The Memphis Suspension Railway, Mud Island Monorail, or Memphis Monorail is a suspended

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

that connected the city center of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

with the entertainment park on

Mud Island Mud Island is a small peninsula in Memphis, Tennessee. It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River and Harbor Town to the east. Mud Island River Park is within the Memphis city limits, from the coast of downtown ...

. Celebrating its grand opening on July 3, 1982, it is located beneath a footbridge over Wolf River Harbor connecting to the southern tip of

. 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.

History

Construction and opening

The line had two suspended cars constructed in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, delivered in summer 1981. The footbridge opened to pedestrians on June 29, 1981; but the monorail was not operational until July 1982. The cars were driven by a external cable, instead of by internal motors. 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 . 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 The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a tied-arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The design is a continuous cantilevered cable-stayed steel through arch, with beds ...

, as it was spanning a commercially used public waterway. This resulted in the bridge being constructed at its current elevation.

Closure and condition

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." The monorail closed indefinitely on July 6, 2018, and opened occasionally for special events. 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.'" , the monorail is inoperable.

Incidents

On June 19, 1994, a 19-year-old female

Memphis State University The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

student, Shellie M. McKnight, fell while cleaning the exterior windows of one of the cars and died. The fatal fall was ruled accidental by Memphis Police. 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.

In popular culture

In the 1993 film ''

The Firm The FIRM is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. First released in 1986, the video series is best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Benson founded th ...

'', Mitch McDeere, played by

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

, uses the railway to escape from a hitman sent by his employer to kill him.

References

External links

Mud Island Monorail official website
{{coord, 35.150319, -90.055854, display=title Suspended monorails Railway lines opened in 1982 People mover systems in the United States Cable railways in the United States Truss bridges in the United States Pedestrian bridges in the United States Monorails in the United States Railroad bridges in Tennessee 1982 establishments in Tennessee Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee Articles containing video clips