Las Vegas by Monorail
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 11.17.05 | 8:07 AM ET
I’ve been a fan of Wayne Curtis ever since I read his terrific 2002 Atlantic Monthly story The Iceberg Wars, so I was happy to crack open the December 2005 Atlantic and find another piece by him. “Back to the Future,” whose first two paragraphs are available online, is about the new, problem-plagued Las Vegas Monorail, and it includes a brief survey of monorail history to boot.
Writes Curtis in one of the story’s many highlights:
I have my own criteria for a monorail. It has a single rail, of course. But it must also run swiftly on quiet rubber wheels right into the lobby of a hotel or an office building. There should be a soft swooshing sound as it slows; bonus points are awarded for a slight but discernible change in air pressure when it arrives. The opening of the doors should be accompanied by a soft bonging, followed by a lush femail voice, at once intimate and aloof, urging one to step smartly aside.
The Las Vegas Monorail gets mixed marks on these counts.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Jerry Wilson 11.17.05 | 1:57 PM ET
As editor of Vegas Buzz http://www.vegasbuzzz.com and Monorail News, I have been following the progress of the monorail since a year before its false start.
Many interesting observations have been made, including those in Mr. Curtis’ book, but perhaps the most interesting of all involve political intrigue and mystery.
More Las Vegas Monorail News at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/las-vegas-monorail-news/ or just type in Las Vegas Monorail News in Google.
Jerry Wilson
Editor/Publisher
Vegas Buzz News
Vegas Buzz Radio
http://www.vegasbuzzz.com