The Brilliantly Designed Self-Balancing Brennan Monorail That Leaned Into Turns

Ewan Cunningham of Primal Space used clever animation to explain how the ingenious design of the 1910 Brennan Monorail, which ran on a single rail, leaned into turns and remained balanced while stationary. Narrator Beau Stucki dissected Brennan’s evolving design for controlling the precession of the gyroscopes within the engine so the train wouldn’t go off the track.

In this video, we explore the fascinating story of the Brennan Monorail, an innovative train from the early 1900s designed by Louis Brennan. This monorail defied conventional physics by balancing on a single rail, leaning into corners without external input, and remaining stable even when stationary.

Unfortunately, the Brennan Monorail was discontinued due to lack of investor interest.

His prototype was a huge success and at the time it really did seem like the future but unfortunately, investors weren’t confident in the design.Two-railed trains were already well established at the time and the fact that every train carriage would need its own gyroscope brought the project to an end.