Comment by GauntletWizard

It looks like it should work, but the tolerances and tensions required make it unlikely to ever actually work. For the model in the article to work, the inner gears (in red) need to be A) Loose enough that the blue shaft can pass between them B) tight enough to pass power from the interior of the wheel to the exterior. This is improbable, and, while the solution seems sound, it's never been shown to work; It maintains mythical status.