In 1892, Arthur Hotchkiss patented what he called the "elevated railway." Hotchkiss and other innovators imaged rail travel for individuals by pedal-powered machines that rolled over specially-built rail networks.
The first such railway, according to the Velorama National Bicycle Museum in the Netherlands, stretched between Smithville and Mount Holly in New Jersey. The ground between these two towns was marshy, so giving residents the ability to travel a few feet from the mud would be helpful.
There were challenges, though, common to rail travel of any kind. Notably, two riders on intersecting paths would have to take turns unless parallel rails were built.
-via Weird Universe | Photo: Randal J.