Each day this week while I’m in Seattle for Railvolution there will be a brief post about some cool transportation-related thing in that city.

Seattle’s monorail opened in 1962 for the world’s fair, and for decades was the only rail transit in town. Unfortunately it’s more of a novelty than a bona fide transit system. The monorail has only 2 stations, one downtown and a second at the Space Needle, at what was once the fairgrounds.

Why not build more? There were some proposals to do so, but one problem is that monorails aren’t as flexible as light rail. While they’re great for elevated lines, they’re harder and more expensive to build at-grade or in a subway, options Seattle needed for what became its Central light rail line.

But it is undeniably neat.

The monorail in downtown Seattle.

Tomorrow: Trolleys, but not streetcars.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.