Minirail
Encyclopedia
The Minirail was an automated monorail
system at Expo 67
in Montreal. The six-mile-long people mover
system was composed of two separate loops. A shorter track, which remains in service, takes riders through the LaRonde
amusement park. The longer and now-defunct Blue Line ran through the world's fair on both Saint Helen's Island
and Île Notre-Dame
, at one point passing through the Ontario
pavilion as well as the geodesic dome
of the United States Pavilion
.
Passengers rode in open cars that could each carry a maximum of 12 persons.
, supplemented by new cars from the manufacturer, Von Roll. Other rolling stock and rail from Lausanne were purchased by the Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
system at Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
in Montreal. The six-mile-long 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...
system was composed of two separate loops. A shorter track, which remains in service, takes riders through the LaRonde
La Ronde (amusement park)
La Ronde is an amusement park in Montreal, owned and operated by Six Flags. It is the largest in the province of Quebec and the second largest in Canada after Canada's Wonderland, with about 2.5 million guests in 2006...
amusement park. The longer and now-defunct Blue Line ran through the world's fair on both Saint Helen's Island
Saint Helen's Island
Saint Helen's Island is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal. It is situated immediately southeast of the Island of Montreal, in the extreme southwest of Quebec. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago...
and Île Notre-Dame
Île Notre-Dame
Île Notre-Dame is an artificial island built in 10 months from 15 million tons of rock excavated for the Montreal Metro in 1965. It was created for Expo 67 to celebrate Canada's centennial. The island is part of the city of Montreal and forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago...
, at one point passing through the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
pavilion as well as the geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
of the United States Pavilion
Montreal Biosphère
The Biosphère is a museum in Montreal dedicated to the environment. It is located at Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Île Sainte-Hélène in the former pavilion of the United States for the 1967 World Fair Expo 67.- Expo 67 :...
.
Passengers rode in open cars that could each carry a maximum of 12 persons.
Production
The Minirail incorporated track and rolling stock from the 1964 Swiss National Exhibition in LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, supplemented by new cars from the manufacturer, Von Roll. Other rolling stock and rail from Lausanne were purchased by the Blackpool Pleasure Beach.