Yesterday, I was looking at a very useful word I’d just come across: “gadgetbahn” – an overly complex bespoke high-tech public transport system such as a hyperloop or maglev.
These are typically time wasting projects which use up valuable money and time and either come to nothing or result in a product which is far inferior to trains, trams, trolleys or buses.
In my second post, I’m looking at another new word which I learnt during my research into gadgetbahns – vapourware. In Gaelic, I think this would probably be sgleò-bhathair!
This is a type of project which is repeatedly trailed by its promoters and fawned over by the media but which is typically nowhere near ready to release and which will often come to nothing.
Gadgetbahns are often vapourware. For example, we’ve been hearing about hyperloops for 10 years now with endless news stories but they are clearly a non-starter. I’ve no doubt that hyperloops would be the illustration for vapourware in a picture dictionary.
And here’s an example of some Scottish vapourware which is also a gadgetbahn – a picture of a proposal for a Glasgow Airport Monorail. Fortunately this idea doesn’t seem to have been taken seriously with attention now focussing on more sensible trams.
Alasdair
