The Carowinds Monorail was a

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...

at the Carowinds amusement park in Fort Mill,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Opening on June 2, 1973, it existed solely for entertainment, not transportation, as it had only one station. The ride would close in August 1994, and be relocated to the Vidafel Mayan Palace resort in Acapulco.

History

The Carowinds Monorail was built by Universal Mobility Incorporated and opened on June 2, 1973, with both Governor of North Carolina James Holshouser and Governor of South Carolina John C. West present for the inaugural ride. The ride traveled at an average speed of and took 10 minutes and 14 seconds to complete. Originally, the monorail was to have connected the park with a hotel that was never built. The attraction would reach a peak of 500,000 riders in 1982, only to fall in subsequent years resulting in its closure in August 1994. At the time of its closure, the monorail had a daily ridership of 7,000. Its deconstruction would commence in November 1994 and be complete by December. The deconstructed monorail was then shipped to Acapulco,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, by way of

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

and reassembled in 1995 at the Vidafel Mayan Palace resort.

References

{{USpplmver Passenger rail transportation in North Carolina Passenger rail transportation in South Carolina History of Charlotte, North Carolina Fort Mill, South Carolina Monorails in the United States Railway lines opened in 1973 Railway lines closed in 1994 Amusement rides introduced in 1973 Amusement rides that closed in 1994 Carowinds Entertainment monorails Defunct monorails 1973 establishments in North Carolina 1973 establishments in South Carolina 1994 disestablishments in North Carolina 1994 disestablishments in South Carolina