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♫ Three-toned chime ♫

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I’m here at Chicago O’Hare International
Airport, but not to catch a flight.

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To catch a train.

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And not the blue line into the city, either.

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O’Hare operates an automated shuttle system
that takes people between the terminals.

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They called it the Airport Transit System,
or ATS,

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but many people would call it a People Mover.

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It’s a fitting name ‘cause that’s what
it does.

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As I record this, there are five stations
just like these;

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three at each of the domestic terminals,

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one at the International terminal,

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and a final one at the remote parking facility.

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At the time of this video’s release, the
system has actually been shut down and won’t

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reopen until the fall of 2019.

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It’s in the process of getting new trains,
and a new station

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at the Multi Modal Rental Car and Parking Facility.

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Whatever that is exactly.

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And it might be wise to remodel the existing
stations because....

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1993.

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In many respects, this system is like a sideways
elevator.

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As the trains approach the landings, the interior
doors line up with the landing doors and once

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they both open you have access to the train
and/or the platform.

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Then it moves along to the next “floor”,

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lines itself up, doors open again, and it moves along.

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The vehicles have rubber tires and are more
like buses on a guideway than trains on a track.

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Here at O’Hare the guideway uses a grooved
steel plate as a “road surface” because,

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well, winter is a thing that happens here,
and a freeze-thaw cycle doesn’t really bother

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a hunk of steel.

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An interesting thing about O’Hare’s system
is that at each end, the trains switch sides

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to allow for a continuous loop of multiple
trains on the system.

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And a strange thing about the system, at least
the 1993-2018 version, is that trains seems

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to speed up and slow down at odd and unpredictable
times.

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And they accelerate a lot faster than you
might expect, wonderful for vehicles that

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are mostly standing room only.

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Here’s hoping that gets improved.

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Now, O’Hare’s peoplemover certainly isn’t
unique.

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Lots of airports have strikingly similar systems.

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In fact,

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Here at the Orlando International Airport,
you’ll find not one but 5 people movers!

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Four of the them simply take people between
the gates and the main terminal building,

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while the fifth one is new and does something
else.

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In many ways they’re just like the O’Hare
system.

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Similar doors.

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Similar trains.

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Similar guideway--

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though here a concrete road
surface is used because winter isn’t really

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a thing that happens here.

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Four of the people movers simply move people
back and forth between the main terminal building

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and the gates themselves.

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It’s a very brief journey, so there are
only two trains and they just go back and forth.

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And sometimes they only run one side.

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Recently, the trains on Airsides 1 and 3 were
replaced with Mitsubishi Crystal Mover vehicles,

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so although this looks to be the more modern
of the two systems, the track and other infrastructure

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is actually older.

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Airsides 2 and 4 were built later and use
Innovia APM 100 vehicles from Bombardier which,

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don’t worry, will appear later in this video.

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I’ve always liked the layout of this airport,
though it should be noted that these people

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movers are in the sterile area past security
unlike O’Hare’s which are outside of it.

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The fifth and final people mover was just
added in 2017, and it currently takes travelers

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to, well, not much more than parking at this
point.

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But eventually, the completed Intermodal Terminal
will provide train service to Miami and other

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areas on the proposed SunRail and BrightLine
extensions.

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At least that’s the plan.

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Interesting I should find myself in Orlando
in a video talking about people movers.

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I wonder if there’s a noteworthy peoplemover
somewhere near here that might have something

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to do with the title and purpose of this video…

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Oh, right.

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Here at Tomorrowland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom
in Florida lives the

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Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover.

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Originally opened in 1975 as the WEDWay Peoplemover,
this system has been taking literally millions

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of guests on a grand circle tour of Tomorrowland,
and remains a fan-favorite of many, including

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yours truly.

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This WEDWay PeopleMover is actually Disney’s
second peoplemover, with the first now defunct

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attraction makings its debut at Disneyland
in 1967.

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Its roots come from the Ford Magic Skyway
attraction at the 1964 New York World’s Fair

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which was designed by WED Enterprises.

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WED, by the way, stands for Walter Elias Disney.

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After observing equipment used to move steel
ingots around Ford’s steel plant in Detroit,

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Walt Disney wondered if this could be adapted
into an attraction.

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And it was, for Ford’s Magic Skyway.

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Actual Ford cars, with their engines and transmissions
removed, were used as ride vehicles.

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The car bodies were pushed along a track by
spinning urethane wheels which rubbed against

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flat friction plates on the bottom of the
cars.

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The attraction was a hit, but most importantly
the propulsion system proved to be effective.

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When it came time to use this technology in
a more permanent attraction at Disneyland,

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Ford wasn’t that interested in a sponsorship,
so instead the Goodyear Tire Company came along,

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and the urethane wheels were swapped
for rubber tires.

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How fitting.

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The idea behind Disney’s peoplemover was
to actually be a real mass transit system

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(and this is probably why Ford didn’t want
to sponsor the attraction at Disneyland, as

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mass transit usually isn’t too good for
car sales).

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Though it wasn’t known to the public, Walt
envisioned systems like these to form the

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backbone of the transportation networks in
his never truly realized

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Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT.

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Although the Disneyland PeopleMover wasn’t
the first transportation device to be called

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a peoplemover, it is likely that its popularity
as an attraction is responsible for the continued

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use of the word “peoplemover” to describe
similar transit solutions.

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One of the more novel ideas from the peoplemover
was that the passive vehicles, not requiring

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a power source of their own, could truly never
stop, and indeed that was the idea.

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Just like the still-operating version in the
Magic Kingdom, rather than come to a stop,

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the vehicles would slow down as they approached
the station, and join a continuous chain of

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cars traveling at the same speed as the moving
platform next to it.

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Then, after making its way around, the trains
at the front would accelerate, and break away

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from the chain.

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When it came time for PeopleMover Version
2 at the Magic Kingdom, the spinning rubber

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tires were dropped in favor of the much more
futuristic looking linear induction motors

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embedded at regular intervals along the track.

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These motors, in addition to creating delightful
60 Hz harmonics, generate electromagnetic

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fields which interact with metal plates on
the bottom of the trains and push them along.

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[Sound of propulsion system]

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The ditching of the tires, by the way, resulted
in Goodyear not wanting to sponsor this version

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of the attraction.

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First they destroyed the car.

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Then they went for the tires.

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Now, using linear induction motors isn’t
new, but in an application like this it was

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certainly novel.

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The LIMs themselves are essentially just a
bundle of some copper and iron.

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Because the trains take the place of the rotor
in a conventional motor, the propulsion system

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effectively has no moving parts.

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I suspect it’s for this reason that the
attraction is still operating, as opposed

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to the Disneyland peoplemover which suffered
a rather… tragic fate.

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I can’t see how maintenance costs are going
to be very high for this attraction.

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But this peoplemover, although it is the second
of the two Disney PeopleMovers built at a

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Disney theme park, is only the second of three
Disney PeopleMovers.

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That’s right, Disney built a third one,
but it’s not here.

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Instead, it’s right

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here at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport
in Houston, Texas.

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In what can only be described fairly as a
basement, lives a legit Disney PeopleMover,

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though at first glance you might not realize
it.

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The Subway, formerly known as the Inter-Terminal
Train, takes travelers between the terminals,

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and also makes a stop at the Marriott hotel.

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Like Disney’s PeopleMover, it travels in
a continuous loop , however in this case there

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are multiple platforms.

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Rather than just the one.

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And also like Disney’s PeopleMover, it was
built by WED Enterprises, now known as

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Walt Disney Imagineering.

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The history of this peoplemover is kinda weird,
and honestly not that well known.

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There was a system before it traveling the
same route, but apparently someone in charge

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of the airport wasn’t very happy with it
for some reason.

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Disney had set up the Community Transportation
Services Division of Walt Disney Productions

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in order to try and sell the Peoplemover system
to local governments or, perhaps, airports.

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And Houston appears to be the only buyer.

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This system went online in 1981, six years
after the original WEDWay Peoplemover opened

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at the Magic Kingdom.

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Now for those of you shouting to yourselves

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“Ooh!

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Ooh!

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DC! DC!”

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Hold your horses.

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We’ll get there.

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One glance at the track and you’ll immediately
recognize the same propulsion system from

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Disney’s PeopleMover.

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The linear induction motors simply push these
passive trains along, and their small wheels

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and track enable them to navigate surprisingly
tight corners.

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Supposedly that’s why Houston was intrigued
and got Disney to build this for them, as

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the required track layout given this space
included a lot of tight and sudden turns.

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The similarities don’t end there.

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Just like at the Magic Kingdom, pre recorded
announcements emanate from the ceilings by

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way of simple loudspeakers, and the tops of
these vehicles are made of a mesh screen that

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allows the sound - and light - to pass through.

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[ANNOUNCER: You are at Terminal D and E.

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Hold on to the handrails.

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Your next stop will be Terminal C]

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The overall sounds of the propulsion system

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and general feel of the vehicle’s movement
is obviously the same as the classic

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Disney attraction.

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[sound of propulsion system]

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But there are some notable differences.

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Most notably, the vehicles themselves are
enclosed and significantly larger.

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So there actually is standing room in these
cars.

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As you can see I can walk around in there,
and the bench seats are wider than Disney’s

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PeopleMovers.

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They seat probably three across, if you were
pretty tight, so the capacity of 12 people

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in these vehicles is totally believable.

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The need to enclose them is understandable,
as the airport runs this system pretty much

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unattended, as opposed to the Disney attraction
where the entire track is monitored by a CCTV

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system and a plethora of cast members are
ready to intervene at any time.

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And of course, the vehicles would have to
be larger in a real-world scenario because

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there are people with bags and things that
need to use this, rather than the cozy 4 person

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compartments of the PeopleMover attraction.

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The second and possibly most significant technical
difference is that the vehicles actually stop

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at each station, and a set of curtain doors
block access to the track.

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This complicates things more than it might
seem at first, as now there needs to be a

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separate mechanical system for opening and
closing the doors, as well as a modification

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to the propulsion system to allow for controlled
stops.

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If you’ve ever been on the PeopleMover at
the Magic Kingdom during a stop, you’ll

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know that it’s anything but controlled.

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Your vehicle usually ends up going backwards
for a bit, before sorta drifting to a stop.

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My guess is that during a stop, the motors
are simply reversed for a set period of time,

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slowing the train, but also throwing it back
a bit as a result.

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And sometimes during startup, your train won’t
move and the one behind you will just ram

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into yours.

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I’m not kidding, I’ve been in a PeopleMover
collision, that’s the reason they have the

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bumpers on the ends of the trains.

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It’s harmless but... startling and they
did have to shut down the ride after that.

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We were escorted through that particular door
and ended up in a gift shop.

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So there’s a fun piece of trivia for you.

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Having finally had an opportunity to ride
this system, it appears as though the motors

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simply shut off when the train is close to
the platform, and a friction brake grabs hold

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of the train when it’s correctly aligned.

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The system is surprisingly good at lining
up the trains.

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I only noticed a deviation of a few centimeters
in most cases.

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[Motors]

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[Silence]

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[Sound of door opening]

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One of the key ways you can tell this is the
same system as Disney’s is that the motors

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get closer together at every point the train
changes speeds.

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I’m not entirely sure why this needs to
happen, but I think it has to do with the

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fact that the motors are simply being run
on 60 hz AC current.

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The only way to affect how quickly they push
the train is to change the motor’s design,

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and these bundles of motors probably serve
as some sort of transition area between the

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high and low speed sections.

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You’ll also notice that in Houston, the
stations are all equipped with closely-spaced

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motors, which may be a requirement for a controlled
stop and start.

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Now before I start talking about all the downsides
of this little oddity, let me first say that

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I’m really glad PeopleMover technology made
it outside the Disney parks at least once.

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There are a lot of potential advantages to
this system.

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For example, the propulsion system itself
has virtually no moving parts.

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The only things that would “wear” on the
system, in a traditional sense, are the vehicles’

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wheels, the articulation points between the
cabs, and the doors and door mechanism.

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The linear motors themselves also provide
a strong level of redundancy.

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I would imagine that if one of them fails,

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it’s not really going to wreck anyone’s day.

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The trains are much longer than the gaps between
the motors, so it would almost certainly have

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enough inertia to catch the next one.

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Of course this is an assumption, but I’m
willing to bet that this system requires quite

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a bit less maintenance than a conventional
one.

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But, now we have to talk about the downsides.

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Let’s start with a limitation that may not
seem so obvious at first--

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both Disney’s PeopleMover and this one in Houston are indoors.

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Yes the track at Disney might get wet in the
train, but the PeopleMover has a roof over

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its head the whole way, and it is actually
considered an indoor attraction, which means

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it doesn’t shut down in stormy conditions
like outdoor attractions do.

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Oh, you wanted proof?

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Here ya go.

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[sound of pelting rain]
[ANNOUNCER: ...grand circle tour of Tomorrowland.

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Along the way, you can preview many of the
exciting places you’ll want to be sure to

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enjoy today while visiting this land of tomorrow…]

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Getting a bit wet is about all these could
take.

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Without some way of heating the track and
the rails, using a system like this in a snowstorm

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would likely be a disaster.

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You might have also noticed that both here
in Houston and in Orlando, the entire course

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has no elevation change.

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It’s a completely flat experience, likely
due to simple engineering challenges associated

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with using linear induction motors.

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The original PeopleMover in Disneyland had
a course with quite a few inclines, however

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it had the advantage of those rubber tires
pushing the trains along.

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And technically the course is still there,
it’s just…

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in a sad state.

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And let’s be honest here.

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The Houston Subway system, while novel, is
also a little…

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00:14:08,660 --> 00:14:10,600
how can I put this kindly?

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Derpy looking.

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It’s unusually small, with odd looking trains,
and a whole lot about it is just weird.

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Like the fact that along the entire course,
there’s only a half-height wall, except

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at the stations where the curtain doors were
made full-sized.

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00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,360
Not sure why it couldn’t have been smaller.

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00:14:26,370 --> 00:14:29,900
And even simpler… it’s a weird little
thing going through a basement hallway.

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Sure, it does move people, and it’s handy,
but like… it’s also just… well honestly

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a little creepy.

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At least its setting.

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But it gets worse!

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The SubWay is borderline redundant at this
point.

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The airport already has a MUCH more modern
people mover system which takes people between

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the terminals.

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00:14:47,399 --> 00:14:51,030
This one's on the other side of security,
in the sterile zone, so you can get between

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00:14:51,030 --> 00:14:53,040
the terminals without exiting security.

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♫ three-tone chime ♫

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[ANNOUNCER 1: A train is arriving.

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Please keep clear for passengers exiting the
train]

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00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:02,840
[ANNOUNCER 2: El tren está por llegar.

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00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:07,240
Por favor, permita espacio para los pasajeros
que salen del tren.]

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♫ single chime ♫

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00:15:08,259 --> 00:15:11,829
If you were a traveler with a connecting flight
in another terminal, you’d be much better

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to stay within the sterile area and take this
one.

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It’s also handy for the simple case of wanting
to grab food from a restaurant that’s in

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00:15:18,769 --> 00:15:20,440
another terminal.

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00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:25,140
Because for most purposes the SkyWay is frankly
better, the fate of the Subway isn’t that

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00:15:25,140 --> 00:15:29,600
certain, although it was recently renamed
and had its announcement spiel changed.

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And I was quite surprised to see many people
still using it.

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It does get some love,

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but who knows for how long.

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00:15:35,550 --> 00:15:36,889
But here’s the thing.

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This system, while it does have a bunch of
potential advantages, also has a lot of serious

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downsides.

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00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:48,370
The idea of making the vehicles completely
passive, just a box on wheels essentially,

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00:15:48,370 --> 00:15:53,410
could potentially reduce maintenance costs,
but it turns out that there are very few situations

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in which that’s actually a good idea.

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It either needs to be indoors like this,

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or outdoors in a place with perpetually
 warm weather, like Orlando.

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Back in Chicago, this wouldn’t fly.

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Well of course not that’s what the planes
do,

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00:16:06,900 --> 00:16:08,860
but I mean that a passive vehicle in sub-zero

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00:16:08,860 --> 00:16:11,130
temperatures is just unacceptable.

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00:16:11,130 --> 00:16:14,861
It needs to have some source of power for
heat if nothing else, and if you’re going

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00:16:14,861 --> 00:16:18,970
to provide it with an electrical source via
bus bar or third rail, you might as well stick

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00:16:18,970 --> 00:16:22,330
motors in the train, too, and have them propel
themselves.

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00:16:22,330 --> 00:16:25,240
So while I do think it’s great that Disney’s
PeopleMover technology

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made it into the real world at least once,

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00:16:27,980 --> 00:16:31,080
I’m not really surprised
that this is the only time it happened.

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00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:36,260
Maybe one day there will be more implementations
for a passive train with linear induction motors.

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Perhaps for goods transportation, or maybe
even baggage distribution inside an airport.

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00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:46,300
But for actually moving people, this people
mover comes with a lot of asterisks attached.

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00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:49,460
Remember how I said hold your horses about
DC?

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00:16:49,470 --> 00:16:54,740
Well, it turns out that maybe, just maybe,
Disney built a fourth WEDWay peoplemover under

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the US Capitol building.

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00:16:56,450 --> 00:16:57,450
Maybe.

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00:16:57,450 --> 00:16:58,450
And probably not.

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00:16:58,450 --> 00:17:00,040
But still kinda maybe.

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00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,880
So it turns out there is a system of small
subways under the capitol building that transport

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00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,230
representatives and senators between their
offices and the capitol.

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00:17:07,230 --> 00:17:11,949
These subways have existed in some form for
over a century, but one of them was updated,

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00:17:11,949 --> 00:17:13,480
probably in the 1980s.

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00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,400
And, it uses the exact same vehicles that
we see in Houston.

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But, and here’s where it gets weirder, there
is no record of Disney’s involvement.

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00:17:22,510 --> 00:17:25,100
And, there are some significant technical
differences.

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00:17:25,100 --> 00:17:28,770
I’ve put a link to a great video of this
system in the description, and it you take

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00:17:28,770 --> 00:17:33,370
a look at it you’ll soon discover that the
LIMs are run with a variable frequency drive,

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00:17:33,370 --> 00:17:37,799
which likely allows for smoother operation,
and certainly makes the system sound much

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00:17:37,799 --> 00:17:40,630
different from the PeopleMover or Houston’s
Subway.

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00:17:40,630 --> 00:17:44,850
You’ll also see that the motors are spaced
much closer together, and likely thanks to

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00:17:44,850 --> 00:17:48,770
that variable frequency drive, they are spaced
at a consistent interval throughout.

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00:17:48,770 --> 00:17:53,179
I’ve been trying to figure out how this
system is related to Disney or Houston, and

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00:17:53,179 --> 00:17:55,490
I’ve gotten only the smallest of clues.

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00:17:55,490 --> 00:17:59,890
A now-defunct company called Transdyn claimed
to have built the control and communication

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00:17:59,890 --> 00:18:05,740
systems for the Senate Subway, and their parent
company, Powell Industries, is based in…

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00:18:05,740 --> 00:18:06,940
Houston, Texas.

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00:18:06,940 --> 00:18:12,000
So, that certainly suggests there’s a connection
somewhere, but I can’t quite pinpoint it.

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00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,280
It’s likely that Disney contracted with
a third party to build the vehicles for Houston’s

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00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,310
Subway, as after all they do that sort of
thing all the time.

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00:18:19,310 --> 00:18:24,290
And if that company was in Houston, and was
somehow involved with Transdyn or Powell Industries

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00:18:24,290 --> 00:18:28,650
(or indeed was either of those two) then it
would make sense that the same trains would

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00:18:28,650 --> 00:18:30,299
end up in DC.

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00:18:30,299 --> 00:18:33,830
And indeed much of the same concept could
simply have been borrowed from the Houston

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00:18:33,830 --> 00:18:38,370
airport design, as after all Disney didn’t
own any patents related to this PeopleMover

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00:18:38,370 --> 00:18:42,700
system (at least, I can’t find any aside
from the original Disneyland system of wheels

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00:18:42,700 --> 00:18:43,700
and tires).

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00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:47,929
So, if you know how exactly the Senate Subway
and the Subway at Houston’s Airport are

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00:18:47,929 --> 00:18:49,950
connected, please let us know in the comments.

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00:18:49,950 --> 00:18:54,410
It’s driving me a little crazy, and there
is a very small amount of information out there

345
00:18:54,410 --> 00:18:56,390
about either of these two systems.

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00:18:56,390 --> 00:19:00,440
But for now, I hope you enjoyed this look
into what might be the ultimate Hidden Mickey.

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00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:04,440
I am really glad I got to head to Houston
to make this video while the Subway is still

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00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:05,440
operational.

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00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:07,790
Who knows, it might still be around for another
few decades.

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00:19:07,790 --> 00:19:11,500
If it’s as low-maintenance as I think it
is, there’s not much of a point to getting

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00:19:11,500 --> 00:19:12,280
rid of it.

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00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,800
And when you need to get from Terminal A to
Terminal E, it can save you from a pretty

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00:19:15,810 --> 00:19:17,049
long walk.

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00:19:17,049 --> 00:19:20,630
As always, a great big beautiful thank you
goes out to the folks who support this channel

355
00:19:20,630 --> 00:19:24,570
on Patreon, especially the fine folks you
see scrolling up your screen.

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00:19:24,570 --> 00:19:28,230
Going to Houston specifically to film its
PeopleMover was something that I never thought

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00:19:28,230 --> 00:19:31,370
was in the cards, but thanks to you, I could!

358
00:19:31,370 --> 00:19:34,510
If you’d like to support the channel and
get perks like early video access, behind

359
00:19:34,510 --> 00:19:38,549
the scenes footage, and the inside scoop on
the latest projects, please check out my Patreon

360
00:19:38,549 --> 00:19:39,600
page.

361
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,060
Thanks for your consideration, and I’ll
see you next time!

362
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,720
♫ monumentally smooth jazz ♫

363
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,280
Oh, thank god I’m at the right airport.

364
00:19:49,290 --> 00:19:53,620
I’ve put together a Technology Connections
2 video which is much more vlog-like and includes

365
00:19:53,620 --> 00:19:56,290
a lot of other observations I made around
the airports.

366
00:19:56,290 --> 00:19:59,010
Check it out through the card up above or
hang around for the end screen.

367
00:19:59,010 --> 00:20:00,700
It’s also down below in the description.

368
00:20:01,860 --> 00:20:04,720
Gonna do another walking take, as the people
stare at me because the

369
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,500
♫ people in the airport think that I’m crazy! ♫

370
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:09,360
That’s OK, though.

371
00:20:10,260 --> 00:20:11,500
Crazy is good.

372
00:20:13,300 --> 00:20:17,620
OK, it’s not in all… it’s not in all
circumstances, but sometimes it is.

373
00:20:18,780 --> 00:20:19,380
Heh.

374
00:20:19,380 --> 00:20:21,020
Yeah, I’m going down.

375
00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,960
[ANNOUNCER: ...is available 24 hours a day]

376
00:20:26,460 --> 00:20:26,960
Here--

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00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,940
[ANNOUNCER: The airport terminal buildings
have been designated as non-smoking areas]