A monorail is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail, typically elevated. The term is also used to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track. The term originates from joining (one) and rail (rail), from as early as 1897, possibly from German engineer Eugen Langen, who called an elevated railway system with wagons suspended the Eugen Langen One-railed Suspension Tramway (Einschieniges Hängebahnsystem Eugen Langen).