Alden staRRcar
Encyclopedia
The Alden staRRcar, for "Self-Transport Road and Rail Car", was a design for a personal rapid transit
(PRT) system designed by William Alden in the 1960s. It originally envisioned small electrically powered cars suitable for short distance trips at low speed within urban areas, which could optionally merge onto tracks that would provide power and guidance for high speed travel over longer inter-city distances. It was one of the earliest "dual-mode vehicle
s" to be proposed, and one of the earliest to be actually built.
Over its lifetime the design changed dramatically, originally a four-person vehicle with dual-mode operation but eventually emerging as a much larger people mover
for 20 people. In this form, Boeing Vertol was awarded a construction contract in 1970 to build a demonstration system in Morgantown, West Virginia
. A smaller system was also built by their licensee, Kobe Steel
, and installed at the Expo '75
on Okinawa
(as well as the more advanced CVS
). The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
system first opened for service in 1975, and with the exception of a closure for a major expansion, has remained in service since then.
, started Alden Self-Transit Systems Corporation around 1955. His idea was to design a "dual-mode" transit system – small cars that operated like traditional electric cars when driven around town for short distances, but allowed long-distance travel via automated guideways that provided power. The vehicle were quite lightweight because they could only travel at low speeds when manually guided and didn't need full crash safety or large battery packs. On the guideways they travelled much faster; they were protected from collisions by the automated guideway, and conductors on the guideway provided the power needed for high speeds while also recharging the batteries for local travel at the destination. Alden envisioned guideways being built in place of the existing interstate roads, but the automatic guidance allowed for much shorter headway
s and thereby increased route capacity, reducing the need for multiple lanes.
The initial design evolved into small four-person cars that were tested on a guideway set up in parking lot in Bedford, Massachusetts
. The staRRcar testbeds, models 19 and 20, were built on top of a rectangular steel chassis with very small rubber wheels that resulted in a ride close to the ground. The wedge-shaped lightweight body shell was placed on top, and the rear of the vehicle was a single piece of glass providing an unobstructed view. Two small wheels, normally hidden from view, extended from the side of the vehicle when entering a guideway, pressing against the sides to provide guidance. The movement of the wheels turned the front wheels to smoothly follow curves. Walter Cronkite
featured the staRRcar on the CBS
show "The Twentieth Century
" in 1966.
During development they realized that developing a single-mode vehicle would be much less expensive. The existing system was adapted into a larger six-person vehicle that was essentially a fibreglass box on top of a larger version of the same basic chassis, 10 feet long, 6 wide and 4½ tall. The roof section slid open along with the doors on the side of the vehicle, allowing passengers to enter standing upright. Full scale testing of this system took place in 1968 on a test track in Bedford, while a smaller 1/20th scale model with ten vehicles and four off-line stations was used to test the guidance and scheduling systems.
(DOT) chose the Morgantown proposal as a testbed system.
At the time the Apollo Program was winding down and Richard Nixon
was in the process of extracting the country from the Vietnam War
. There was considerable concern about the health of the aerospace industry, which would be losing two of its major funding sources at the same time. As a result, the newly-formed Department of Transport
was under intense pressure to build a working system before the elections of 1972.
When the DOT visited Alden they concluded they were too small to be trusted with the deployment phase of the project, and arranged for Boeing Vertol to take over as the prime contractor, working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
who provided project management. A test system was set up starting in 1970, and after extensive development construction of the Morgantown system started in 1974.
The Morgantown PRT opened for service the next year, and has operated continually since then except for a short period in 1978 for a major expansion. Although derided at the time as a "white elephant
", the system has operated for over 30 years and has proven itself a valuable asset to the city. The mayor, Ronald Justice, stated "We're a small town with big traffic issues, and the P.R.T. could be the reason we're able to continue our growth." There have been several expansion plans during that time, which would about double the system size to about 15 miles.
In spite of the eventual success of the Morgantown system, changes to the funding system within the DOT and UTDC led to little follow-on interest, and it remains the only on-demand PRT system currently operating in commercial service.
Personal rapid transit
Personal rapid transit , also called podcar, is a public transportation mode featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guide ways...
(PRT) system designed by William Alden in the 1960s. It originally envisioned small electrically powered cars suitable for short distance trips at low speed within urban areas, which could optionally merge onto tracks that would provide power and guidance for high speed travel over longer inter-city distances. It was one of the earliest "dual-mode vehicle
Dual-mode vehicle
A dual-mode vehicle is a vehicle that can run on conventional road surfaces or a dedicated track known as a "guideway". Dual-mode vehicles are commonly electrically powered and run in dual-mode for power too, using batteries for short distance and low speeds, and track-fed power for longer...
s" to be proposed, and one of the earliest to be actually built.
Over its lifetime the design changed dramatically, originally a four-person vehicle with dual-mode operation but eventually emerging as a much larger people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
for 20 people. In this form, Boeing Vertol was awarded a construction contract in 1970 to build a demonstration system in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
. A smaller system was also built by their licensee, Kobe Steel
Kobe Steel
, operating worldwide under the brand Kobelco, is a major Japanese steel manufacturer headquartered in Chuo-ku, Kobe. Kobe Steel also has a stake in Osaka Titanium Technologies.It was formed on September 1, 1905...
, and installed at the Expo '75
Expo '75
Expo '75 was a World's Fair held on the island of Okinawa in Japan from July 20, 1975 to January 18, 1976.-History :...
on Okinawa
Okinawa Prefecture
is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
(as well as the more advanced CVS
Computer-controlled Vehicle System
The Computer-controlled Vehicle System, almost universally referred to as CVS, was a personal rapid transit system developed by a Japanese industrial consortium during the 1970s...
). The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system is a one-of-a-kind people mover system in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States...
system first opened for service in 1975, and with the exception of a closure for a major expansion, has remained in service since then.
Original design
William Alden, a graduate of the Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
, started Alden Self-Transit Systems Corporation around 1955. His idea was to design a "dual-mode" transit system – small cars that operated like traditional electric cars when driven around town for short distances, but allowed long-distance travel via automated guideways that provided power. The vehicle were quite lightweight because they could only travel at low speeds when manually guided and didn't need full crash safety or large battery packs. On the guideways they travelled much faster; they were protected from collisions by the automated guideway, and conductors on the guideway provided the power needed for high speeds while also recharging the batteries for local travel at the destination. Alden envisioned guideways being built in place of the existing interstate roads, but the automatic guidance allowed for much shorter headway
Headway
Headway is a measurement of the distance/time between vehicles in a transit system. The precise definition varies depending on the application, but it is most commonly measured as the distance from the tip of one vehicle to the tip of the next one behind it, expressed as the time it will take for...
s and thereby increased route capacity, reducing the need for multiple lanes.
The initial design evolved into small four-person cars that were tested on a guideway set up in parking lot in Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. The staRRcar testbeds, models 19 and 20, were built on top of a rectangular steel chassis with very small rubber wheels that resulted in a ride close to the ground. The wedge-shaped lightweight body shell was placed on top, and the rear of the vehicle was a single piece of glass providing an unobstructed view. Two small wheels, normally hidden from view, extended from the side of the vehicle when entering a guideway, pressing against the sides to provide guidance. The movement of the wheels turned the front wheels to smoothly follow curves. Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
featured the staRRcar on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
show "The Twentieth Century
Twentieth Century (TV series)
The Twentieth Century is a half-hour documentary television series broadcast over CBS-TV from 1957 until 1966. It was hosted and narrated by Walter Cronkite and telecast Sunday evenings...
" in 1966.
During development they realized that developing a single-mode vehicle would be much less expensive. The existing system was adapted into a larger six-person vehicle that was essentially a fibreglass box on top of a larger version of the same basic chassis, 10 feet long, 6 wide and 4½ tall. The roof section slid open along with the doors on the side of the vehicle, allowing passengers to enter standing upright. Full scale testing of this system took place in 1968 on a test track in Bedford, while a smaller 1/20th scale model with ten vehicles and four off-line stations was used to test the guidance and scheduling systems.
Morgantown
Professor Samy Elias of the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown had been pressing for the development of a PRT system for their campus since the late 1960s. Elias was able to obtain $50,000 from UMTA for a comparative study of three different types of PRT systems: Monocab, Dashaveyor and the Alden staRRcar. The staRRcar won the selection contest and the newly-formed Department of TransportationDepartment of Transportation
The Department of Transportation is the most common name for a government agency in North America devoted to transportation. The largest is the United States Department of Transportation, which oversees interstate travel. All U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and many local agencies also have...
(DOT) chose the Morgantown proposal as a testbed system.
At the time the Apollo Program was winding down and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
was in the process of extracting the country from the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. There was considerable concern about the health of the aerospace industry, which would be losing two of its major funding sources at the same time. As a result, the newly-formed Department of Transport
Department of Transport
Department of Transport may refer to:* The Irish government department, see Department of Transport * The UK government department formerly known as the Department of Transport, see Department for Transport...
was under intense pressure to build a working system before the elections of 1972.
When the DOT visited Alden they concluded they were too small to be trusted with the deployment phase of the project, and arranged for Boeing Vertol to take over as the prime contractor, working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
who provided project management. A test system was set up starting in 1970, and after extensive development construction of the Morgantown system started in 1974.
The Morgantown PRT opened for service the next year, and has operated continually since then except for a short period in 1978 for a major expansion. Although derided at the time as a "white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
", the system has operated for over 30 years and has proven itself a valuable asset to the city. The mayor, Ronald Justice, stated "We're a small town with big traffic issues, and the P.R.T. could be the reason we're able to continue our growth." There have been several expansion plans during that time, which would about double the system size to about 15 miles.
In spite of the eventual success of the Morgantown system, changes to the funding system within the DOT and UTDC led to little follow-on interest, and it remains the only on-demand PRT system currently operating in commercial service.