope. And the tackling they say won't endure, Sir. Sure they balance people with soap And sometimes bags of manure, Sir.
There was a local song; "The old train's held together with rope; And the tacking they say won't endure sir; Sure they balance the people with soap; And sometimes with bags of manure sir". But although operationally inconvenient, the proof of the pudding was that it was built at a fraction of the cost of a conventional railway and benefited the district for 36 years till motor transport arrived.
There was a similar design used in the construction industry to trans port aggregate, the loco was a diesel, how the skips worked I haven't a clue. But I was told the track would be extended each day and moved left & right as the work progressed. The danger with it was the workers would sit on the track as it was just the right height. So a bell was fitted, but they got used to that and still sat there to the last second.
I’m from Bradford Pa in the USA and in the early 1800s our town actually built one it was the Bradford and Foster brook Peg Leg RR. Made on wood and the train had carriages. The loco looks like this one but was more heavy duty. It ran for 10ish years it was for passengers and freight. Then the line shutdown and was torn out.
If I ever get to the other side of the pond, I will stop by and ride this monorail. I have already enjoyed the much newer one in Seattle Washington, which was built for the World's Fair in 1962.
I still haven't visited it yet, I was there the very day at Michael Barry's farm at Lisselton where he had his reconstructed railway with genuine parts when they announced they had received a grant to build this replica TV cameras were there and it was an exciting moment. What a brilliant achievement.
@@yermanoffthetelly I would love to. I've been Dublin twice but never gotten out to the country. It feels as though I've never really been to "Ireland"
Super!! We want to come see. And ride. But mostly see. Beer would also be nice. But a video of this would help round out the offerings on our channel. A bit far to travel, we would need to fly. They need a chunnel to New York. No matter. This would also be a fun model. I wonder if the NMRA has standards for a 3 rail steam monorail with sand resistant tall tracks.
So I'm off to Cork in September and plan to catch the bus to see this (it's only three 1/2 hours one way... plus the flight time from Melbourne Australia)
I can see how elevating the track in that way makes it cheaper to lay as the track structure can compensate for roughness at ground level, rather than needing a larger area that is smooth
Some carriages had up and over stairs attached to the end. It allowed passengers to change sides for rebalancing. It was said to be a very noisy ride. The wheels rode the rails just behind the passengers’ heads!
More generally, this type of monorail is called a “Prismoidal Railway”. There were examples constructed in the American Southwest, and were used for mining operations as it is relatively straightforward to balance the cars by dumping an equal amount of ore in the hoppers on each side. They also tended to operate on private property, so there was not a lot of need for grade-crossings.
There was actually one other monorail using the Lartigue system; the Epsom Salts Monorail of San Bernadino, California only open from 1924-1926, but it WAS a Lartigue Monorail in the climate the monorail was designed for.
This looks like you took a whole train and cut it lengthwise into four parts, and put the sides in the middle and the middle parts on the sides. I think it's the weitdest train I've seen, including Brennan self-balancing, normal railway compatible monorails, and a railway using airplane propellers.
If you had walked to the end of the road and turned right on the R553 towards Ballybunion, there is still a bridge that crossed the line as it turned right out of Listowel station (the reconstruction is built on the trackbed of the former Limerick to Tralee railway rather than on the original alignment).
Yeah those famous Irish sandstorms, really dangerous to infrastructure! The Irish even built the best and biggest ship in the world once, and rightaway put it where it definitely was out of any sandstorm's way!
I could not feel anything disappointing about the video nor about the train at all. Maybe you should start to be grateful about things you did not contribute to at all but you find interesting anyway?
Sadly, I always think of the simpsons when monorails are mentioned! another great video allowing those of us who don’t live in the wonderfully named Listtowel and Ballybunion to see the most surprised looking locomotive in the world!
Brilliant video !!! which considerably expanded my knowledge of this subject. Amazing that it survives today in operating condition! I always had trouble understanding why it was called a monorail when it's really a three-rail track structure with a comedy of complications for practical use.
I don't know if you have looked it up by now, but there are some cities in Japan, that have monorail systems for public transport: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorails_in_Japan. And they use the same junction system you showed in this video.
I wasn't immediately clear whether the locomotive is now an oil fired steam engine (as are sometimes used on the Ffestiniog Railway, Wales) or powered by an internal combustion Diesel engine. In fact you can just about hear the Diesel engine (also there is no heat shimmer from the twin boiler chimneys and no visible steam issuing from the locomotive). Also of course Martin (Dumbo) there would be little cost saving in running the steam engine on Diesel fuel (gas oil in the EU or Heating Oil no. 2 ? USA), there would only be the advantage of no stoking being required (single acting steam engines are only about 7% efficient while a Diesel engine is 40% efficient).
Well, I'd technically call it a tri-trail, as there are additional rails on either sides of the A-structure, to prevent the cars and the loco from wobbling sideways. Nonetheless, intriguing piece of historical technology!
![DDG & G Herbo - Nosey [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9Ra0Zc2NlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
"Getting there on time without a single delay by sandstorm."
True, this did happen
PsychoLucario r/technicallytrue
I read this before watching the video. Irish sandstorms?
@@ElwoodPDowd-nz2si No. It's a joke about the railway's origin - it was designed for use in the Sahara.
@@MarkMcCluney Of course the buildup of sand would be very very quick anyway, so the monorail would not work in Sahara as designed (apart from the rocky parts of course). It is basically a snow fence (or in this case a sand fence) making sure the sand is deposited where the train line is.
There were probably quite a few delays by sheep.
Damn, those irish sandstorms are really a major pain. Atleast this one line can operate even in the worst of dusty conditions.
Indeed, and the sand must be a big help with the soap problem.
@@JeffDeWitt I mean, trains use sand to help with traction
@@GewelReal Indeed they do!
It’s why the Irish no longer rely on camels.
With Global warming perhaps they are anticipating that Ireland will become part of the Sub Sahara desert?
You know you're in Ireland when cattle has priority over trains
…or India
@@Perririri true true
Or Wyoming.
I just look at the mr tato packet of crisps
I know that bcuz I live in Ireland
Going by the size of the headlamp, this literally is a light railway !!!!
Ahahaha... The lamp is a clear message from the engineers to aliens. Beam us up, we are bored with logical solutions to simple problems. We invented double redundancy. If the boiler on the right fails, we have a spare on the left.
But let's be honest, unlike conventional rails, nobody was killed while walking down the track
Bdum-Crash!
It took me a few seconds too long to get that 🤦♀️
@@johnbondza unless you fell down head first
@@GewelReal Spot on Mr Gewel. I love this kind of English humour... 😂
I'm irish and I've never heard of this. I go to Kerry a lot. Must visit the monorail next time.
Me neither. We'll go this year now but I do think they need better publicity
Same. Why isn't this well known?
It's just so random to have a monorail there.
Agreed, I used to love in Kerry, and had no idea this existed!
@@michaelcollins966 Is that love or live - or both?
LOVED the anecdote about the soap! :D Sounds exactly like the sort of thing "youths" would do, and listening to it in that wonderful Irish accent only made it better! I was cracking up the whole time! :D
Thing is, it's exactly the type of thing that Irish youth has got up to over the last couple of centuries - never ones to take life seriously. Nowadays, of course, there are things like antisocial media, recreational drugs and fast vehicles available, but that's another story.....!
Allegedly the 1st class passengers remained seated, the second class passengers got out and walked and 3rd class were required to push
Hilarious story. 'Boys will be boys' was never truer. When I was a boy, we used to stand on the local railway footbridge and try to drop pebbles down the chimneys of pass passing steam locom locomotives. But those naughty boys on the Lartigue line had wonderful imaginations, bless them.
Soap on the rail has two purposes: it makes the ride smooth and at the same time it cleans the wheels.
5:20 “something that I did not know you could be bad at”
aren't we all..
And this was built by the engineers that built the majority of the great railways round the world. Most of the amazing steam innovation came from Britain. Those practical, hard headed engineers got it wrong this time. Ahahaha. 😱
@@johnbondza Thats what happens when you involve the French.
I live in Ireland my entire life, love all things trains related and never heard of this so thanks!
That locomotive replica is very convincing! I didn't think it was diesel until you said it was!
I must say you inspired me and when I was in western Ireland recently I dragged my two unknowing friends along to Listowel. :))
I knew the railway was closed due to Covid but had to see it anyway. :)
I suddenly realize why monorails today are elevated.....cause its a wall.
Never really thought about it I guess lol. Great video.
We had a monorail back in the day at the Epson Salt Mine in the high desert in California. It was quite unique.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsom_Salts_Monorail
@@RussellNelson Thanks for clarifying that, I was wondering why a salt mine would be owned by a Japanese printer manufacturer.
Practically the same system? Although the A frame seemed wider.
I and my family travelled on this wonderful Monorail a few years ago. It was great fun and the staff were very friendly. I can recommend the experience.
I live in Ireland and never heard of this railway until now.
Same. Why isn't this well known?
I dont know where you from but you got some of the best low key humour that exists!
I had NO idea about this monorail. Thanks for the video.
That's one very different railway! I must get over to the West of Ireland when things get back to normal and ride this curiosity!
Love it! I hope that Listowel keep that lovely unique piece of heritage railway functioning.
Just got this in my recommendations. You remind me a lot of Tom Scott (I mean that as a huge compliment :D)
I so enjoy these videos. Thank you for posting them.
Now I got to try to see this museum when I go to Ireland next year!
I'm Irish and love trains; why have I never been there?
For those who are confused about the monorail having three rails there not, those are called guide rail's so the fecking thing doesn't completely tip over the train still only uses one rail for traction much like a modern rollercoaster
This video helped me a LOT in the recreation of this amazing train in Minecraft lol
Very nice video, I love your humor!
Nice vid. I have lived in Ireland over 20 years and did not know about this :)
I have heard about this railway/momrail and even though I have been to Ireland once I have never been on it and I would really like to so it is great to see this line from a different angle and even have a ride and learn about the history. Well Informative and Interesting. I will ride it, just you wait MONORAIL.
I like the way they preserve their history and inventions.
You know, we Americans, lost as we are over here on the other side of the pond, don't get around very much, and we take our ques from what we see on the television, what you would call the "telle," or something. The other day I was watching SPIKE MILLILGAN, and he had that skit going titled "Irish Astronauts." After seeing THAT, I was afraid to find out what an "Irish Monorail" would look like. Spike is my hero!
5:22 LMAO. Idk why this tiny bit made me laugh so much but it did!
Loved the bit with the soap...
There was a similar monorail, the Larmanjat Monorail, it got even a network of about 80 km in Portugal between Lisbon, Sintra and Torres Vedras. It last only 4 years from 1873 to 1877.
I live in southwest Arizona in the US, and the trains around here are ALWAYS plagued by sandstorms! Just kidding, never heard of that issue until I watched this video, LOL. This is a wonderful video and the train looks like something I want to add to my bucket list to ride on! Thank you for sharing!!
The most steampunk train that is real
I'd say the Wuppertal Schwebebahn is way more steampunk. Check Tim's video on that.
@@Sgrunterundt Both Tim and Tom Scott have videos on this - spoiled for choice
This hits close to home. literally . my family are from the area. The listowel to ballybunion route is one I have traveled many a time.
The old train's held together with rope.
And the tackling they say won't endure, Sir.
Sure they balance people with soap
And sometimes bags of manure, Sir.
Tim sounding the horn is like an American Pika crying. Full power behind the cutest little sound.
That is a cool train,thanks for sharing 😊
Nice video mate! I'm from Listowel & actually live quite near the Lartigue Monorail & I've never been on it
I hope this line is handling the pandemic alright. I'd like to go see this.
I have been to Listowel twice and did not know that they recreated the monorail. Great story.
There was a local song; "The old train's held together with rope; And the tacking they say won't endure sir; Sure they balance the people with soap; And sometimes with bags of manure sir". But although operationally inconvenient, the proof of the pudding was that it was built at a fraction of the cost of a conventional railway and benefited the district for 36 years till motor transport arrived.
Saw these in trainz and wondered what they looked like in real life. Now I know!
Me: Adding to the bucket list
Good to see that "What if we made a train, but worse?" is a question that has been asked for centuries now, lol
There was a similar design used in the construction industry to trans port aggregate, the loco was a diesel, how the skips worked I haven't a clue. But I was told the track would be extended each day and moved left & right as the work progressed. The danger with it was the workers would sit on the track as it was just the right height. So a bell was fitted, but they got used to that and still sat there to the last second.
Great video ... Thank you
"while I'd live to listen to another half an hour of her phone call.."
Hahahaha
I’m from Bradford Pa in the USA and in the early 1800s our town actually built one it was the Bradford and Foster brook Peg Leg RR. Made on wood and the train had carriages. The loco looks like this one but was more heavy duty. It ran for 10ish years it was for passengers and freight. Then the line shutdown and was torn out.
It's hilarious having to use subtitles for the southern accent, I struggle to understand it myself
If you like 15-inch trains, you should go to Anse, near Lyon. There is a 5km minitrain on rails maintained by the villagers’ train association.
If I ever get to the other side of the pond, I will stop by and ride this monorail. I have already enjoyed the much newer one in Seattle Washington, which was built for the World's Fair in 1962.
Löwe - (lion in German) is a paint brand in Ireland. Fascinating!!
I still haven't visited it yet, I was there the very day at Michael Barry's farm at Lisselton where he had his reconstructed railway with genuine parts when they announced they had received a grant to build this replica TV cameras were there and it was an exciting moment. What a brilliant achievement.
We stayed in Glin (Limerick Cty) in 2015 and drove to Ballybunion. Wish we had known about this. Cheers to my ancestral country!
Fascinating.
When that whistle blew I lost my shit. That was hilarious 😂😂😂👌
I never even knew this existed and I'm Irish.
Nice work 🙏🙏🙏
The line opened on the 29th of February... Something about that just fits so perfectly with it being in Ireland 😂
That town looks wonderful.
You should see the rest of the county (Kerry) its truly magnificent.
@@yermanoffthetelly I would love to. I've been Dublin twice but never gotten out to the country. It feels as though I've never really been to "Ireland"
Have been in that town hundreds of times and never knew about this
Wow! I am so glad I now know this exists! Thank you. Good luck to the Listowel monorail, and all who ... err... sail in her ?
Brilliant!
Super!! We want to come see. And ride. But mostly see. Beer would also be nice. But a video of this would help round out the offerings on our channel. A bit far to travel, we would need to fly. They need a chunnel to New York. No matter. This would also be a fun model. I wonder if the NMRA has standards for a 3 rail steam monorail with sand resistant tall tracks.
Very surprising. Thank you.
And today's award for most random bit of impressive engineering goes to... Ireland!!!
This is just amazing :D
About forty years ago someone built a model railway based on the monorail it featured in model railways I think.
That's some cool history!
The only other time I heard Tralee mentioned is in Fascinating Aïda's song, Cheap Flights (caution - thinly disguised swearing).
So I'm off to Cork in September and plan to catch the bus to see this (it's only three 1/2 hours one way... plus the flight time from Melbourne Australia)
Nice to see you without a hat. You're adorable.
Another Irish project which might interest you was the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway, one of very few ever built.
I can see how elevating the track in that way makes it cheaper to lay as the track structure can compensate for roughness at ground level, rather than needing a larger area that is smooth
Some carriages had up and over stairs attached to the end. It allowed passengers to change sides for rebalancing.
It was said to be a very noisy ride. The wheels rode the rails just behind the passengers’ heads!
More generally, this type of monorail is called a “Prismoidal Railway”. There were examples constructed in the American Southwest, and were used for mining operations as it is relatively straightforward to balance the cars by dumping an equal amount of ore in the hoppers on each side. They also tended to operate on private property, so there was not a lot of need for grade-crossings.
There was actually one other monorail using the Lartigue system; the Epsom Salts Monorail of San Bernadino, California
only open from 1924-1926, but it WAS a Lartigue Monorail in the climate the monorail was designed for.
This looks like you took a whole train and cut it lengthwise into four parts, and put the sides in the middle and the middle parts on the sides. I think it's the weitdest train I've seen, including Brennan self-balancing, normal railway compatible monorails, and a railway using airplane propellers.
If you had walked to the end of the road and turned right on the R553 towards Ballybunion, there is still a bridge that crossed the line as it turned right out of Listowel station (the reconstruction is built on the trackbed of the former Limerick to Tralee railway rather than on the original alignment).
They aren't charging enough for tickets. This is fascinating!
Yeah those famous Irish sandstorms, really dangerous to infrastructure! The Irish even built the best and biggest ship in the world once, and rightaway put it where it definitely was out of any sandstorm's way!
Yes we built the unsinkable ship and then we sank it
If we only lay one rail we can get to the pub that much earlier!
I'm disappointed that the replica is actually diesel powered and no more loco replicas of this railway were made.
It's better then not having one at all
@@sudriansignalman9387 Ik, but...it would be at least more authentic...
@@theextremeanimator4721 and more expensive to run and maintain, and would make impossible to run the railway while the engine was having overhauls
I could not feel anything disappointing about the video nor about the train at all.
Maybe you should start to be grateful about things you did not contribute to at all but you find interesting anyway?
@@sudriansignalman9387 *than
An amazing rr. I have emailed about this to my friend in Ireland. Perhaps he will make a visit:)
I was just wondering the other day how railways in Ireland coped with sandstorms...
I think there was a monorail similar to this here in the US but it was never preserved it's a shame
Sadly, I always think of the simpsons when monorails are mentioned!
another great video allowing those of us who don’t live in the wonderfully named Listtowel and Ballybunion to see the most surprised looking locomotive in the world!
Hey, I fully believe in monorails as a viable transportation system, and even I’m having a hard time containing myself from quoting the Monorail song.
Brilliant video !!! which considerably expanded my knowledge of this subject. Amazing that it survives today in operating condition! I always had trouble understanding why it was called a monorail when it's really a three-rail track structure with a comedy of complications for practical use.
I'm from Ireland, never even heard of this : )
Burst out laughing at 5:20 🤣
I don't know if you have looked it up by now, but there are some cities in Japan, that have monorail systems for public transport: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorails_in_Japan. And they use the same junction system you showed in this video.
I wasn't immediately clear whether the locomotive is now an oil fired steam engine (as are sometimes used on the Ffestiniog Railway, Wales) or powered by an internal combustion Diesel engine. In fact you can just about hear the Diesel engine (also there is no heat shimmer from the twin boiler chimneys and no visible steam issuing from the locomotive).
Also of course Martin (Dumbo) there would be little cost saving in running the steam engine on Diesel fuel (gas oil in the EU or Heating Oil no. 2 ? USA), there would only be the advantage of no stoking being required (single acting steam engines are only about 7% efficient while a Diesel engine is 40% efficient).
Man, I miss June 2019
I think its fair to say that absolutely nobody will miss 2020.
5:25 Me when the train conductor at Xmas invites me to use the whistle 😂
Ever seen whats left of l'Aérotrain Bertin in Gometz-la-Ville ?
Looks like a TriRail to me!?
Well, I'd technically call it a tri-trail, as there are additional rails on either sides of the A-structure, to prevent the cars and the loco from wobbling sideways. Nonetheless, intriguing piece of historical technology!
Hilarious! But, most interesting. Thanks!
I thought that was a train in the thumbnail lol
I cant help but feel this is more like a trirail than a monorail :)
As we learnt in the Simpsons -
Mono = one
and
Rail = rail
This has rails but there are three of them.