Pneumatic tube

Pneumatic tubes or capsule pipelines are systems of air-driven containers in a network of tubes used for transporting physical objects.

Pneumatic Transportation

(Pneumatic Transportation here refers to the transporting of people inside pneumatic tubes; other forms of transportation that use pneumatics for propulsion are not considered.)

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In 1812, George Medhurst first proposed, but never implemented, blowing passenger carriages through a tunnel.

Related Topics:
1812 - George Medhurst

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Brunel built an atmospheric railway on a 52-mile section of the South Devon Railway between Exeter and Plymouth, England in the 19th century It was also tried on the London & Croydon Railway in 1845, but was soon abolished.

Related Topics:
Brunel - Atmospheric railway - South Devon Railway - Exeter - Plymouth - England - 19th century - London & Croydon Railway

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In 1861, the London Pneumatic Despatch Company built a system large enough to move a person, although it was intended for parcels. The October 10, 1865 inauguration of the new Holborn Station was marked by having the Duke of Buckingham, the chairman, and some of the directors of the company blown through the tube to Euston (a five minute trip).

Related Topics:
1861 - October 10 - 1865 - Holborn - Duke of Buckingham - Euston

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A 600 yard pneumatic passenger railway was exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1864. This was a prototype for a proposed Whitehall Pneumatic Railway that would have run under the River Thames linking Waterloo and Charing Cross. Digging was started in 1865 but was stopped in 1868 due to financial problems.

Related Topics:
The Crystal Palace - 1864 - River Thames - Waterloo - Charing Cross - 1865 - 1868

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In 1867 at the American Institute exhibition in New York, Alfred Ely Beach demonstrated a 107 foot long, 6 foot diameter pipe that was capable of moving 12 passengers plus conductor. In 1869, the Beach Pneumatic Transit Company of New York constructed in secret a 312 foot long, 9 foot diameter pneumatic subway line under Broadway. The line only operated for a few months, closing after Beach was unsuccessful in getting permission to extend it.

Related Topics:
1867 - American Institute - New York - Alfred Ely Beach - 1869 - Broadway

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In the 1960s, Lockheed and MIT with the United States Department of Commerce did feasibility studies on a pneumatic train system powered by ambient atmospheric pressure and "gravitational pendulum assist" to connect cities on the East Coast of the US. They calculated that the run between Philadelphia and New York would average 390 miles per hour.

Related Topics:
1960s - Lockheed - MIT - United States Department of Commerce - Philadelphia - New York

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When those plans were abandoned as too expensive, Lockheed engineer L.K. Edwards founded Tube Transit, Inc. to develop technology based on "gravity-vacuum transportation". In 1967 he proposed a Bay Area Gravity-Vacuum Transit for California that would run along side the then-under-construction BART system. It was never built.

Related Topics:
L.K. Edwards - Tube Transit, Inc. - California - BART

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