Memphis Suspension Railway
{{Short description|Suspended monorail in Memphis, Tennessee, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Public transit|
| name = Memphis Suspension Railway
| image = Memphis front view.jpg
| imagesize = 250 px
| locale = Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
| transit_type = Suspension railway
| system_length = {{convert|1,700|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}}
| began_operation = 1982
| lines = 1
| stations = 2
| ridership =
| operator = Memphis River Parks Partnership
| ended_operation = 2018
| average_speed = {{convert|7|mph|kph|0|lk=on|abbr=on}}
}}
The Memphis Suspension Railway, Mud Island Monorail, or Memphis Monorail is a suspended monorail that connected the city center of Memphis with the entertainment park on Mud Island. Celebrating its grand opening on July 3, 1982,{{cite news |last=Callahan |first=Jody |date=July 11, 1996 |title=Still afloat - Mud Island celebrates 14th year, feels growing pains |work=The Commercial Appeal}} it was located beneath a footbridge over the Wolf River Lagoon connecting to the southern tip of Mud Island. In 2018, multiple malfunctions occurred during passenger service, one of which required the fire department to attend to stranded passengers, and finally the motor failed.{{Cite web |last=Peterson |first=Joyce |date=June 9, 2022 |title=Unclear if $5M enough to save Memphis Monorail |url=https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/06/09/unclear-if-5m-enough-save-memphis-monorail/ |access-date=March 21, 2023 |website=Action News 5}}
Construction and opening
The line had two suspended cars constructed in Switzerland, delivered in summer 1981.{{cite news |date=June 19, 2006 |title=Mid-South memories - Come on in |work=The Commercial Appeal}} The {{convert|1700|ft|m|0|adj=mid|-long}} footbridge opened to pedestrians on June 29, 1981; but the monorail was not operational until July 1982. The cars were driven by a {{convert|3500|ft|m|0|adj=mid|-long}} external cable, instead of by internal motors.{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=William |date=April 25, 1992 |title=Manager undaunted by crumbles, leaks, rust |work=The Commercial Appeal}} The two cars simultaneously shuttled back and forth on parallel tracks between the Front Street Terminal on the downtown side and the Mud Island Terminal. Each car had a maximum capacity of 180 passengers and travelled at {{convert|7|mph|km/h|1|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |author=Mud Island River Park |title=Mud Island River Park: Monorail |url=http://www.mudisland.com/monorail.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219081932/http://www.mudisland.com/monorail.asp |archive-date=2007-12-19 |access-date=2008-01-26}}
At the time of its construction, the U.S. Coast Guard stated that the proposed bridge would have to have the same clearance as the Hernando de Soto Bridge, as it was spanning a commercially used public waterway.{{cite news |last=Harrington |first=Chris |date=March 6, 2002 |title=Bridging Mud Island: The biography of an idea |work=The Memphis Flyer |url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A7580}} This resulted in the bridge being constructed at its current elevation.
In popular culture
In the 1993 film The Firm, Mitch McDeere, played by Tom Cruise, uses the railway to escape from "The Firm" that is out to kill him.{{cite news |last=Stewart |first=Leah |date=July 25, 1993 |title=Mud Island gets stream of business - "The Firm" acts as billboard for unadvertised attraction |work=The Commercial Appeal}}
Incidents, accidents, and closures
On June 19, 1994, a 19-year-old female Memphis State University student, Shellie M. McKnight, fell while cleaning the exterior windows of one of the cars and died.{{cite news |last=Coleman |first=Laura |date=June 20, 1994 |title=Extra effort to be dutiful causes fatal fall for Mud Island worker |work=The Commercial Appeal}} The {{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on}} fatal fall was ruled accidental by Memphis Police.{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Rob |date=June 21, 1994 |title=Fatal Mud Island fall ruled accident |work=The Commercial Appeal}} Her family lost the lawsuit they filed against the City of Memphis.
On September 29, 2018, six passengers were trapped in one of the cars when it stalled mid-transit. The stall was caused by a fuse that was tripped. About 20 minutes after the vehicle initially stalled, the driver evacuated the vehicle onto the pedestrian bridge above. Nobody involved was injured.{{Cite web |date=2018-09-29 |title=Mud Island monorail stalls, stranding passengers |url=https://www.wreg.com/news/mud-island-monorail-stalls-stranding-passengers/ |access-date=2021-11-24 |website=WREG.com |language=en-US}}
The monorail closed indefinitely on July 6, 2018, and opened occasionally for special events.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
{{As of|2022}}, the monorail is inoperable.{{cite web |title=Unclear if $5M enough to save Memphis monorail |url=https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/06/09/unclear-if-5m-enough-save-memphis-monorail/ |date=2022-06-09 |access-date=2024-12-30 |language=en |first=Joyce |last=Peterson}}
Condition and maintenance
Due to its unique nature, only one person, "Paul Jordan, the engineer who built it, was the lone man who could fix it. Over the decades, he’d fly to Memphis, often in his own plane, land in the Wolf River Harbor, pull right up to the boat ramp at the park and stay a few days to make repairs."
In an "audit of the monorail by Schwager Davis in 2021, found the 'system was not able to be powered up' so it had to be 'evaluated by visual inspection.'"
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141214141938/http://www.mudisland.com/c-16-monorail.aspx Mud Island Monorail official website]
{{Memphis, Tennessee|state=collapsed}}
{{USpplmver}}
{{coord|35.150319|-90.055854|display=title}}
Category:Railway lines opened in 1982
Category:People mover systems in the United States
Category:Cable railways in the United States
Category:Truss bridges in the United States
Category:Pedestrian bridges in the United States
Category:Monorails in the United States
Category:Railroad bridges in Tennessee
Category:1982 establishments in Tennessee
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee
Category:Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee