This pilot monorail line, organized by Monorail Inc., made its debut (albeit two hours late because of a mechanical holdup) on Feb. 18, 1956, at Arrowhead Park near Old Spanish Trail and Main. A Houston Chronicle article from that day said the 55-passenger coach made three trips at speeds not over 10 mph. Reaction to the trip was varied. The most general comment was that it was interesting and had possibilities, but more investigation into the costs is needed. Supported by 18 standards shaped like an inverted J, the project is the $100,000 pilot model of a system designed to provide express service for commuters. Some people refer to the monorail as Trailblazer. According to an earlier Chronicle article, that name refers to the monorail coach. The name Skyway refers to the 1,600-foot monorail line.
Here is the Train of the Future circa 1900 in Wuppertal, Germany. This amazing antique is maintained and still operates.
Die Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, ein innovativer Meilenstein in der Geschichte der MAN. The suspension train in Wuppertal, an innovative milestone in MAN Corporation history. Here we see a very early monorail / streetcar multimodal station.
