Records of the Railplane designed by George Bennie, 1892-1957, engineer and inventor

Reference and contact details: GB 248 DC 085
Title: Records of the Railplane designed by George Bennie, 1892-1957, engineer and inventor
Dates of creation: 1922-1947
Extent: 0.2 metres
Held at: Glasgow University Archive Services
Name of Creator: Bennie, George (1892-1957: engineer and inventor)
Level of Description: fonds
Language of Material: English
Published by: Glasgow University Archive Services Thursday 8 May 2003.
The fonds level description was compiled by the Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology and the Environment project with funding from the RSLP.

Administrative/Biographical History

George Bennie (1891-1957) was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but spent much of his youth at Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. The son of an engineer, he turned his own inventive skills towards the area of public transportation and by 1921 had developed his 'railplane', a high-level monorail system. In 1929-1930 he built a prototype at Burnbrae, near Glasgow. Design of the propeller-driven car drew heavily on aircraft technology and was built by William Beardmore & Co Ltd at Dalmuir, Clydebank, Scotland, the manufacturers of the R34 airship.

Despite high levels of enthusiasm at the 1930 launch, Bennie was never able to get the financial backing to develop the idea further. The proposed Edinburgh to Glasgow line was never built, nor the one between Blackpool and Southport, and by 1937 he was bankrupt. The track at Burnbrae was eventually demolished for scrap in 1956.

Scope and Content

  • Design and research records 1930-1947
  • Catalogues and notes on components 1922-1935
  • Photographs c1930

System of Arrangement

The arrangement of this material reflects the original order in which it was received

Custodial History

Unknown

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposit: 1982 : ACCN 0497

Appraisal, Destruction, Scheduling

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures

Accruals

None expected

Access Conditions

Open

Copyright/Reproduction

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents

Existence and location of copies

No known copies

Finding Aids

Digital file level list available in searchroom

A fully searchable digital catalogue of this collection is available via the RSLP Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology & the Environment web site at www.nahste.ac.uk

Existence and location of originals

The collection contains copies of 36 photographs, the originals of which are held by the Museum of Transport, Glasgow (GB 1075)

Related Units of Description

GB 248 UGD 100 and 179 Records of William Beardmore & Co Ltd

Material in other repositories: no material associated by provenance

Publication note

No known publications using this material

Date(s) of Description

Compiled by the Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology and the Environment project with funding from the RSLP

Prepared for submission to the JISC Archives Hub by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, 28 March 2003.

Biographical note revised December 2005 by Malcolm Thwaite.