Removable module train and trackway therefor

Claim 1

A railway system, comprising a ground-level trackway, a car having supporting wheels rollingly engaging said groundlevel trackway, a module engageable onto the top of said car, said module having supporting wheels on opposite sides thereof shiftable between inwardly retracted position wherein they lie inwardly of the sides of said car and outwardly extended position in which they project outwardly beyond the sides of the car, mechanism, including a mechanical power source on said car, for shifting said module wheels between said positions, an elevated trackway having at least opposite end portions overlying a portion of the ground-level trackway and spaced apart by a length representing only a portion of the length of said ground-level trackway, said elevated trackway having rails extending along the length thereof, said rails being laterally spaced from one another a distance corresponding to the distance between the wheels on the opposite sides of the module when the latter are extended outwardly and being engageable by said wheels and the opposite end portions being disposed at a level to be engaged by the outwardly extended wheels on the module when the latter is engaged on the car, an intermediate portion elevated higher than the opposite end portions and substantially higher above the ground level trackway than the top of a module engaged on said car, and inclined portions connecting said opposite end portions and said intermediate portion.