The Minirail was an automated monorail system on Saint Helen's and Notre Dame islands in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The network was built for the 1967 World's Fair (Expo 67), and continued to operate for Man and his World. The system consisted of three independent circuits operated by two different types of trains: the larger "Blue" that ran mostly on Notre Dame Island, and the smaller "Yellow" which ran on the north and south ends Saint Helen's Island.
The minirail passing the Ontario pavilion.
The Minirail snaking past the Ontario (left), Canada (centre) and Western Provinces pavilions (right).
The main circuits of the Minirail ceased service in the early 70's and 80's then demolished shortly after, however the La Ronde "Yellow" loop, segregated from the rest of the system on the north end, remained in service for over a half century. This last vestige of the Minirail was finally demolished in 2022.
The main part of the system was the "Blue" Minirail on Notre Dame Island (with a small cross over loop on its neighboring island). There were also two smaller loops: the "Yellow" Minirails on opposite ends of Saint Helen's Island. The minimum system radius was 50 feet (15 m), and maximum grade 10%.
Notre Dame Island (Blue)
(1967-1973) The larger Minirail was laid out to pass as many major points as possible. Stations were named for nearby major attractions. The 4.2-mile (6.8 km) circuit had six stops at four stations: Metro, Canada, Theme and Agriculture (the latter two stations being served twice). Although on an elevated structure up to 40 feet (12 m) above the ground for most of its length, the line also swung out over the water near the Quebec pavilion, dropping to within 6 feet (1.8 m) of the St. Lawrence. It also ran through the Ontario pavilion[1] and the geodesic dome of the U.S. Pavilion.[2] A section of the Blue line crossed over and ran a small loop on Saint Helen's Island, primarily to connect to the Metro and (south) Yellow Minirail line. The track structure was designed by the Swiss firm of Maschinenfabrik Habegger and fabricated on-site by Dominion Bridge Company. The running rails were twin 21-inch (533 mm) × 8+1⁄4-inch (210 mm) "I" beams 21+3⁄4 inches (552 mm) apart, supported on A-frame pylons on 50-foot (15 m) centres, reduced to 34 feet (10 m) on curves.[3] The Blue Minirail continued to operate on Notre Dame Island until late 1973, despite the closure and abandonment of the park below two years earlier. During these final two years there were no stops as all stations on Notre Dame Island were closed, therefore passengers boarded and exited at the Metro Minirail station on Saint Helen's Island. Service ceased by the end of the 1973 season. The circuit itself was dismantled by the mid-1970s, primarily due to construction of the Olympicrowing basin.
Saint Helen's Island (Yellow)
(1967-1981) The Saint Helen's Island Yellow Minirail ran around a 1.1-mile (1.8 km) loop on the south end of the island with two stations: Metro and Place des nation (that connected with the Metro, Blue Minirail, and the Expo Express). After leaving the latter station the route swung over a corner of Swan Lake. Both this and the La Ronde loop were built by Mojan Ltée. It ceased operation when the Saint Helen's Island section of Man and His World closed in late 1981, and then later demolished in the mid-1980s.
La Ronde (Yellow)
(1967-2019) The La Ronde Yellow Minirail was also on Saint Helen's Island, but was completely separate from the rest of the system. It circled the amusement park, and its 1.3-mile (2.1 km) route also passed the Marina and ran in between Dolphin Lake and the Saint Lawrence River. It had two stations: Pioneerland / Fort Edmonton and Village (near the front and rear entrances of the park). In the mid 80's the track loop behind the Alcan aquarium was removed for construction of the Aqua park, making for a slightly shortened route. The La Ronde Minirail continued to operate for several decades following Expo 67, however after 52 years in service, ceased operation in early 2019. In November 2022, the park began the demolition and removal of the Minirail [4]
Equipment
Blue
Passengers rode in open cars that carried a maximum of 12 people in each.[5] Nine cars made up a single train; one head car, seating only three passengers, seven mid-section cars and one tail car.
Yellow
The Yellow Minirails received their nicknames from the colour of the cars' canopies. Twelve 16-car trains operated on each line. Each train seated 60 in its 105-foot (32 m) length.[6] Also designed by Habegger, these cars were built in 1964 for the Swiss National Exhibition held that year in Lausanne. Originally controlled by an on-board operator, they were converted to automatic operation for Expo 67. Additional cars were purchased from the manufacturer, Von Roll Seilbahnen AG.[7][8][9] to replace the rolling stock and rail from Lausanne that were sold to Blackpool's Pleasure Beach.[10] The Yellow Minirails ran on a pair of outward-facing 3+1⁄2-inch (89 mm) × 12-inch (305 mm) "C" channels, 4+9⁄16 inches (116 mm) apart and supported on A-frames.[6]
When Six Flags Corporation took over management of La Ronde at the turn of the century, the company replaced the minirail's eponymous yellow canopies with aqua-green colored ones. Additionally, snack food advertisements relating to the park were affixed to the sides of each Minirail car.
^Michael McClelland & Graeme Stewart, ed. (26 October 2007). Concrete Toronto: A Guide to Concrete Architecture from the Fifties to the Seventies. Coach House Books. pp. 107–109. ISBN978-1-55245-193-9.
^"USA PAVILION AT EXPO video newsreel film". Newsreel. British Pathe. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
^. Technical Pages. Monorail Society. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
^"Vestige de l'Expo 67: Le Minirail de la Ronde démoli en catimini".
^"Item - Expo 1967 - Mini-Rail". Saskatchewan Archival Information Network.
^ ab Clegg, Anthony (1968). The Minirail at Expo 67 and Man and his World. Montreal, Quebec: The Classic Era. p. 12.
^ "Le monorail". Exposition nationale de Lausanne 1964 (in French). City of Lausanne. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
^ Beauchamp (January 1997). Exhibiting Electricity. Institution of Electrical Engineers. p. 287. ISBN978-0-85296-895-6.
^ Beesley, Paul (2008-07-04). "Behind the scenes - A closer look at Blackpools Monorail". Ridemad. Retrieved 2008-10-09. Pleasure Beach Blackpool bought the monorail in 1964 from the Lausanne expo in Switzerland and it was opened in Pleasure Beach in 1966.
anon. (1967). Expo 67: Official Guide. Toronto: Maclean-Hunter.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minirail.
Minirail at La Ronde Official Website
by David B. Simons Jr.
Transit History of Montreal, Quebec. All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems, David A. Wyatt
January 13, 2023
minirail, confused, with, expo, express, vtelegendexpo, express, saint, helen, island, metroemergency, sidingcanadaemergency, sidingu, pavilionthemeexpo, expressagriculturemaintenance, centrejacques, cartier, bridgebus, connection, short, walk, outside, park, . Not to be confused with Expo Express vteMinirailLegendExpo Express Saint Helen s Island Metroemergency sidingCanadaemergency sidingU S PavilionThemeExpo ExpressAgricultureMaintenance centreJacques Cartier BridgeBus connection via short walk outside park La Ronde The Minirail was an automated monorail system on Saint Helen s and Notre Dame islands in Montreal Quebec Canada The network was built for the 1967 World s Fair Expo 67 and continued to operate for Man and his World The system consisted of three independent circuits operated by two different types of trains the larger Blue that ran mostly on Notre Dame Island and the smaller Yellow which ran on the north and south ends Saint Helen s Island The minirail passing the Ontario pavilion The Minirail snaking past the Ontario left Canada centre and Western Provinces pavilions right The main circuits of the Minirail ceased service in the early 70 s and 80 s then demolished shortly after however the La Ronde Yellow loop segregated from the rest of the system on the north end remained in service for over a half century This last vestige of the Minirail was finally demolished in 2022 Contents 1 Routes 1 1 Notre Dame Island Blue 1 2 Saint Helen s Island Yellow 1 3 La Ronde Yellow 2 Equipment 2 1 Blue 2 2 Yellow 3 References 4 External linksRoutes EditThe main part of the system was the Blue Minirail on Notre Dame Island with a small cross over loop on its neighboring island There were also two smaller loops the Yellow Minirails on opposite ends of Saint Helen s Island The minimum system radius was 50 feet 15 m and maximum grade 10 Notre Dame Island Blue Edit 1967 1973 The larger Minirail was laid out to pass as many major points as possible Stations were named for nearby major attractions The 4 2 mile 6 8 km circuit had six stops at four stations Metro Canada Theme and Agriculture the latter two stations being served twice Although on an elevated structure up to 40 feet 12 m above the ground for most of its length the line also swung out over the water near the Quebec pavilion dropping to within 6 feet 1 8 m of the St Lawrence It also ran through the Ontario pavilion 1 and the geodesic dome of the U S Pavilion 2 A section of the Blue line crossed over and ran a small loop on Saint Helen s Island primarily to connect to the Metro and south Yellow Minirail line The track structure was designed by the Swiss firm of Maschinenfabrik Habegger and fabricated on site by Dominion Bridge Company The running rails were twin 21 inch 533 mm 8 1 4 inch 210 mm I beams 21 3 4 inches 552 mm apart supported on A frame pylons on 50 foot 15 m centres reduced to 34 feet 10 m on curves 3 The Blue Minirail continued to operate on Notre Dame Island until late 1973 despite the closure and abandonment of the park below two years earlier During these final two years there were no stops as all stations on Notre Dame Island were closed therefore passengers boarded and exited at the Metro Minirail station on Saint Helen s Island Service ceased by the end of the 1973 season The circuit itself was dismantled by the mid 1970s primarily due to construction of the Olympic rowing basin Saint Helen s Island Yellow Edit 1967 1981 The Saint Helen s Island Yellow Minirail ran around a 1 1 mile 1 8 km loop on the south end of the island with two stations Metro and Place des nation that connected with the Metro Blue Minirail and the Expo Express After leaving the latter station the route swung over a corner of Swan Lake Both this and the La Ronde loop were built by Mojan Ltee It ceased operation when the Saint Helen s Island section of Man and His World closed in late 1981 and then later demolished in the mid 1980s La Ronde Yellow Edit 1967 2019 The La Ronde Yellow Minirail was also on Saint Helen s Island but was completely separate from the rest of the system It circled the amusement park and its 1 3 mile 2 1 km route also passed the Marina and ran in between Dolphin Lake and the Saint Lawrence River It had two stations Pioneerland Fort Edmonton and Village near the front and rear entrances of the park In the mid 80 s the track loop behind the Alcan aquarium was removed for construction of the Aqua park making for a slightly shortened route The La Ronde Minirail continued to operate for several decades following Expo 67 however after 52 years in service ceased operation in early 2019 In November 2022 the park began the demolition and removal of the Minirail 4 Equipment EditBlue Edit Passengers rode in open cars that carried a maximum of 12 people in each 5 Nine cars made up a single train one head car seating only three passengers seven mid section cars and one tail car Yellow Edit The Yellow Minirails received their nicknames from the colour of the cars canopies Twelve 16 car trains operated on each line Each train seated 60 in its 105 foot 32 m length 6 Also designed by Habegger these cars were built in 1964 for the Swiss National Exhibition held that year in Lausanne Originally controlled by an on board operator they were converted to automatic operation for Expo 67 Additional cars were purchased from the manufacturer Von Roll Seilbahnen AG 7 8 9 to replace the rolling stock and rail from Lausanne that were sold to Blackpool s Pleasure Beach 10 The Yellow Minirails ran on a pair of outward facing 3 1 2 inch 89 mm 12 inch 305 mm C channels 4 9 16 inches 116 mm apart and supported on A frames 6 When Six Flags Corporation took over management of La Ronde at the turn of the century the company replaced the minirail s eponymous yellow canopies with aqua green colored ones Additionally snack food advertisements relating to the park were affixed to the sides of each Minirail car References Edit Trains portal Michael McClelland amp Graeme Stewart ed 26 October 2007 Concrete Toronto A Guide to Concrete Architecture from the Fifties to the Seventies Coach House Books pp 107 109 ISBN 978 1 55245 193 9 USA PAVILION AT EXPO video newsreel film Newsreel British Pathe Retrieved 12 November 2011 Straddle Steel Box Beam Technical Pages Monorail Society Archived from the original on 6 February 2011 Retrieved 11 October 2010 Vestige de l Expo 67 Le Minirail de la Ronde demoli en catimini Item Expo 1967 Mini Rail Saskatchewan Archival Information Network a b Clegg Anthony 1968 The Minirail at Expo 67 and Man and his World Montreal Quebec The Classic Era p 12 Le monorail Exposition nationale de Lausanne 1964 in French City of Lausanne Archived from the original on 4 August 2012 Retrieved 12 November 2011 Gold John Robert Gold Margaret M 2005 Cities of Culture Ashgate Publishing p 122 ISBN 978 1 84014 285 3 Retrieved 12 November 2011 Beauchamp January 1997 Exhibiting Electricity Institution of Electrical Engineers p 287 ISBN 978 0 85296 895 6 Beesley Paul 2008 07 04 Behind the scenes A closer look at Blackpools Monorail Ridemad Retrieved 2008 10 09 Pleasure Beach Blackpool bought the monorail in 1964 from the Lausanne expo in Switzerland and it was opened in Pleasure Beach in 1966 anon 1967 Expo 67 Official Guide Toronto Maclean Hunter External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minirail Minirail at La Ronde Official Website Novelty Monorails Expo 67 by David B Simons Jr Transit History of Montreal Quebec All Time List of Canadian Transit Systems David A Wyatt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Minirail amp oldid 1129955099, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
