Proposed railroads Massachusetts

Hello I was wondering if anyone had ever made a google map of the proposed but unbuilt railroads from here: https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/50510

PS: should this go in the mbta subform

No, it has nothing to do with the MBTA, this forum is perfect for it.
Thank you for sharing, I've never stumbled a crossing anything like this before. I looked thought a few of them, some of these railroads were built (N. Brookfield and Provincetown are two examples).

A lot of them were, but there are some interesting "might-have-been" ones in there, too, like the proposed monorail system from East Boston to Lynn...

The what now?!?

So, piquing my curiosity, I did some searches. The only references to Lynn and a monorail I could find of substance was a Mass Senate bill introduced in 1964 (S.535) to study a monorail between Lynn and Revere, which did result in a Senate resolution to allow the MBTA to study it, but that's about it.

I can find a number of bills introduced (and reintroduced, and reintroduced...) to study implementation of a monorail system in general, primarily for the South Shore or to Worcester/Springfield. A few in the mid-80s mention specifically "MARK IV" technology, which was the system built specifically for Walt Disney World when it opened until they were replaced between 89-91. I couldn't find dispositions on them easily. But most of them seemed like wishful thinking more than actual plans, when everyone was in love with the idea of the "futuristic" technology. Even Disney today is reluctant to spend the money it takes to replace the current aging system because it never really took off as a practical system.

I think they Disney is unwilling to replace the US monorails because they used Bombardier. In Japan they apparently replaced the monorail trains, which were newer, with new cars from Hitachi, which also supplies other monorail lines. Unfortunately the Japanese & US systems are incompatible.

caduceus wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:29 pm So, piquing my curiosity, I did some searches. The only references to Lynn and a monorail I could find of substance was a Mass Senate bill introduced in 1964 (S.535) to study a monorail between Lynn and Revere, which did result in a Senate resolution to allow the MBTA to study it, but that's about it.

Might have to go back farther. Monorails, as a concept, date to the 19th century. The IRT ran one in The Bronx for a while in the early 1910's. The city of Wuppertal, in Germany, has one still in operation that opened in 1901-- complete with an amazingly steampunk Imperial State Monorail carriage for the use of the Kaiser.

Never ceases to baffle me that people perceive monorails as being somehow "futuristic."

I was recently om my way to Death Valley and was shocked when I stopped at a historical marker that turned out to be the site of the Epsom Salts Monorail. It was part of a mining operation in the 1920s in the middle of the desert.

Here's a monorail proposal linking Haverhill and Lawrence.
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/se ... :pc28b413c

SOCO11 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 5:06 pm I was recently om my way to Death Valley and was shocked when I stopped at a historical marker that turned out to be the site of the Epsom Salts Monorail. It was part of a mining operation in the 1920s in the middle of the desert.

Never knew about this and checked it out. Very interesting system with 10% grades!

Thanks for the heads up.

caduceus wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:29 pm Even Disney today is reluctant to spend the money it takes to replace the current aging system because it never really took off as a practical system.

What? The Disney World Monorail is an incredibly efficient people mover that transports thousands and thousands of people every day throughout their property. It's a hugely successful operation that has proven itself to be extremely practical and popular.

Red Wing wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:11 pm Here's a monorail proposal linking Haverhill and Lawrence.
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/se ... :pc28b413c

That looks like it was a proposal by Meigs for his Elevated Railway who prototyped his system in Cambridge towards the end of the 19th century, but he never got funding. I'd consider it sort of a hybrid system - not quite a monorail as it ran with wheels on different levels, but similar.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 10, 2021 8:23 am What? The Disney World Monorail is an incredibly efficient people mover that transports thousands and thousands of people every day throughout their property. It's a hugely successful operation that has proven itself to be extremely practical and popular.

Let me clarify...it never took off outside of DL/WDW in the US to any great degree as an urban/commuter system like Walt envisioned (Seattle and Las Vegas are the only ones I know of - and the latter used recycled WDW trains) that would have allowed for economy of scale, and instead remains a niche system with a high cost. Thus replacing the trainsets and updating the system for them is expensive. And it is overdue.

Got ya

The reason why the IU hospital monorail was shut down was end of life, and not worth cost of replacement.
Vendor lock is a very real disadvantage of monorails.
or any non standard transportation system, really.
I didn't know the Vegas system used WDW trains.

I seen to recall a monorail like system in Jacksonville Fla. years ago, the " stations" of which gave the homeless people of the city places to solicit funds. Wondering what became of it.