Derailment of Dreams
Professor Niall McKenzie gives this talk on George Bennie, a visionary inventor who attempted to launch his futuristic Railplane, an airborne, propeller driven marvel.
About Derailment of Dreams
PROFESSOR NIALL MCKENZIE
George Bennie was a visionary inventor, and in the 1920s & 30s in Milngavie, he attempted to launch his futuristic Railplane - an airborne, propeller driven marvel, gliding on a track suspended over ordinary trains and hurtling through the sky - which promised a cheaper, faster, sleeker future.
TRIUMPH WAS TANTALISINGLY WITHIN HIS GRASP
He had money, engineering brilliance in his blood, a successful family business, a powerful social network, creativity, global ambition, and a disruptive technology - with a machine poised to shatter convention.
Despite this, interest faded, funding evaporated, the Railplane never reached commercial success and Bennie died penniless and in obscurity.
The history refuses to let him vanish.
Museums, news stories, novels, operas and storytellers still chase the spark he struck.
The Railplane might not have arrived on time, but its spirit survives in modern successors, from the Shanghai Maglev to daring visions like Elon Musk’s Hyperloop.
Black Bull Inn - Gartmore
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 17th
Your Neurons deserve Christmas too!
MICHAEL'S EXCELLENT 1 MENU SERVED FROM 5PM
Doors open 7.30 for an 8pm start - £5 - Children Free
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