thumb|A locomotive and passenger car of the Feurs-Panissières Line, France
thumb|Sketch of a Lartigue locomotive
The Lartigue Monorail system was developed by the French engineer Charles Lartigue (1834–1907). He further developed a horse drawn monorail system, which had been invented by Henry Robinson Palmer in 1821.
Lartigue had seen camels in Algeria carrying heavy loads balanced in panniers on their backs. This inspired him to design a new type of railway. Instead of the conventional two parallel rails on the ground, it had a single rail sitting above the sand and held at waist height on A-shaped trestles. The carriages sat astride the trestles like panniers.
The most famous Lartigue railway was the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway in Ireland which ran for 36 years from 1888.
Despite how it is referred to, the Lartigue system was not truly a monorail, since it was necessary to add two further rails, one on each side, lower down the A frames. These did not carry any weight, but unpowered stabilising wheels fitted to all the engines and wagons contacted these extra rails to prevent the vehicles from overbalancing.
Listowel and Ballybunion Railway
thumb|Junction on Listowel and Ballybunion Railway
thumb|Ballybunion
thumb|Turntable at Listowel
thumb|Passing loop at Lisselton
This was a monorail built on the Lartigue principle in County Kerry in Ireland. It linked Ballybunion with the North Kerry line at Listowel. It had one intermediate station and a passing loop at Lisselton. The line ran beside the main Listowel/Ballybunion road (R553). It officially opened on 29 February 1888, public services beginning on 5 March. The track was prefabricated and easily erected, and the capital cost was £33,000, far lower than a conventional railway. No baronial guarantees were sought. However, the system had significant operating drawbacks.
Loads had to be evenly balanced. If a farmer wanted to send a cow to market, he would have to send two calves to balance it, which would travel back on opposite sides of the same freight wagon, thereby balancing each other.
Another problem with using the Lartigue system in populated areas was that, due to the track's design, it was not possible to build conventional level crossings. In order for a road to cross the track, a kind of double-sided drawbridge had to be provided, which required an attendant to operate it. Where farmers' tracks crossed the line there were level crossings based on the principle of a turntable. They were locked and the farmer in question provided with a key. Once unlocked, the track could be swivelled to one side to allow the crossing to be used. Both the swivelling and drawbridge-type crossings were automatically linked to signals, which stopped any approaching trains, and road traffic was always given priority.
Passengers could not pass from one side of a carriage to another while in motion. A kind of footbridge was built into one end of some of the passenger coaches, while at least one such bridge was carried on a separate wagon. That allowed passengers to cross from one side of the train to the other when stopped at a station.
Conventional railway points could not be used, so a similar function was fulfilled by a large number of curved movable pieces of track which, when rotated one way, would connect the main and one other track. When turned end-for-end, the curve went in the opposite direction, and so connected the main and a different track. The devices could not be called turntables because they could only be moved when there was no rolling stock on them. There was, however, a turntable at each terminus.
The three locomotives were of the 0-3-0 type, constructed by the Hunslet Engine Company.
On 28 November 1907, a double-headed train on a busy race day collided with some sleepers on a trestle and derailed.
On 14 October 1914, a train heading towards Listowel reached Moybella at 18.00 and hit James Lynch, a milesman, who died from his injuries.
Restoration
thumb|The new Lartigue locomotive
In 2003 the Lartigue Monorailway Restoration Committee, a voluntary organisation from Listowel, opened a section of Lartigue monorail on the trackbed of the former North Kerry line in Listowel. Visitors to the site Lartigue Monorail and Museum can take a demonstration monorail trip and learn about the history of the Lartigue Monorail. The line is worked by a diesel locomotive built to resemble the original 0-3-0 steam engines. The locomotive and its train of replica coaches were built by Alan Keef Ltd.
Other examples of Lartigue monorails
Built
By 1875 Lartigue had built a monorail to transport esparto grass from Oran to Damesne across the Algerian desert, with mules pulling trains of panniers that straddled the elevated rail. The line was closed down in 1881.
At exhibitions in Paris and Rouen in 1884, demonstration lines were showcased. These were electrically powered using either the running rail or side rails for conduction to the locomotive.
Following these demonstrations, a mineral railway was built at the Ria copper mines in the eastern Pyrenees. This was also electrically powered, with the electricity for ascending trains being generated by the trains descending.
F. B. Behr's 'Lightning Express' concept was shown at the 1897 Brussels International Exposition. This was a development of the Lartigue system which enabled higher speeds using electric power, articulated chassis and two guide rails on either side of the trestle. This demonstration train reached speeds of over .
A mountain railway was built between Chilecito and Famatina in La Rioja, Argentina. It was long and had a maximum gradient of 33%, necessitating the use of rack rails.