Transportation System Particularly Useful In Hostile Environments

Abstract

A transportation system is disclosed for transporting petroleum products, mineral ores and the like in hostile climates in an economical manner and without the imposition of adverse effects on the material being transported or to the surrounding environment. In the system, at least one pipe conduit is suspended from a plurality of supports along the path of travel with means, preferably another conduit, providing a return path to the point of origin to thus form a closed system. The conduit has a vehicular trackway contained therein and extending therealong and has means for supplying power to the vehicles passing through the conduit. A plurality of containers are removably connected to wheel sets at opposite ends thereof, with at least one of the wheel sets being driven by power means received therein. Additionally, one or more exterior tracks may be secured to the conduit to permit transportation of freight as well as passengers along the conduit line of the system.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to transportation system particularly useful in hostile environments.

Great difficulties are encountered in transporting minerals, oil and the like in regions with extreme climatic conditions, such as the Arctic. Recently vast gravities of oil have been discovered in Alaska. Subsequently, further drillings and vast geological investigations have confirmed that giant, exploitable oil deposits of about 4 to 5 billion tons are present in Alaska.

Climatic and technological difficulties, however, stand in the way of economic production of this oil in North Alaska. The main oil deposits lie north of the 60th parallel of latitude in areas where winter lasts from 9 to 10 months and temperatures as low as -60.degree.C. are experienced. The soil is frozen to a depth of 300 meters but during the summer time, it will thaw down two or three meters creating a bog on the surface since the melted water cannot seep away. This area is referred to as the permafrost zone. Therefore the northern most surface communication routes in Alaska terminate some 800 kilometers south of these new oil fields.

Special land transport vehicles can only carry a fraction of the required goods to the drilling fields and then only with great difficulty. Transporting the petroleum by street vehicles or by rail is impossible due to technological and economical impracticabilities. Further, regular air flights into the oil region are next to impossible due to cold, heavy snow storms and frequent thick, long lasting fog.

Thus, the transportation problem remains unresolved. No means is presently available to economically transport the oil from North Alaska to a location where shipping is practical, or to transport the oil into regions where transshipping is economical by contemporary conventional means.

A suggestion has already been made to recover the oil in the Arctic Circle by having a tanker converted into an ice breaker so that it can plow through the waters of the Arctic Ocean from the eastern coast of North America to Alaska. The costs are so immense, and the associated risks so great, that such an idea has not been economically realized. The ship speed attainable in the Polar Circle is very slow and besides, there is great danger of damage to the tanker in the ice sea and consequently, of spillage of oil to pollute the water.

Plans also have been drawn up to provide the arctic regions with a pipeline that would be insulated against the cold. This pipeline should extend over a length of 1,000 kilometers. This plan is based on the assumption that the crude oil will enter the pipeline at a temperature of 60.degree.C. and will remain fluid even after 1,000 kilometers at ordinary speed of flow. This proposal however does not take into account the dangers arising when, for instance, a pump station breaks down and the crude oil remains longer than foreseen in the so-called permafrost zone, that is at arctic outside temperatures as low as -60.degree.C. In such case the oil solidifies in the pipe and cannot be easily returned to a fluid state. Pipelines further suffer from the drawback that enormous quantities of oil may be spilled if the line is damaged, leading to oil pollution as well as to an oil loss. Mountain and ice shifts occur in North Alaska, so that the danger of breakage is considerable for an earth-mounted pipeline.

In connection with this, strict safety regulations have been issued for oil transportation of any kind and these regulations have made construction and operation of a normal pipeline practically impossible.

The present invention thus deals with the basic task of providing a system to transport petroleum and the like from the arctic regions or other hostile environments in a comparatively economical manner, taking into account the low temperatures, the difficult soil conditions, and the strict safety regulations. The transportation problem has been solved by the present invention by providing essentially a pipe conduit system about the ground that comprises a plurality of sealed pipe sections arranged in series, and being adapted to pass a plurality of individual containers through the pipe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a transportation system for fluid, solid or bulk products in an extremely cold climate or other hostile environment in an economical manner and without danger to the environment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a conduit transportation system through which may pass an intermittent stream of trains or container cars carrying products, the cars being self propelled, and through which empty cars may return for refilling.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel transportation system wherein a vehicular train may pass through a conduit for transporting materials around a closed loop and where additionally an exterior trackway is provided for further transportation of freight and passengers.

Still further, another object of the present invention is to provide a novel vehicle for passage through a conduit transportation system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel drive unit for use in affording motive power to containers in the conduit transportation system.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel conduit system through which material may be transported.

According to the invention, therefore, container cars circulate inside sealed pipes, tubes or the like where protection of the container cars and/or of the goods against the temperature and weather is required, because of climatic conditions. It should be understood, however, that no sealed pipe system need be present at the filling or discharge stations and as a rule will not be to simplify the filling and discharging operations. Filling the container cars thus appropriately occurs in a heated hall. The filling station is located near or immediately in the vicinity of the oil where heating with oil is easily accomplished. Further, the crude oil at the filling station is still at a sufficiently high temperature that even a minor lowering of its temperature would have no ill effects.

Similarly, it will not be necessary to keep the container cars inside pipes at the discharge station where the climatic conditions will be less severe. It is essential, however, on their itinerary in the permafrost zone, that the container cars be surrounded by the protective tubes.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the pipe conduit system consists essentially of a forward pipe and a return pipe, these two pipe conduits being connected to each other at least along greater parts of the itinerary. The circulating trains will use the forward pipe for their journeys to and the return pipe for their journeys back. We are, therefore, dealing with a loop railroad, the trains of which are surrounded by protective tubes.

The neighboring interconnected pipe conduits may be located next to each other or above each other. Interconnected pipe conduits located one above the other possess a larger moment of resistance to sagging than when located next to each other.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the forward and return pipe conduits are interconnected at given intervals by sequential connector pieces, of which the two opposite surfaces adjacent to the pipe walls are shaped concavely. In this fashion the two neighboring pipe conduits are firmly connected. Preferably, the connector pieces are screwed onto the outer walls of the neighboring conduit. The connector pieces may have one or more perforations permitting passage of power cables therethrough.

According to a special development of the concept of the invention, the pipe conduit, that is the interconnected forward and return conduits, are suspended from suitable supports above the ground. By suspending the tubes, minor dislocations or shifts of the arctic soil are not immediately reflected by the pipe conduits, as contrasted to the conventional situation, where a pipe conduit is placed in the soil or supported by the soil from below. The relocation of the pipe conduits according to the invention also allows a safe compensation for expansion of the pipes.

The two pipe conduits are preferably located one above the other, and according to another characteristic of the invention are so located, that they are suspended on both sides from rooflike assembled supports by means of at least one cable which is secured between an upper end of the support and a suspension point on the upper side of the upper pipe conduit. The upper ends of the supports may each be separated with respect to each other and two adjacent supports connected by a diagonal truss to which is fastened the upper end of the suspension cable. According to a special characteristic of the invention, several, and preferably, five cables start from the upper ends of each pair of adjacent supports or from the diagonal truss thereof, the several cables being in a common vertical plane. One cable goes vertically downward, while two cables extend to the left and two cables extend to the right of the vertical cable and in a direction transverse to the pipe conduit, the cables slanting downward to the appropriate suspension points. All five suspension points on the conduits are preferably equally spaced apart about six meters.

An evenly distributed suspension along the length of pipe conduits is thus obtained. The two outer suspension points on the upper conduit with respect to one pair of supports also serve as the outer suspension points for the next pair of supports. Successive support pairs along the pipe conduits are thus preferably 24 meters apart and all suspension points on the conduits are preferably spaced six meters from each other. The mid location of the two pipe conduits, which is most vulnerable to sagging, being halfway between two successive support pairs, is thus suspended from two supports (See FIG. 1).

The individual supports consist of two struts pointed upwards and meeting at an acute angle. Preferably, the upper strut ends are hingedly connected and the lower strut ends are spherical, and are supported in corresponding seats in the upper surface of concrete foundations. Because of the spherical end and seat connection, the support struts are seated in a slightly movable fashion on the foundations. Displacement of one foundation of a support with respect to the other foundations, caused by sinking or lateral shifting, then, will not cause rupture of the support. According to a further characteristic of the invention, the lower end of each strut of a support may be telescopically extended, so that upon sinking of a foundation the corresponding strut may be extended. One may also use a hydraulic prop for extending the length of the support struts.

To prevent lateral oscillation of the suspended pipe conduits, they are put under lateral tension according to a further characteristic of the invention, and thus protected against wind loads. At least one cable is utilized for lateral tensioning, the cable being secured betweeen a mooring point at the bottom of the lower pipe conduit and the foundation or a strut of a pipe conduit support. According to a special characteristic of the invention, a cable is secured at one end to a corresponding mooring point at the bottom of opposite sides of the lower pipe conduit and at the opposite end to the foundation of each individual support strut. The cables thus slant outwards away from the strut and upwards to their mooring points on the conduit. All successive mooring points are preferably an equal distance of 12 meters apart from each other.

According to a special characteristic of the invention, all or most of the container cars inside the pipe conduits are provided with their own drive system. This lessens the danger of slipping per car on the rails and very large trains may be assembled, which may result in a lower speed of travel for a given hauling capacity. If non-driven container cars were coupled to a single motive source, such long freight trains would not be possible. The hauling capacity of the long trains approaches the high continuous hauling capacity of pipelines.

A further characteristic of the invention is that each container car consists of a cylindrical transportation container without a chassis, the front and rear ends of which are coupled to two axles having rail adapted wheels thereon, wherein at least one pair of wheels is driven. Preferably, however, all pairs of wheels between the individual transportation containers are diven. So that the interior of the pipe can be utilized as much as possible, the wheel sets are mounted between and not underneath the transportation containers.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, each transportation container is provided with a cover or plate at both ends, the upper side of which is provided with a support flange protruding from the front wall of the container. The support flange is provided with at least one borehole that matches a like borehole on a flange secured to a housing with which a pair of wheels is associated, either driven or non-driven. A coupling bolt passes through the matching boreholes to connect the container and independent wheel sets. The transportation containers are therefore bilaterally suspended between two sets of wheel housings.

It is advantageous to have three contiguous vertical boreholes in the support flange of each transportation container and in each flange on both sides of each wheel set housing, and to use three corresponding coupling bolts therewith. If only one bolt is inserted into the middle borehole, then a simple hingeable connection is produced between the container and the wheel set.

A train thus assembled from wheel sets and containers can readily negotiate curves. If, however, use is made of two or three contiguous boreholes, the connection between transportion container and wheel set becomes rigid. In such case provision is made for the support flange to be hingeably connected to the transportation cars so that the train may run along curves.

In order to rapidly decouple the wheel sets from the transportation containers, the boreholes in the flanges of the wheel set housing taper conically downward. Likewise, the lower ends of the coupling bolts taper in like fashion, whereby uncoupling only requires moving the wheel sets vertically by a certain amount with respect to the containers. Each coupling bolt is accordingly spaced in a corresponding borehole of the support flange of a transportation container in such a way that it has a head at the upper end and protruding collar intermediate its length, the separation between bolt head and collar corresponding to the thickness of the support flange mounted on the container cover.

In order to reduce air friction encountered by the trains running inside the pipe conduit, the invention provides that a conical shaped transportation container be coupled to the front end of the housing of the first wheel set. The rear part of the conical container has a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the other transportation containers, while the front part tapers forward to a point to provide an aerodynamic convex cross section. Petroleum or some of the control equipment may be located in the pointed transportation container at the front of the train.

The filling and discharging of the transportation containers with respect to the oil, minerals or other supply goods can be accomplished by means of two removable covers fastened to the upper side of the container. In such cases, the containers need not have any removable front side covers. Removable end covers with snap closures are only required for solid goods.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the central axis of all cylindrical transportation containers lies beneath a horizontal plane passing through the rotation axis of all rail wheels. The center of gravity of the containers therefore lies below the axis of rotation of the rail wheels, which provides stable support for the transportation containers as well as safety for the train in motion.

The rails for the transportation cars may be conventional type rails, and fastened in the lower part of the pipe conduits. According to a special characteristic of the invention, however, an open streamlined section of steel tube is used as a rail for the container cars within the pipe conduits. This aerodynamic tube is mounted dish-shaped in the lower part of the outer support pipe and is separated from the inner wall of the outer support pipe. Preferably it is rolled from 20 mm steel chrome plate. The aerodynamic tube increases the section modulus of the support tube, so that the already mentioned support spacing of about 24 meters and the suspension spacing of six meters are quite ample. Span widths may also be larger than illustrated. Further, the empty space between the inner streamlined tube and the outer support tube serves as insulation.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the streamlined tube, which is open at the top, is connected to the outer support tube, but is electrically insulated therefrom. The streamlined tube is connected to the outer support tube by two horizontal front sides, while the upper peripheral part of the inner wall of the support tube remains uncovered by the inner streamlined tube over an arc of less than 180.degree.. To insure against rotation of the streamlined tube within the outer support tube, stop blocks may be mounted on the inner walls of the outer support tubes, against the two horizontally located front edges of the streamlined tube. The stop blocks project inwardly and are electrically insulative. For that reason there should be no metallic contact between the inner streamlined tube and the outer support tube, since the streamline tube will be used as a current rail for the drive of the wheel sets.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the wheel axles may be mounted approximately in the area of the support tube centers, the center of the transportation container thus lying underneath the wheel axles and in the center of the inner streamlined tube. The inner streamlined tube runs parallel to the inner wall of the outer support tube, and is provided with a steplike, inwardly projecting ledge running on opposite sides thereof along the entire length of the streamlined tube. The ledges are located below the middle longitudinal axis of the support tube, and have horizontal and vertical ledge areas and these two oppositely lying ledges serve as rails for the container car wheels.

The inner streamlined tube not only provides the two ledges serving as rails, but also according to a further characteristic of the invention, it provides an upper contact surface or ledge protruding horizontally inwards, at the upper front sides. The spacing of the upper horizontal ledges corresponds to the diameter of a rail wheel. In this arrangement, trains running on the streamlined tube are protected against derailment, oscillations and jumping. The depth of the protruding ledges and contact surfaces corresponds to the track width of a rail wheel.

According to a special characteristic of the invention, it is possible to coordinate the speed of the trains, such that the heat generated by friction is sufficient to maintain a constant temperature with respect to the freight and the air contained in the support tube. The level of temperature maintained should be sufficient to prevent the crude oil from solidifying. Hence, the support tube need not be additionally insulated by filling the space between support tube and inner streamlined tube with heat insulating material.

The heated air in the support tube rises upwards and forms a thermal insulating cushion underneath the upper part of the inner wall of the support tube, so that this upper part of the tube need not be doubly walled.

It must be emphasized that the transportation system according to this invention holds great advantages with respect to a normal pipeline enveloped by a second tube with thermal insulating material between the two concentric pipes. For such solution, the thermal insulation would have to be very thick since no heat would be generated in the normal fluid pipe line, and the transported oil would cool rapidly. On the other hand two full tubes are not required in the solution according to this invention. Further, comparatively little or no thermal insulating material at all is required. If there is breakage in the installation according to this invention caused by earthquakes, or the like, large oil spills will not occur since the oil is contained in the individually sealed transportation containers. If, however, a double walled pipeline breaks, all the oil will spill every time.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the drive of a wheel set consists of an electrical motor, preferably an AC motor, coupled to a hydrodynamic torque converter. The drive unit consisting of AC motor and torque converter allows acceleration from rest at nominal rotational speed of the AC motor.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, a sun-and-planet gear is connected to the torque converter, one of the two rail-wheels of the wheel set being fastened to the outer wheel of the sun-and-planet gear. To achieve a most compact construction, the rotor of the AC motor and the torque converter are mounted on a hollow shaft, and the rail-wheel connected to the outer wheel of the sun-and-planet gear is fastened to the end of a drive shaft passing through the hollow shaft, the second rail-wheel of the wheel set being fastened to the other end of the drive shaft. This drive unit requires very little space.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, there is an oil pan provided with cooling fins below the drive. The cooling fins serve to cool and oil of the converter and may also be used to cool the drive oil and the AC motor. The heat losses generated by the drive units are thus dissipated by means of the cooling fins.

The three phase AC motor is fed via two electrically isolated current rails suspended from the upper level of the inner wall of the support tube and via the streamlined tube. While the streamlined tube also serves as current rail, it is electrically isolated with respect to the outer support tube. According to another characteristic of the invention, a rodlike current tap is mounted on the upper side of the housing of the drive unit, the rod being pressed against both upper current rails.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the power supplied to the drive unit is regulated by the hydrodynamic torque converter in the lower speed ranges, whereas other speed changes are dealt with through changes in frequency of the current supplying the travel power. The speed of rotation of the AC motor changes with the change of the frequency.

The freight containers are at rest when being filled, and several trains next to each other on neighboring rails will be simultaneously filled from filling pipes. According to another characteristic of the invention, the transportation container trains circulate through a loop in order to be filled, preferably along a serpentine, while rotating filling pipes move along with the transportation containers to be filled. When being discharged or being filled, the transportation containers may be uncoupled from their wheel sets. In that case filling is best accomplished if the containers are vertically oriented and are filled in an installation the way bottles are filled. Also, if the wheel sets are to be inspected, they merely have to be uncoupled from their transportation containers.

According to a special characteristic of the invention, the pipe conduit system can be developed into an auxiliary passenger transportation system. For that purpose, at least one rail is fastened to the outside of the pipe conduits. Movable transportation cars are thus received on the outside rails beside the pipe conduits. Thus according to the invention, the pipe conduit is used as a girder of a suspended or overhead railroad. The movable freight cars outside the pipe conduit serve for the transportation of persons and loads in the fashion of a nacelle.

When the pipe conduits are one above the other, two opposite rails are fastened to the outer wall of the pipe conduit and to the outer wall of the lower pipe conduit, it being advantageous for the two to be aligned one above the other on one side of the laterally mounted pipe conduit. It is of further advantage if the two rails fastened to the upper pipe conduit are of angular shape and if the two rails fastened to the lower pipe conduit are T-shaped. The movable freight cars on the rails outside the pipe conduits consist of a chassis with an upper roll running on the rail of the upper pipe conduit, and with two rolls running on both sides of the T rail of the lower pipe conduit, a transportation container being fastened at the lower end of the chassis below the lowest roll. The roll from the upper rail or one of the rolls of the lower rails is driven by an engine, preferably a diesel engine. For better control of the outer freight railroad, several rolls are mounted next to each other on the chassis to run on the upper and lower rails.

When the pipe conduits are disposed next to each other, a rail is fastened to the outer wall of the pipe conduit, in which at least one driven roll is movable and from which is suspended a transportation container.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, during the time of construction of the transportation installation, the rails of the outer transportation railroad will be connected at the end of a construction section by one or two turning loops one above the other, for forward and back journeys, the turning loops describing circular arcs between the two open ends of the most advanced pipe sections of the neighboring pipe conduits. The turning loops are supported by a support at the farthest points from the open pipe ends. By means of the turning loop, the outer railroad arriving at one side of the pipe conduit may travel back on the opposite side of the pipe conduit, so that the outer railroad may be operated fairly continuously.

According to a special characteristic of the invention, certain segments of the outer railroad at given distances from each other may be switched towards rails which are fastened at the same height on the outer sides of pipe railroad supports. In this manner personnal may drive to the supports and undertake inspections, foundation repairs or the like. It is foreseen to make the pipe railroad supports passable every 1,000 meters in normal terrain, but every 100 meters in difficult terrain.

In a further development of the invention, the supports holding rails may be provided with one platform each towards the formation of railroad stations for the outer transportation railroad. If the transportation train nears such a station, a switch can be opened from the nacelle whereby the nacelle will move onto the outer most rails adjacent the platform. The switch may then be closed from the station so that succeeding transportation nacelles are permitted to pass without interruption. Stairs or ladders leading from each station platform down the pipe railroad pillars to the foundation are possible.

At the same time the outer railroad accomplishes various purposes. First, it enables transportation of conduits and the like during construction of the system. The outer transportation railroad brings up the needed support pipes and the assembly equipment in a special car, and pushes the new pipe past the already built pipe conduit section. The need for transportation and assembly means to be brought overland and supported by the soil is thus obviated. The outer railroad also carried the necessary pillars, which will be raised from the track. The whole transportation of personnal and material is thus performed by the outer railroad during the time of construction, and also thereafter. The outer railroad above all serves for inspection and repair trips during the time of operation of the transportation installation according to the invention and therefore provides the safest and most economical surveillance of the pipe system. Finally the outer railroad may serve as a public means of transportation, particularly for the transportation of tourists, so that the installation according to the invention materializes the opening of the arctic regions to tourism. It is thus possible to more quickly amortize the transportation installation according to the invention, by means of the additional revenues realized as a result of the outer railroad.

The rails of the outer transportation railroad are so connected with the support pipe system of the transportation installation according to the invention, the part of the heat generated by the drive elements of the pipe trains is carried to the outer rails by the support pipe. The outer rails thus remain free of snow, grime and ice even at low temperatures.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the movable freight cars outside the pipe conduit are equipped with control apparatus, for example, gas detectors, which detect leak areas at the outer surface of the pipe conduits; with photo cells and lasers for the measurement of shifts in the supports or for the measurement of sagging of support pipes; and the like. Other freight cars may be made into one unit for that purpose and drive along the pipe system at constant separation for control purposes.

According to a special development of the idea of the invention, the transportation system consists of only one pipe conduit for the transportation of the containers filled with petroleum, the empty freight trains being transported back by the railroad outside the pipe conduit. In this solution as in the preceding one, the petroleum is protected during transportation against temperature influences, and the transportation back is performed without protection for the empty containers through the permafrost zone. The possibility also exists, that the empty freight trains may return along the upper surface of the pipe conduit. In that case, rails must be assembled to the upper surface of the pipe conduit, the separation of which corresponds to the track width of the wheel sets of the trains.

Shifts of transportation pipes and conduits sinkings may be ascertained according to the invention by fastening transmitter laser guns at the lower part of the strut support, and receivers at neighboring strut supports, the detected signal being fed into a central station. This renders possible a completely automatic seismic monitoring of the transportation system according to the invention. In order to correct the determined shifts of transportation pipes, the telescopic elements mounted at the bottom of the support struts will be actuated to adjust the length of the strut. If a pillar sinks too much, then its foundation will be raised. Fine adjustment, however, is possible through the telescoping arrangement or a hydraulic prop.

The upper ends of the pipe railroad pillars may serve as supports for supply conduits, for instance electric lines. The transportation system according to the invention in this manner favors settlements of industry and cities in arctic areas, since it may lead to important supply conduits in this pathless area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective presentation of a partial section of the transportation system according to the invention showing two suspended pipe conduits disposed one above the other.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section of a transportation installation according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and taken along line II--II of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a transportation installation according to the embodiment shown in FIG 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a partial section of a transportation installation illustrating suspended conduits disposed in side by side relation.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross section of a portion of a pipe conduit showing a container car according to the present invention therein.

FIG. 7 is a horizontal cross sectional view through a pipe conduit as shown in FIG. 6 showing a container car according to the teachings of the present invention therein.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross section of one embodiment of a pipe conduit according to the teachings of the present invention and of a container car positioned therein taken along the line VIII--VIII of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a drive unit of a transportation train as shown in FIG. 6 taken long lines IX--IX of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, the transportation system according to the present invention consists of two pipe conduits 10 and 11, one disposed above the other. One pipe conduit is used for the transportation of the petroleum from the filling station at the oil well to the discharge station at a coast port or at a refinery. After the petroleum has been transported in individual, sealed containers, in accordance with the invention, the other pipe conduit is used for return of the emptied containers. Both pipe conduits 10 and 11 consist of individual straight pipes 12 and 13, the individual pipes of each conduit being connected by flanges 14 and 15. The possibility exists, however, that the individual pipes could be welded together. If the transportation itinerary is to be curved, the individual pipes 12 and 13 of the pipe conduits may also be correspondingly curved. Preferably the pipes 12 and 13 have diameters between 1 meter and 1.40 meters.

The pipe conduits 10 and 11 are one above the other and interconnected, and therefore form a static unit with a large section modulus against sagging. The connection of the two pipe conduits 10 and 11 is effected by spaced connector pieces, which have two opposite and appropriately curved surfaces adjacent both pipe conduits. Such connector piece 16 is shown in FIG. 2 between pipe conduits 10 and 11. Connector pieces 16 are located between the flanges 14 and 15 of the pipes 12 and 13 or elsewhere between two successive flanges. The connector piece 16 in FIG. 2 shows two perforations 17 and 18 through which may pass supply cables. If the connector pieces 16 are fairly long, transverse openings may be provided to reduce windloading transverse to the pipe conduit 10 and 11.

Pipe conduits 10 and 11 run along beside each other over much of their length. They separate, however, at the filling and discharge stations at both ends of the system to form turning loops. Preferably the filling and discharge stations at each end of the pipe conduits are enclosed.

The pipe conduits 10 and 11 of FIG. 1 are suspended from supports of a roof-like shape located on either side of the conduits. The upper ends of opposite supports 19 and 20 are separated from each other and are connected by a cross strut 21. The upper ends of steel ropes 22, 23 and 24 are fastened to strut 21 and lead to the corresponding suspension points 25, 26 and 27 on the upper side of the upper pipe conduit.

An advantageous pipe conduit suspension is shown in FIG. 4, which may also be used for the vertically, one-above-the-other arrayed pipe conduits 10 and 11 of FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, five steel cables 30, 32, 33, 34 and 35 issue from the connecting location at the top of two opposite supports, and lie in a common plane. Cable 30 leads vertically downward, while in the direction transverse to the pipe conduit 31. Cables 32 and 33, and cables 34 and 35, respectively, lead to the left and right, next to the vertical cable 30 and slant downwards to the particular suspension points on the upper side of pipe conduit 31. All five suspension points 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 preferably equally spaced apart from each other, most preferably by six meters. In a transverse direction to the pipe conduit 10 of FIG. 1 and 31 of FIG. 4, the two outer suspension points 25 and 27 or 36 and 40, respectively, serve as suspension points for adjacent supports. Preferably the successive pairs of supports 41 and 42 along the pipe conduit 31 are therefore separated from each other by 24 meters.

In FIG. 4, the individual oppositely located supports of each support pair consist of two struts 43 and 44. Struts 43 and 44 extend upwards at an acute angle, and are hingeably connected at the upper ends thereof. The lower ends 45 and 46 of struts 43 and 44 are spherical and are supported in corresponding dish-shaped pans 47 and 48 on the upper side of concrete foundations 49 and 50. The supports in FIG. 1 also consist of two struts 51 and 52 hingeably connected at the top, the lower ends 53 and 54 of which are also spherical and rest on the upper side of foundations 55 and 56 in pans not shown. The lower end of each strut, or of at least part of the strut, may be extended telescopically, as shown for strut 43 in FIG. 4 by the reference number 57. In this manner any sinking of a foundation 49 or 50 may be compensated for by changing the length of the particular strut.

For the absorption of lateral wind loads, the suspended pipe conduits are laterally braced. To that purpose, as shown in FIG. 1, a steel cable 59 is fastened between a fastening point 58 on the lower side of the lower pipe conduit 11 and the foundation 55 of a strut 51 of a pipe conduit support. Fastening point 58 is positioned precisely exactly between the foundations 55 and 60 of the successive supports of struts 51 and 61 so that a cable 62 also leads from foundation 60 to the fastening point 58. The fastening point 58 is mounted on the flange 15 of the lower pipe conduit 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, where the pipe conduits are located one above the other, steel cables 74, 75, 76 and 77 lead from the foundations of each individual support strut 70, 71, 72 and 73 on both sides of the pipe conduits, the cables slanting upwards and outwards, away from the strut to a corresponding fastening point 78 and 79 on the lower side of the lower pipe conduit. All successive fastening points 78, 79 and 80, etc., for lateral bracing are preferably equally spaced apart by 12 meters.

One may further recognize from FIG. 3 that the upper ends of the two support struts 70 and 71, which lie opposite each other across the pipe conduits, are interconnected by a cross strut 81 from which the upper pipe conduit 10 is suspended by means of cables 82 and 83. In FIG. 2 the cross strut 81 of support struts 70 and 71, the suspension cable 82 and foundations 84 and 85 of support struts 70 and 71 are illustrated. Further, the cables 74 and 75 lead to the common fastening point 78 on the lower side of the lower pipe conduit.

Pipe conduits running next to each other also may be suspended from above and braced from below, as shown in FIG. 5. Neighboring pipe conduits 90 and 91 are interconnected by successively spaced connector pieces 92, which are provided with a perforation at their center allowing passage of the supply line 93 for the pipe railroad. Supply line 93 may also serve the drilling fields in the area of the filling station in accordance with the invention. In FIG. 5, the neighboring pipes are not, however, suspended from the successive connector pieces 92. Rather, suspension cables 96 and 97 lead from the upper ends of two oppositely located supports 94 and 95 to the upper side of each pipe 90 and 91. The suspension cables of the transportation system in FIG. 5 are so distributed as also seen in the side view of FIG. 4. To avoid lateral oscillations of the suspended pipes, bracing cables 98 and 99 are secured to the lower sides of the pipe conduits and the opposite ends thereof fastened to the foundations 100 and 101 of the support struts 94 and 95. The lower ends of the support struts 94 and 95 are supported in the pans of the foundations 100 and 101 and are the same as shown in FIG. 4 for struts 43 and 44.

A train is located inside the pipe conduit 31 in FIG. 4, consisting of transportation containers 110, 111, 112, etc., and of intermediate wheel sets 113, 114, 115, etc. A steel stream lined tube 116 open at its top is used as a rail for the freight cars. FIGS. 1, 5 and 8 illustrate the streamlined tube. This streamlined tube 116 is mounted dish-like in the lower part of the outer support tubes 10, 11, 90 and 91, and is separated from the inner wall of the outer support tube. FIG. 8 better shows the arrangement of the inner streamlined tube 116. The streamlined tube 116 is connected to the outer support tube 10 at the two horizontal front sides 117 and 118, but is electrically isolated therefrom. The upper part of the periphery of the inner wall of the support tube 10 remains uncovered over an arc of about 120.degree. corresponding to the open area of the inner streamlined tube. Due to the presence of streamlined tube 116, the section modulus of the outer support tube is appreciably increased. Electrically isolating stop blocks 119 and 120 are mounted on the inner walls of the outer support tube 10 of FIG. 8 and protrude inwardly therefrom next to the two horizontal front edges 117 and 118 of the inner streamlined tube 116. Stop blocks 119 and 120 thus prevent rotation of the streamlined tube 116 with respect to the outer support tube.

The inner streamlined tube 116 runs parallel to the inner wall of the outer support tube 10 and is provided with step-like, inward protruding ledges 122 and 123 along the entire length of the streamlined tube. Ledges 122 and 123 are provided with horizontal and vertical contact surfaces and are located below the middle longitudinal axis 121 of the support tube 10. Opposite ledges 122 and 123 hence serve as rails for wheels 124 and 125 of the wheel sets 113, 114, 115 and the like.

The inner streamlined tube 116 is provided with further horizontal, continuous, inward protruding upper contact surfaces, 126 and 127 at the upper front sides 117 and 118. Contact surfaces 126 and 127 prevent jumping or derailing of the wheels 124 and 125. The separation between the upper horizontal contact surfaces 126 and 127 and the horizontal surfaces of the lower edges 122 and 123 is somewhat larger than the diameter of a rail wheel 124 and 125. The depth of the protruding ledges and contact surfaces corresponds to the track width of the rail wheels 124 and 125.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the construction of a container car which consists of a cylindrical transportation container 110 without a chassis. The front end of container 110 is coupled to two rail wheels 124 and 125 mounted on axle 132 and the rear end to wheels 130 and 131 mounted on axle 133. All wheel sets located between the individual transportation containers are preferably driven.

Every transportation container, for instance, the transportation container 110 in FIGS. 6 and 7, is provided with cover plates 134 and 135 at both ends, the upper sides of which are provided with support flanges 136 and 137, respectively. Flanges 136 and 137 protrude from the transportation front wall and are provided with three contiguous boreholes 138, 139 and 140 and 141, 142 and 143, respectively, in the vertical direction. A coupling bolt 144 is fastened in the middle borehole 142 of the support flange 137 in such a fashion as to be provided with a head 145 at the upper end and with a protruding collar 146 at the middle, the separation between bolt head and collar corresponding to the thickness of the support flange 137. The lower end 147 of the coupling bolt 144 tapers conically downward. This end is pushed into a cylindrical borehole 148 of a flange 149 on the wheel set housing 150 next to the transportation container cover 135. The simple coupling connection may be immediately disengaged. If, however, a rigid connection between wheel set and transportation container is desired, then coupling pins 152, 153 and 154 are placed in all three adjacent support flange boreholes and wheel set housing boreholes, as shown at the left end of the transportation container 110 in FIGS. 6 and 7. Each wheel set 155 is provided at both sides with a housing flange 156 and 157, to which may be coupled a corresponding support flange from an adjacent transportation container.

A transportation container 158 is rigidly coupled by three coupling bolts 159, 160 and 161 to the front housing flange 156 of the wheel set 155, which is coupled to the front end, left end in FIGS. 6 and 7, of the first cylindrical container 110 of a train made up of many container cars. The back part of the container 158 has a diameter corresponding to that of the remaining transportation containers while the front part tapers forward to a point 162 to provide an aerodynamic convex cross section. Container 158 may carry petroleum or a control unit.

Filling and emptying the transportation container 110 as well as the remaining transportation containers with liquids such as petroleum, and also with powders and sands takes place through two short feed pipes 163 and 164 mounted on the upper side of the container 110. If bulk goods are to be transported in the transportation containers, the container covers 134 and 135 are removable for filling and emptying and are provided with a snap closure 165.

It may be seen from FIGS. 6 and 8, that the middle longitudinal axis 170 of all transportation containers are located below the horizontal plane 171 suspended by the rotation axis of all wheels 124, 125, etc. In this manner the transportation containers suspended between two wheel set housings are very stable. The space between the outer support tube 10 and the inner streamlined tube 116 of FIG. 8, is filled with a heat, sound and oscillating insulation material 172, which is preferably a synthetic foam. Such material must also be an electrical insulator.

FIG. 9 shows the assembly of a drive wheel set, for instance the wheel set 155 in FIGS. 6 and 7. The wheel set consists of an AC motor 180 coupled to a hydrodynamic torque converter 181, which is coupled in turn to a sun-and-planet gear 182. Outer wheel 183 of sun-and-planet gear 182 is geared to the running wheel 124 of the wheel set 155. So as to achieve an extremely compact construction, rotor 184 of the AC motor and the torque converter 181 are mounted on a hollow shaft 185, while the rail wheel 124 connected with the outer wheel 183 of the sun-and-planet gear 182 is fastened to the end of an output shaft 132 passing through the hollow shaft 185, namely the wheel axle as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. A second rail wheel 125 is fastened at the opposite end of axle 132 of the wheel set 155. At the bottom of the wheel set 155 is an oil pan provided with cooling fins 186.

The three phase alternating current is conducted by the streamlined rail tube 116 and two current rails 190 and 191, which are suspended via the interposition of electrical isolators 192 and 193 from the upper region of the inner walls of the supporting tube (See FIG. 8). Suspended rails 194 and 195 also conduct current at the upper inner walls of the support tubes as shown in FIG. 5. A dual rod-like current tap 196 is provided on the upper side of the housing of each drive wheel set, for instance on the upper side of the wheel set 155 (See FIGS. 6 and 9). Current tap 196 is pressed against the two upper current rails 190 and 191 to receive current.

The power of a drive unit while accelerating the freight train from rest is regulated by the hydrodynamic torque converter 181 in the lower speed range as well as for climbs, whereas other changes in speed are effected through a change of the frequency of the alternating current. The speed of rotation of the AC motor 180 thus varies with current frequency. In the pipe conduit system according to the invention, very long trains may succeed each other at close intervals. Control of the time sequence of the trains is effected by combined transmission antennas on the drive wheel sets 155 and on the support tube 10 or on the streamlined tube 116 used as a travel rail (not shown in the drawings). To achieve remote control of the trains, the drive wheel sets of the trains following each other receive pulses from transmitters inside the support or travel tubes, the pulses being picked up by the antennas of the wheel sets. Conversely, the drive wheel sets 155 also are provided with transmitters, which in turn emit pulses to be picked up by antennas at or inside the travel or support tube. The pulses transmitted from the wheel sets are replayed via an electrical control circuit or via radio to a central control station.

This pulse control system makes it possible to allow very brief intervals between trains following each other in the system. For instance, trains made up of 26 container cars may succeed each other at time intervals of only 44 seconds.

Electronic control units containing pulse counters are located at regular spacings in the pipe conduits (not shown in figures). All electronic control units are connected to a central control station monitoring the overall situation. As a rule, this central control station is located at the filling station or preferably at the discharge station in view of the advantageous climatic conditions at the discharge station. The control system of the electronic central control station is so laid out that the transmitter of each drive wheel set 155 from each train sends a pulse to the central control station when passing the control units. These pulses are processed in the time-computation unit of the central control station and the corresponding control pulses are continuously fed in sequence to the control units along the itinerary in the direction of travel. If for some reason, for example, a train stops, which is virtually impossible in view of the many drives, then all successive trains will be automatically stopped by the control units. Parallel with this electronic control, there is also an electronic monitoring of train spacings along their sequence. If a train travels faster or slower than planned along a certain segment of the conduits, this will be recorded by the time-computation unit and processed, and the corresponding control pulses will be fed to the train on that segment. The speed of that train will be increased or decreased so long until the time values have been reduced.

Since the support tube 10 according to the invention is wholly sealed and the cylindrical transportation containers 110 nearly fill the entire free cross section of the support tube, the air entrapped between the individual trains will become denser during mountain travel as train separation becomes less. Further, trains still traveling in the lower regions and approaching an ascent segment will pneumatically drive the ascending trains.

An optimum exists, in the transportation system of the invention for economical operation, between train length, train time sequence and speed. The optimal speed of the pipe railroad is about 50 km/hour and thus is comparatively small. At this speed range, the railroad will experience little wear. Since, as an example, each train is provided with a plurality of drive wheel sets, failure of one or two electric motors or drives will not at all affect the operational safety of the pipe railroad. Due to the simplicity of coupling, damaged wheel sets may be rapidly removed from their transportation containers and replaced.

According to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, two oppositely located rails 200, 201, 202 and 203 are mounted on the outer wall of the upper pipe conduit 10 and on the outer wall of the lower pipe conduit 11. The two rails on the same side of the pipe conduits 10 and 11 are aligned one above the other, namely 200, 202 and 201, 203, respectively. Rails 200 and 201 fastened to the upper pipe conduit 10 are angular shaped and rails 202 and 203 fastened to the lower pipe conduit 11 are T shaped. Freight cars travel on these rails outside the pipe conduits 10 and 11, so that the pipe conduits may be used both inside and outside for shipment. The freight cars of the outside railroad consist of a chassis 204 with upper rolls 205 running on the rail 201 or 200 of the upper pipe conduit 10, and of two rolls 206 and 207 running on both sides, that is above and below the T rail 203 or 202 of the lower pipe conduit 11. A transportation container 208 in the form of the nacelle is fastened to the bottom of the supporting structure 204 below the lowest roll 207. The nacelle may be used to transport personnal or goods. Roll 206 is driven by a diesel engine 209. For the sake of simplicity, FIG. 1 does not show the nacelles suspended suspended from rails 201 and 203.

In the transportation system with conduits disposed side by side according to FIGS. 4 and 5, a rail 210 and 211 of trough like cross section is fastened to the lower side of each pipe conduit 90 and 91. At least one driven roll 212 and 213 may drive therethrough. As an example, an open transportation container 214 is suspended from roll 212, transportation container 214 carrying a support pipe 215. A sealed nacelle 216 is suspended from roll 213. The cylindrical transportation container 110 of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 is slao shown in the support tube 91 of FIG. 5.

An example of construction of the transportation system according to the invention with pipe conduit disposed one above the other is shown in FIG. 3. Rails 200 and 201 of the upper pipe conduit 10 and rails 202 and 203 of the lower pipe conduit 11 are shown interconnected by a turning loop for the forward and return trips of the outer railroad. The two turning loops for the upper and lower travel rails are exactly one above the other. FIG. 3 shows only the upper turning loop 220, which leads around the front open end 221 of that particular front pipe section of the pipe conduit 10 to be built in a more or less circular arc. The turning loop 220 is propped up at the point farthest from the open pipe end 221 by a support 222.

It may be further seen from FIG. 3 that segments 225 and 226 of the rail 201 of the outer transportation railroad may be switched outward toward a rail 227, at given intervals. Rail 227 is fastened at the same height of rail 201, outside of the pipe railroad support struts 71 and 71a. If a nacelle approaches from the right on rail 201 and it is desired to drive to the support shown on the left in FIG. 3, then a switch 225 can be opened from within the nacelle permitting the nacelle to pass onto rail 227. A platform 228 for the formation of an outer transportation railroad station is provided along the support for rail 227. Starting from this station, one may reach the support for purposes of inspection and repairs. Further, the switch 225 may be closed from the station so that succeeding nacelles may pass normally thereby.

FIG. 2 shows a situation, in which the nacelle 208 drives past the support and along the pipe conduits 10 and 11, while another nacelle 230 from the same railroad is parked at the platform 228. The rails 227 and 231 of the outer railroad are supported by the pipe railroad support structure and by struts 232 and 233.

FIG. 4 shows in side view how a nacelle 240 runs along a rail 241 mounted at the bottom of the pipe conduit 31. FIG. 1 shows further that, for detection of pipe support displacements and support sinkings, a laser gun 250 acting as transmitter is mounted at the bottom of the support strut 51, with a corresponding receiver 251 mounted on the neighboring support strut 61. Measurements made thereby relayed to a central station.

Safe operation of the transportation system according to the invention requires monitoring a series of values, of which the most important are listed below:

Tension, frequency, power absorption, apparent power, isolation resistance, speed of travel, train separation, oil leak losses, pipe temperature, pipe conduit slack, vertical and lateral shift as well as meteorological and ambient values. Such values may be monitored most economically and reliably from the outer railroad system. Other decisive, additional advantages of the outer railroad system have already been explained.

In the transportation system of FIG. 2, the upper ends of the pipe railroad supports, interconnected by the cross struts 81 successively and equally spaced, serve as suspensions for supply lines 260, such as current cables. Cables 260 may be used either for the supply of the transportation system itself, for the current supply at the drilling fields at one end of the line, or for the current supply of other industry and settlements along the way.

Since petroleum transportation from arctic regions is not feasible with pipelines and is unreliable with pipeline heating; since the transportation of petroleum with tanker-icebreakers or submarine tankers has not been solved technologically; and since air transportation is uneconomical and strongly influenced by the extreme climatic conditions, the transportation system according to the invention represents a solution which far exceeds in reliability, safety and economical feasibility, the above mentioned transportation methods insofar as they are feasible at all.

Having described the present invention in detail, it is obvious that one skilled in the art will be able to make variations and modifications thereto without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be determined only by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A transportation system for transporting goods in a protective environment comprising:

a. adjacent trackways connecting a point of origin with a point of destination each of said trackways being designed for one way travel;

b. a loop at each end of said trackways, the loops connecting said trackways to one another, one of said loops having filling apparatus adjacent thereto and cooperating therewith and the other of said loops having discharging apparatus adjacent thereto and cooperating therewith;

c. a pipe conduit surrounding a major portion of the length of at least one of said trackways, said trackway being secured within said conduit;

d. support means spaced along the length of the trackways for supporting and suspending the trackways and conduits above the ground; and

e. a driven vehicle train receivable within said conduit and movable along said trackway and said loops, said vehicle train comprising a plurality of individual load carrying container cars interconnected in tandem association, each of said container cars being removably suspended between a pair of wheel sets and each wheel set being in common with adjacent cars, at least one of said wheel sets being driven and the middle longitudinal axis of each container car being lower than the axis of rotation of the wheel sets.

2. A transportation system as defined in claim 1 wherein said conduit surrounds at least a major portion of the trackway from the point or origin to the point of destination and the return trackway is secured along the top of said conduit.

3. A transportation system as defined in claim 2 wherein at least one additional outside rail is secured to said conduit and extends along the length thereof, said rail having a driven vehicle suspended therefrom for movement therealong.

4. A transportation system as defined in claim 1 wherein a conduit surrounds at least a major portion of the length of both trackways, said conduits being connected to each other along at least a major portion of their lengths.

5. A transportation system as defined in claim 4, wherein said conduits are disposed one above the other.

6. A transportation system as defined in claim 4, wherein said conduits are disposed side by side.

7. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said vehicle trackway comprises a pair of rails secured along the bottom of the inside of said conduits.

8. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said trackway is defined by an open top rail body received within said conduit and secured thereto.

9. A transportation system as defined in claim 8 wherein said rail body is mounted dish like at the bottom of said conduit and spaced from an inner wall thereof.

10. A transportation system as defined in claim 9 wherein said rail body has vertical and horizontal components on opposite sides thereof, said components defining rails on which said vehicle wheels ride.

11. A transportation system as defined in claim 10 wherein said rail body further has a horizontal member extending inwardly from a top portion of opposite sides thereof, said horizontal members being spaced above said rails a sufficient distance to permit passage of said wheels therethrough, whereby said vehicle is prevented from jumping the rails.

12. A transportation system as defined in claim 9 wherein the space between said rail body and said inner wall of said conduit is filled with an insulating material.

13. A transportation system as defined in claim 12 wherein said insulating material is a synthetic polymer foam.

14. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein further a plurality of electrical contacts are secured to and extend along an upper portion of said conduits.

15. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said supports comprise a plurality of struts, said struts being secured to a foundation therefore at a lower end thereof, a cross brace, said brce being secured to said struts at an opposite end thereof and uniting said struts into a support structure, and means to associate said supports with said conduits.

16. A transportation system as defined in claim 15 wherein said means to associate said supports and said conduits comprise flexible cables which suspend said conduits from said supports.

17. A transportation system as defined in claim 16 wherein a plurality of cables secure said conduits to each support.

18. A transportation system as defined in claim 17 wherein said cables are secured to said conduits at equal spacing along said conduits.

19. A transportation system as defined in claim 16 wherein a plurality of further flexible cables are secured to said conduits along the sides thereof and at an opposite end to said supports whereby lateral stability is provided for said conduits.

20. A transportation system as defined in claim 15 wherein said struts are hingedly connected to said cross brace and said foundations.

21. A transportation system as defined in claim 20 wherein said hinge connection between said struts and said foundation are produced by spherical shaped strut bottoms and conical receivers on said foundations.

22. A transportation system as defined in claim 20 wherein said struts have means along the lower end thereof for adjusting the length thereof.

23. A transportation system as defined in claim 22 wherein said struts comprise telescoping sections and wherein piston means are provided therein to adjust said section to thereby adjust the length of said struts.

24. A transportation system as defined in claim 22 wherein said supports have received thereon control means to monitor the relative position thereof and means responsive to said control means to adjust the length of each strut upon receipt of an appropriate signal from said control means.

25. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said loops have exposed vehicle trackway at least partially therearound.

26. A transportation system as defined in claim 25 wherein a plurality of vehicle trackways are arranged in said loops to receive a plurality of vehicles thereon and wherein a plurality of nozzles are provided adjacent said trackways to simultaneously fill or empty containers of said vehicle.

27. A transportation system as defined in claim 25 wherein a plurality of nozzles are provided adjacent said vehicle trackway, said nozzles being movable along said trackway to permit filling or emptying of said containers as said containers move thereby.

28. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein the vehicle train includes a first container car having an aerodynamic taper and convex cross section, said container being coupled to one set of drive wheels, the plurality of subsequent load carrying container cars being coupled in tandem behind said first container car.

29. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein all wheel sets in the vehicle train are driven.

30. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said driven wheel sets are powered by electric motors and wherein power is supplied via electrical contacts in said conduits.

31. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said container cars are cylindrical in cross section and have cover plates secured at opposite ends thereof.

32. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said container cars and said wheel sets are provided with flanges extending outwardly therefrom, said flanges having at least one borehole therethrough, boreholes of said flanges mating to receive a bolt therethrough to thus connect adjacent container cars of said vehicle train.

33. A transportation system as defined in claim 30 wherein said electric motor is coupled to a hydrodynamic torque converter and said torque converter is coupled to a sun and planet gear for transmitting driving power to said wheels.

34. A transportation system as defined in claim 30 wherein said wheel sets comprise a housing, a hollow shaft received in said housing, an electric motor and a hydrodynamic torque converter mounted around said hollow shaft, a sun and planet gear coupled to said torque converter, and an axle passing through said hollow shaft, said axle having wheels mounted at opposite ends thereof, one of said wheels being associated with said sun and planet gear to receive driving power therefrom.

35. A transportation system as defined in claim 30 wherein said conduits are provided with electrical contacts extending therealong at least a major portion of the length thereof and said driven wheel sets are provided with current taps, said taps moving along said contacts to permit passage of power to said electric motor.

36. A transportation system as defined in claim 30 wherein said electric motor is coupled to a hydrodynamic torque converter and wherein speed changes for said train are made by the torque converter and by varying the frequency of electrical power supplied thereto.

37. A transportation system as defined in claim 5 wherein at least one rail is secured to the outside of said conduit, said rail receiving freight cars moving therealong outside said conduit.

38. A transportation system as defined in claim 37 wherein an angular shaped rail is secured to the upper conduit and a T-shaped rail is secured to the lower conduit, said rails being mounted one above the other.

39. A transportation system as defined in claim 38 wherein at least one car is received on said outside rails, said car having a chassis, at least one roll secured to said chassis and in engagement with said angular rail, at least two further rolls secured to a lower portion of said chassis and in engagement with said T rail, and a container secured to said chassis, one of said rolls being driven.

40. A transportation system as defined in claim 39 wherein said car is provided with a diesel engine for driving said roll.

41. A transportation system as defined in claim 37 wherein a further rail system is secured to certain of said supports and wherein means are provided to divert cars from said outside rail to said further rail system and back to said outside rail as desired, and wherein further a platform is provided adjacent said further rail system.

42. A transportation system as defined in claim 39 wherein said cars are further equipped with control means for monitoring said transportation system.

43. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said conduits are equipped with electronic control circuits therealong, said circuits controlling said vehicle passing therethrough.

44. A transportation system as defined in claim 4 wherein said driven wheel sets are equipped with control means to regulate vehicle movement through said conduits.