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"path": "/26/04/the-brennan-self-balancing-monorail",
"publishedAt": "2026-04-16T15:36:00.000Z",
"site": "https://kottke.org",
"tags": [
"a self-balancing train that ran on a single track",
"This video",
"messy nessy",
"engineering",
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"Louis Brennan",
"physics",
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"textContent": "This is so cool: in the early 1900s, a mechanical engineer named Louis Brennan invented a self-balancing train that ran on a single track. This video demonstrates how the train worked using a clever system of gyroscopes.\n\n> This is the Brennan Monorail, a train from the early 1900s that seemed to defy the laws of physics. Not only did it keep itself perfectly balanced on a single rail, but it mysteriously leaned into corners without any driver input.\n\nIt’s kind of incredible how well Brennan’s system worked. It’s ingenious. (via messy nessy)\n\n**Tags:** engineering · inventions · Louis Brennan · physics · science · trains · video",
"title": "The Brennan Self-Balancing Monorail",
"updatedAt": "2026-04-16T15:36:00.000Z"
}