Seattle Center Monorail

The Seattle Center Monorail is the oldest operating full-scale monorail in the United States, running roughly 0.9 miles (1.4 km) between Westlake Center in downtown Seattle and Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle. It was built by Alweg Rapid Transit Systems for the 1962 Century 21 Exposition (the Seattle World's Fair) and opened to the public on March 24, 1962, nearly a month before the fair began. The trains run along dual pre-stressed, precast concrete guideway beams carried on 68 Y-shaped columns that thread the line through the heart of the city.

The system still uses its original fleet of two four-car Alweg trains — known as the Blue Train and the Red Train — each able to carry up to 450 passengers. With a top speed of about 50 mph (80 km/h), it remains the fastest full-scale monorail in the United States. Construction began in April 1961; Alweg won the bid by offering to underwrite the entire $3.5 million cost, and recovered that cost (plus a profit) during the fair, when the line carried more than eight million riders over six months.

After the fair the monorail passed to the Century 21 Corporation at no cost, and the City of Seattle purchased it in 1965 for $600,000. Since 1994 it has been run by Seattle Monorail Services under a public-private partnership, with the City as owner. The monorail cars were designated a Seattle historic landmark by the City Council in 2003, making this the only Alweg monorail still operating with its original rolling stock.

The best railfan shots are from the front and rear of the train, looking straight down the dual concrete beamway as it threads between buildings. The Seattle Center end frames the Space Needle, and the line's pass through the Museum of Pop Culture building is a signature image. The vintage 1962 Alweg interiors, with their period fittings, photograph well from inside the cars. From the Westlake platform on the mall's third floor you can catch the trains arriving and departing above street level.

For railfans, the appeal is the machinery itself: a 1962 Alweg system still carrying its original Blue Train and Red Train, the only Alweg monorail anywhere still running with its original cars. It was the second daily-operating monorail in the United States, after the 1959 Disneyland Monorail — also an Alweg design. The two four-car trains straddle a single concrete beam rather than running on rails, and ride the dual beamway on rubber tires, a vivid demonstration of the straddle-beam concept Alweg pioneered. Riding the front or rear of a train gives an unobstructed view straight down the elevated guideway as it weaves between downtown buildings, and the line famously passes through the Museum of Pop Culture building at the Seattle Center end. For anyone documenting historic transit, it is a rare chance to ride genuinely original 1960s equipment in everyday revenue service rather than a museum setting.

The ride takes about two to three minutes each way, with trains departing each terminal roughly every 8–10 minutes (and as often as every 4 minutes during peak event service). The downtown terminal sits on the third floor of Westlake Center mall (400 Pine Street), reached by elevator or stairs and directly connected to Sound Transit's Link light rail at Westlake Station; the other terminal is at Seattle Center, steps from the Space Needle and the Museum of Pop Culture. Both stations are step-free and stroller-friendly. Ticket vending machines and ORCA tap readers handle fares — note that the machines do not accept cash, only card, contactless pay, or ORCA. Expect crowds and longer lines around concerts and events at Climate Pledge Arena, when the monorail extends its hours and runs more frequently.