The Year 2000–as it was called before 2000–is looking awfully distant with each passing year. Will it ever happen? And what I mean by this is the chasm between what was promised and what we’ve got: the old “Where’s my jetpack?” meme. Or, “I wanted cars in tubes but all I’ve got is Twitter.” Yes,… Continue reading Cars Will Travel in Tubes by Year 2000
Category: Bizarre Transport
The Grandeur and Faded Glory of Elvis’ Private Jet Rotting in the Desert
It’s not the Lisa Marie and it’s not the Hound Dog II, both of which were in top condition and on auction in 2015. It’s a third Elvis jet that had been sitting on an airport tarmac for the last 35 years in Roswell, NM. Sold recently for $430,000.
The William Boyes Wooden Monorail
I saw this picture yesterday at Seattle’s MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry). The caption said that the monorail was constructed in 1911 of wood and ran through the “tidal flats” of Seattle. Not much is known of it, though Lyle Zapato dredges up a bit in “Carpetbagging Monorailists: A Cascadian Tradition.”
Cutaway of Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic Snow Cruiser, 1939
Click Here For Large (1353 x 1200 Pixels) In an issue of LIFE magazine from October 30, 1939 that I have is a great cutaway drawing of Admiral Byrd’s snow cruiser. Admiral Byrd was a naval officer who was the first person to reach the North and South Poles by air. At 55 feet… Continue reading Cutaway of Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic Snow Cruiser, 1939
Aerial Trolley: Burbank’s Monorail From 1910 is 100% Real
In 1906, a farmers J.W. and E.C. Fawkes formed the Aerial Trolley Company Co., Inc. and put a monorail-like trolley in their Burbank farm. Is this real-life steampunk? I believe so. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the utter coolness of even the company name, Aerial Trolley Company Co., Inc. It’s like something… Continue reading Aerial Trolley: Burbank’s Monorail From 1910 is 100% Real