Bennie Railplane

{{Short description|Electric propeller-based suspension railway}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}} {{refimprove|date=August 2015}} thumb|right [[File:Blue Plaque commemorating George Bennie (geograph 5640132).jpg|thumb|right|Blue Plaque commemorating George Bennie between Bearsden and Milngavie]] The '''Bennie Railplane''' was a form of rail transport invented by George Bennie (1891–1957), which moved along an overhead rail by way of propellers.

==Prototype== Bennie, born at Auldhouse, near Glasgow, Scotland began work on the development of his railplane in 1921. In 1929-1930 he built a prototype on a trial stretch of track over a {{convert|130|yd|m|0|abbr=off|adj=on}} line at Milngavie, off the Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Railway, with one railplane car to demonstrate the system to potential clients. The car ran along an overhead monorail, stabilised by guide rails below. It moved by propellers powered by on-board motors. It was intended to run above conventional railways, separating faster passenger traffic from slower freight traffic. Bennie believed his railplane cars had the capability of travelling up to {{convert|120|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}} and would offer a "fast passenger and mails and perishable goods service". Slow and heavy goods freight and local passenger services would continue on the traditional rail service below. Each car could carry a maximum of 48 people; the prototype had seating for fewer.

In spite of interest from around the world, Bennie could not obtain the financial backing he required to develop his revolutionary transport system. The proposed line from Edinburgh to Glasgow was not built, nor was the one between Southport and Blackpool. By 1937, Bennie was bankrupt. He had financed most of the work himself.

The prototype railplane lay rusting in a field at Milngavie until it was sold for scrap in 1956. Bennie died the following year. The original shed where the carriage was built in Main Street, Milngavie is now occupied by a timber merchant, and has a blue commemorative plaque on the outside wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSE00050 |title=TheGlasgowStory: Bennie Railplane |access-date=5 August 2015 |archive-date=29 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029193429/http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSE00050 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Further reading== * {{cite journal|last=Thwaite|first=Malcolm|year=2005|title=The George Bennie Railplane and Hugh Fraser Airrail Systems of Transport|journal=Transactions of the Newcomen Society|volume=75|issue=1|pages=37–84|doi=10.1179/tns.2005.003|s2cid=111217453|issn=0372-0187}} * Black, William B. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20141222122213/http://www.edlc.co.uk/heritage/local_history/local_history___heritage/local_heroes/george_bennie___railplan/bennie_railplane_book.aspx The Bennie Railplane]''. East Dunbartonshire Council. ({{ISBN|0904966577}})

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070814062218/http://www.baldernock.btinternet.co.uk/images/Bennie/ George Bennie Railtrack], Baldernock Parish * [https://archive.today/20130114002620/http://www.gearwheelsmag.co.uk/archive/the_bennie_railplane_feature_13.htm The Bennie Railplane], ''Gear Wheels'' Online Motoring Magazine * [https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-george-bennie-railplane-system-of-transport-1930-online The George Bennie Railplane System of Transport (1930)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923183643/https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-george-bennie-railplane-system-of-transport-1930-online |date=23 September 2021 }}, British Film Institute (also [http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1341 archived]{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} by the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive) * [https://www.britishpathe.com/search/?searchQuery=railplane Railplane newsreel footage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102232840/https://www.britishpathe.com/search/?searchQuery=railplane |date=2 January 2024 }} at British Pathe * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090328053330/http://www.newcomen.com/rolt.htm The Newcomen Rolt Prize] * [http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r069.html Further info on Mike's Railway History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702192636/http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r069.html |date=2 July 2010 }} * {{cite web|url=http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/BennieRailplane|title=Bennie Railplane|publisher=Secret Scotland wiki|accessdate=8 July 2013|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095930/http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/BennieRailplane|url-status=live}}

Category:Experimental locomotives Category:Experimental and prototype high-speed trains Category:Suspended monorails Category:Milngavie Category:Rail transport in Scotland Category:Railway services introduced in 1930