The Bradford & Foster Brook Railway was one of the earliest, if not the first, monorails in America. Inspired by a working demonstration of the Centennial Monorail at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, Col. Roy Stone thought it would solve transportation problems near Bradford, Pennsylvania. In 1876, Bradford was a booming oil town with much machinery and oil supplies awaiting delivery. Because of muddy road conditions, deliveries to the oil fields were delayed. Construction of the railroad was already started by October 31, 1877, when the Railway Corporation was founded.
