Atmospheric railway facts for kids
An atmospheric railway is propelled by differences in atmospheric pressure. Pistons are used there. A piston is connected to the vehicle. At the beginning of railways, different systems were in use in England and in France. All systems were only used for a short time: maintenance cost was high, and there were recurring problems with the connection of the piston (tube) to the vehicle. At first, atmospheric railways were used to go downhill. The locomotives of the times didn't have enough power. That way, it speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) were reached. At the end of the 20th century, the airport of Porto Alegre in Brazil uses an atmospheric railways. There is also a theme park in Indonesia with a 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) long circular atmospheric railway.
Images for kids
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Aeromovel train on the test line in Porto Alegre in the 1980s. The girder under the train forms an air duct. The vehicle is connected to a propulsion plate in the duct which is then driven by air pressure.
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Arriving at Kingstown on the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway in 1844
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Illustration from A Treatise on the Adaptation of Atmospheric Pressure to the Purposes of Locomotion on Railways, Samuda
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A section of the SDR's atmospheric railway pipe at Didcot Railway Centre
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Croydon Museum, Atmospheric Railway Pipe, 1845-47
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Aeromovel guideway section and bogie.
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Aeromovel APM at Salgado Filho International Airport
See also
In Spanish: Ferrocarril atmosférico para niños
