Flight Rail Blog about the VECTORR high-speed rail technology - Flight Rail Corp

Building The Full-Scale Guideway Truss

1/19/2016

Rainy weather has kept us indoors, but we have lots to do! Our dedicated team of 3 welders/fabricators has begun assembling a 20-foot full-scale section of curved guideway truss. This will enable us to refine the full-scale construction sequence and provide a structure for experimenting with full-scale power tube designs and materials. The power tube will be supported inside of the uprights shown in the photos. The outside horizontal sections at the top of the Z-supports will provide for catwalks on both sides of the rails. At full scale, this structure would be elevated an average of 14 feet on pylons.

Construction progress on the curve

12/5/2012

We are making progress on building and installing the final 895 feet (272.98 m) of our outdoor test guideway. The pictures below show the progression in 2012 and the installation of 400 feet (122 m) of guideway. The curved section is a 180° banked curve with a 48 foot (14.64 m) radius. This equates to a full size train operating on a 262 foot (79.91 m) radius or 22° curve. The final 495 feet (150.98 m) - soon to be installed - includes a few straight sections to connect the 2%, 6%, and 10% grades to the curve, curve sections, and straight sections that follow the curve. This will complete the guideway project with a total length of 2095 feet (638.98 m).

Relocation of second power station

6/14/2012

We moved the second power system next to the original power system while installing the additional guideway. We now have pull/pull and push/push capabilities.

New control tower

8/15/2011

We just completed the control tower to more easily operate and view the VECTORR. With the guideway 1200 feet (366 m) long and an additional 700 feet (213.50 m) coming soon, we needed to have a better vantage point above the grapevines to view the entire guideway. VECTORR is currently operated by remote control. We now have power at the tower and plans to install a control panel in the tower to operate VECTORR. Our demo guests are enjoying this new addition to our test facility.

New G-valve installed

6/17/2011

We now have the gate valve (G-Valve) installed that automatically closes off the east end of the power tube. This valve enables push-pull on the 10% and 2% grades whenever VECTORR is on the guideway between the two power systems. When the VECTORR is on either side of the power systems, we can use push-push or pull-pull which more than doubles our top speed capability.

Benefits of second power station

5/24/2011

Today we operated the newly installed second power system that is located on the west end of the guideway. We ran the VECTORR first with only the new power system to compare it to the original one that is located towards the eastern end of the guideway. We then tested with both systems running. As expected, performance and speed increased dramatically. Now, using push-pull, VECTORR climbs the 10% grade more easily than it did the original 6% grade. From the base of the 10% grade, VECTORR accelerated so rapidly that it reached the maximum speed we allow on the track by the time the entire unit crested the grade. The push-pull is utilized as a form of "atmospheric boost" to maintain respectable speeds on steep grades. The guideway is now 1200 feet (366 m) long. A video showing push-pull on the 10% grade can be found on the Photos and Videos page. The western power system was pushing while the eastern power system was pulling the unit over the 10% grade.

Guideway lengthening

3/7/2011

The guideway is now 1000 feet (305 m) long. The pictures below show the 10% grade leveling off and transitioning to a 2% grade. An additional 700 feet (213.50 m) of guideway, a second stationary power system, and a Z-Valve will be installed by Fall 2011. The pilot model final phase is to extend the guideway to include a 180 degree curve with a 48 foot (14.64 m) radius.

Addition of 10% grade to guideway

7/15/2010

The extension of the outdoor test guideway is currently under construction. We are adding 1100 feet (335.50 m) to the existing guideway shown below to include a 10% grade. This will allow us to further document the grade climbing and atmospheric braking capabilities of VECTORR.