The prevailing notion of a monorail in the mid-20th century was typically one of either an industrial or agricultural conveyance, or based upon the longest-running and most successful passenger system, the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, which had been in service since 1901.
These early systems had carriages that were suspended beneath the rail. In 1952,
while on a European excursion, Disney and his wife, Lillian, had a chance to ride the Schwebebahn. The swaying motion was reported to have made Mrs. Disney queasy, leading her to wonder aloud, “Why can’t they run the cars on top of the track?” It was clearly a simple notion, but one that stayed in her husband's mind.
Pictured: Wuppertaler Schwebebahn operates on an eight-mile route along the Wupper River between Oberbarmen and Sonnborner Straße, and about two miles above the valley road between Sonnborner Straße and Vohwinkel.
