Semmeringbahn: How Austria Got Trains Over The Alps Before Cars Were Even Invented
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- Опубліковано 25 кві 2018
- In 1848, Napoléon comes to power in France, the US is at war with Mexico, and Austria looks at the recently-invented steam train and says "I reckon we could get one of these things over the Alps". Today I am exploring the stunning result, the Semmeringbahn - built before anyone had even invented a train capable of running on it. It is the world's first standard-gauge mountain railway, an incredible piece of engineering history, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Check out my previous video on the Wuppertal Schwebebahn:
• Schwebebahn: Why Wuppe...
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With 12 months to go before Brexit, I am spending the year travelling around the EU and visiting interesting places. Kind of an EU Farewell Tour. If you enjoyed this video, please hit like and subscribe to the channel, and I will make more.
As a resident of Basingstoke I’d just like to say: “yeah, OK. Fair enough”
Lucky Austria never had Dr Beeching, he would have closed the line.
@@Steven_Rowe austria is not Switzerland 🤔
@@BlackDragonWitheHawk Oh bugger I meant Austria but some how started thinking about a trip I did to Switzerland.
I have now edited it.
@@Steven_Rowe Probably not. The Semmeringbahn is Austria's main line from Vienna to the South and the state capitals of Klagenfurt and Graz.
@@p4rz1val Don't forget Obersteiermark (upper Styria) either! Used this railway when I lived in Kapfenberg in the 1990s until I bought a car and drove through the Semmering every weekend to go clubbing in Vienna, an impressive drive too.
I currently live in Vienna but I was born in Basingstoke... and your opening statement felt like you were targeting me personally 😂
They've been watching you! LOL
I went to Tech College in Basingstoke in early 80s and can understand why he picked it
Was about to say "So an albanian born in italy built the line in austria" when i then remembered Venice was still part of Austria back then. And Italy still wasn't a thing yet
Albanians can't disassociate ethnicity and nationally can they
@@Forlfir no one can well only multiethnic countries maybe...
Proof positive to the value of good education. Well done, sir.
Albania is not far from Venice
@@simonalexandercritchley439 About 1100 kms is not exactly "near".
UA-cam must have surfaced you. You came up in my recommends. And in past 20 hours you have added over 2k subscribers. Good.
Same here: youtubes algorithm just said something like: you need to binge watch this channel. And i agree.
Same here
same here 2
Dito
Just happened.
I hate how hard I laughed at this. Thank god I live alone and no one knows I’m laughing at train spotters paradise...
Joe Stoffer I thought it was a nicely done little bit of drollery too.
Your not alone!
I don't know why i've stumbled upon this channel only now, but seeing many others in the comments makes me believe UA-cam is finally giving this channel the attention it deserves. Keep up the great content!
Same here
I live in Vienna, and I've taken this train (it goes to Graz) on several occasions. In summer, it is even more breathtaking. You will be glued to the window the entire time. For best views, I recommend sitting on the left side of the train on the Vienna-Graz trip and the right side on the return trip.
Sadly (and luckily) you need To Switch Train 2 Times Tour get There...
I have an upcoming job interview in Deutschlandsberg, I currently live near the northwest corner of Germany. I am almost convinced (99%) of dropping the idea of taking a flight to Graz, because of this. The last 1% will drop the moment I book the train tickets.
And Tom, thanks for the suggestion, I hope to get a window seat the way you described!
Took your advice, Tom. It was super. And it was so cool, cos until Gloggnitz, it was all plain green and wooden brown, and as the train climbed, saw the snow cover increasing. By the time the train crossed Mürzzuschlag (maybe wrong spelling), it was blindingly white. I did the return journey as well. :)
@Noah P It's so great to hear that.
You see, I'm from India, and if history is right, this route opened before the first ever train in India ran in 1853. The journey, approx 30 kms took almost 3-4 hrs, but now takes only about 30 mins. And that route is flat as fuck. :D
So It must've been a really breathtaking experience for your grandfather. Extreme power and a slow gradual climb.
By the way, the job that I said above, I have got it and have moved to Styria already. ;)
I used to live in Graz.
I only stumbled across this beautiful scenery when visiting Graz in 2013 (I think. Possibly 2014).
Direct flight to Graz from UK had stopped, so I went via Vienna. I stayed a few night in Vienna to have a look around. I then went to Wien Hauptbahnhof only to find that it was partially built, so caught an S-Bahn to Meidling then took the train from there.
The train was a proper old-school train from Poland, so had real character. As it was December, there was quite a bit of snow round the place and Semmering looked stunning.
I lived in Graz from 2008-2009 [ lost job due to recession, so returned to UK :-( ] but never got to see Wien Südbahnhof, which is a shame. If I had known it was being replaced I would have made a visit back then.
A few years ago, I travelled by train from Munich to Salzburg, Graz, Vienna, Bratislava then onto Budapest.
Quite an interesting trip !
youtube algorithms bringing me the good stuff
in the past year the algorithm is doing a good job actually, must be some new AI that will take over the world very soon
@@BuioPestato Entertain the humans, then slay the humans
Indeed
Five years after Tim's vid, I finally walked the Bahnwanderweg myself last week. It was flipping brilliant (better weather as well).
The Kalte Rinne is covered in scaffolding which is a shame, and That Football Pitch has been taken over for the contractors works yard so the moles will have had to move as well...
Thanks for the initial inspiration, Tim.
"I'm a bit jealous of the people living in Vienna. Not only is it a fantastic city, but you can hop on a train, head southwest for just 45 minutes and you're here"
As someone who used to live in Vienna, I agree.
And yet, some ÖBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen - Austrian State Railways) executives are saying "we need to be FASTER" and now want to destroy the line by building a tunnel.
@@marty6779 wow, they are even more idiotic than the Deutsche Bahn...
@@thetimetraveller2671 well they do have redeeming qualities. There was a strike a year ago or something. But it only lasted for 3 hours, from 9 a. m. to noon, because they, quote : "can't let the commuters down" . Also our trains do run on time😉. But thats more about the people actually working on the railway, the shunters, the engine drivers, the station masters.... The executives are still full of sh*t.
@@marty6779 Building a tunnel as such isn't bad, the Swiss are building tunnels at an incredible pace, as long as they keep the old line running, and I'm pretty confident the Semmeringbahn is here for quite some time to come, just as the Wassen church will be spotted from trains years to come, in spite of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel.
@@barvdw good point. Still, you can never know.
@6:32 A Police Officer questioning some eyewitnesses of a car hit-and-run:
-So you're saying the car was a red Fiat Panda?
-No! It was blue!
Yeah you see this a lot in Europe actually
@@theholyelmo5150 where? if i look out of my window i don't really see that. it's very rare to see cars here with more then there original dealer colour.
@@sirBrouwer I'm in Southern france near the marseille area so it's not unheard of people destroying their car doors and replacing them with another vehicle of the same model but different color and not get it repainted
@@theholyelmo5150 hmm. Here in the Netherlands it does happen sometimes but it's rare.
you do see that sometimes a bumper is replaced but often they just replace it with a black (plastic) unpainted version.
Without realising until much later, I first travelled along this line back in December 2013.
I used to live in Graz and still like to visit once or twice a year, as Austria is such a wonderful place.
As RyanAir had stopped doing direct flights to Graz from UK, I had to get a flight to a near(ish) city and go from there. I flew to Vienna, had a look around and got blown away by the places then stayed the night.
Next day, I walked to "Hauptbahnhof", as I thought I knew better than the receptionist at the hotel, who had told me to go to Wien Meidling. However, when I got to Hauptbahnhof, I saw that it was still a building site [ The former Südbhanhof, a terminal station of two lines had been demolished and a new through-station, Hauptbahnhof, was being built, so you could travel from Budapest to Munich without changing at Vienna ].
Having taken an S-Bahn to Meidling, I got the train to Graz and was very much impressed by the views, especially at Semmering and took lots of photos from the charming old Polish train that I was on.
Subsequent years, when Hauptbahnhof was finished, I saw trains from all countries coming and going into the station and so then did a few Euro train holidays !
This is what stood nearby what is now Vienna Hauptbahnhof until 2009:
ua-cam.com/video/zvu7Q1FK7xU/v-deo.html
Patrick: Are trains musical instruments?
Squidward: No Patrick
Me: Are you sure about that....00:58
The train is a Siemens Taurus and is mainly used in Austria
In German it's nicknamed:
"Die singende Lok" (The singing Locomotive)
@@lunasquid8510 The same sound comes off early ICE trains (Siemens again, of course). Sadly, no new engines produce anything like it - modern IGBT-based technology uses much higher frequencies.
I always wondered what made these trains make that sound, I here it every day. Probably some form of Puls Width Modulation to "throttle" the motors.
@@domestik834 Thank God it's not A Ford Taurus, you'd be blocking the track.
I literally stumbled upon this channel about one hour ago and saw its subscriber count climb from 5k to 5.19k. And I'm binge watching it. Good channel. Immensely enjoyable.
Jason Jaafar same here! Just found it and been binching since I found the chanel. (9.3k now)
@@PatrikKron 20 hours later its already at 11.8k
right now it's 18.9K!
@@ActAshira 15 hours since your post (and 4 days since Jason's), it's now at 22.2k!
23.6K
"Born to Albanian parents"
Of course Austria was able to build that railway so early since they had access to Albanian mode
0:57 a the classical sound of a Taurus locomotive beginning to role. To bad the have removed this "feature" from newer models.
No they haven’t
The rail jet consists of a Taurus and a Taurus looking train
@@Ak-ve3kw It's gone on the Taurus 3 (class 1216). They don't seem very common though.
Great video. Just discovered your channel, which I like a lot. No mention, however, of the Semmering Railway’s importance as part of the Southern Railway linking Vienna, Graz & Ljubljana to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s biggest seaport, Trieste, allowing exotic products such as coffee and chocolate to reach Viennese coffee houses.
I live in Vienna and have done several hikes in and around Semmering, including the exact path you took from Semmering to Breitenstein. It's pretty lovely, and you captured it very well.
"Unfortunately the weather isn't great today, it's a bit grey and misty ..."
So you got the exact 20-Schilling-Blick!
Been spendin' most their lives, livin' in a train spotter's paradise...
Interviewer: Well, now tell me, what do you do when you spot a camel?
Spotter: Er, I take its number.
Interviewer: Camels don't have numbers.
Spotter: Ah, well you've got to know where to look. Er, they're on the side of the engine above the piston box.
Interviewer: What?
Spotter: Ah - of course you've got to make sure it's not a dromedary. 'Cos if it's a dromedary it goes in the dromedary book.
Interviewer: Well how do you tell if it's a dromedary?
Spotter: Ah well, a dromedary has one hump and a camel has a refreshment car, buffet, and ticket collector.
Interviewer: Mr Sopwith, aren't you in fact a Train Spotter?
Spotter: What?
Interviewer: Don't you in fact spot trains?
Spotter: Oh, you're no fun anymore.
5:30 does anyone appreciate the work that mule has done on that football field?
that was not one mule. there where two teams off mules. only some idiot forgot the bring a ball
Actually, that was no mule. This was a mole, which is a very different animal :)
@@Collateralcoffee no they where made by mules. They are part of a secret organisation. Those heaps where a special code.
@@Collateralcoffee Underground mules, the secret overlord rulers of humankind.
1848, Napoléon III* came to power. Ol Bonie's nephew. Great channel though, keep it up. My Mom grew up in Listowel, now passed. Your video on Lartigue Monorail filled my heart with joy! Ty Tim
+
Everybody gangsta until Tim drops his lines of 'Train Spotters Paradise' 👊
1:53 Dude, your rapping is priceless!!
do you know the title of the backsound?
@@darelsitorus849 Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (makes a bit of sense eh?) that stuff's 10 years old now... i feel old now!
@@Trinity0809 10 years? LOL. The song is from 1995, it's more like 25 years old now.
@@ulliulli oh, right. no idea how i got that wrong
@@Trinity0809 Originally Pastime Paradise by Stevie Wonder. Coolio just nicked it …
I have used this train so many times to go to Vienna from Graz and I never thought that the Semmering was particularly special. It's nice to see your home through the eyes of a traveller.
This railway is litteraly as old as the idea of Germany
Nope, Germany has been a thing long before that. 1848 was the year they really got serious about reuniting it, which still didn't happen before 1871
I am not quite sure about your spelling of literally. It seems plausible, but unfamiliar.
Frost Nacht well construction started in 1848
The idea of Germany goes back to the year 800 when Charlemagne created the first German Reich. There is nothing new in the idea of Germany.
@@ds1868 Better with Otto the Great. The railway started working in 1848 because of the many workless men. Then was a revolution in many European countries, but it failed finally.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your great video's.
Glad someone put you on Dumpert and revealed those hidden gems.
You made your self a new Fan!
Ah cheers Peter! I'm planning to make more videos whenever I can so stick around :)
Your "Gangsta's Paradise" itself deserve 2 thumbs up.
Viennese here, and honestly, this is an AMAZING video. Also, you're not too bad at rapping (which isn't actually easy at all) and the entire time I have been laughing because your sense of humour is amazing too XDDD
You were recommended in the comment section of a Tom Scott video. And I am very grateful for that. I love you videos. They are interesting and the humor is perfect in my eyes.
As someone who frequently took the Train over the Semmering (For skiing i just go for 5 days - always from Vienna to Mürzzuschlag) I really appreciate this documentary. It surely is a Train fan's paradise as your unexpected Music choice perfectly fits :3
The sound of train brakes squealing on a mountain track is the most heady and romantic thing i know!
so now, I'm going to go buy a backpack. Thanks Tim for these excellent videos 👍👍
Like a lot of other people here I've only just come across your channel and am absolutely loving it! Keep up the good work! Can't wait to get cracking through your back catalogue.
I'm from Vienna originally and had never heard of the 20 Schilling Blick (I remember the Schilling well but not quite what was on the note) - thank you for this fab video, a trip to the Semmering will go on my to do list for my next visit home (weather permitting). 👍👍👍
Fantastically well edited, beautifully crafted video!
This is my favourite video on this channel and I am watching it on a regular basis. I am form Vienna, and I believe the Semmeringbahn is the most beautiful railways in the world. But I hardly ever go there even though it's just 60 minutes from my doorstep away. I will to this next spring.
I really enjoyed those 7 minutes, so yeah, I subbed too! I live on the banks of the river Danube near the Austrian border, and this area is just beautiful. The lakes in Salzkammergut, the Bavarian Forest that transforms into Bohemian hills on the Tchech side, the Alps all year round. Europe has so many wonderful places to explore, and most only a short train or car drive away, rich history and pretty towns and different landscapes. Thank you for these 7 minutes!
A fantastic video! Beauty all around despite the weather - and great views of a beautiful railroad line and it's trains. I never heard of this line before, and will take a note of it for my next trip to visit family in Europe. Thanks for posting!
This video is pure gold. You have absolutely earned my subscription
Just discovering your channel, and LOVING your videos! Thanks!
Top notch Nerdism. Super! Smashing! Marvellous! More please!
Laughed so hard at this. You sir are a great teacher! Delivering interesting information in a non boring way
Ok, I’ve been binge watching your videos and I don’t know if you’ve already noticed it but there is a train in The Netherlands that sounds really musical too. You’ve got to be fast to record it because they are planning to retire them: it’s the IC3 we also called ‘koploper’ (head walker) because the head of the train could be attached to another and you cou walk through it. Very cool as a kid because it was aluminium teardrop plated and it had something futuristic as a small boy.
Anyway, back to the subject of sound: that train makes a sound resembling a cello, with first a low note when just driving away, followed by an octave + fifth that slowly fades when it picks up speed.
You can hear it inside (when on top of the high voltage converters) but I prefer to hear it outside, not muffled and in all of its musical glory.
Please take a ride with one of them, they can take you close to Urk anyway, and if you do, step outside, find the high voltage converter and enjoy the sound when it drives off. Sweet!
Ah! I found a recording from inside on UA-cam. Who would have thought? 😅
ua-cam.com/video/trhtFYTUXCI/v-deo.html
Great video. Love your channel. I must say this has to be one of the best train watching sites in the world.
I love your video`s. The humor in them, the content. Just great
Hey Tim stumbled onto your channel today you earned a sub!
Woop! Cheers for subscribing, great choice :)
Hello Tim! Absolutely loved this 5 years ago, and when I booked a last-minute trip through Vienna I decided to stay an extra day for Semmering. Easily thr best decision of the trip. Unfortunately Breitenstein station isn't open during the winter months so I didn't manage to go as far. The scenery though, I would probably remember for the rest of my life. Now wherever I go I always search "The Tim Traveller + place name" first lmao
This channel is so fun, im so happy this was suggested to me
I'm surprised that so much was invested in an engineering marvel that initially benefited a relatively small number of people. Both the scenery and the viaducts are spectacularly beautiful.
And because conquering the Alps in the 1840s seems to have been not enough of a challenge, the Austrians are now building a new line beneath the old one (keeping the old one open) - a Semmering Base Tunnel.
The absolute madmen...
I so enjoy listening to this channel while I am between calls and minecrafting. Thank you for the company and some times inspiration.
Thank you so much for this lovely video! I live in Vienna and as a kid, my mom and I often visited her parents by train. They lived in Bruck an der Mur which is right behind the Semmering, so needless to say, I had the privilege of experiencing those beautiful and stunning views along the Semmeringbahn on a regular basis!!
Thank you very much for this video Mister Tim (and for you entier channel as a manner or fact!)! You opened my horizon: I never thought about going to Austria. Warm hugs from the Province of Québec, Canada!
I saw this video for the first time in 2018. At the end of 2019 I decided to go to Vienna in 2020 (because of this video) and do a one-day trip to the 20-Schilling-Blick. Unfortunately COVID-19 got in the way and I had to cancel the whole trip. In early 2023 I decided to plan another trip to Vienna. I just got back from the trip and had a great time. Thanks for the great recommendation! And to all the train lovers out there: I agree with Tim, bring a spare pair of underpants, you will need it!
Very impressed to see Tim replying/commenting on year+ old videos. Work ethic level: top professional.
Yet again another amazing insight into international engineering and transportation. Well done!
These videos make my feet itchy! Beautiful!
I've been subscribed for months and UA-cam finally told me about this one. Very nice.
Great video - most enjoyable and fun. Thank you for making it.
Many thanks for posting this. I first saw the video early this year, and immediately decided the Bahnwanderweg was something I really had to do. In September, I was fortunate enough to get out to Austria and actually do it. The views are spectacular, and the railway engineering is fascinating. The only down side was that it was perhaps all too fascinating, and I had to give up the last section of the walk to make sure I got to Breitenstein in time for my train back. I will know better for next time, and in the meantime the video now recalls happy memories for me.
The enthusiasm and zest in your explanation is admirable sir
Your videos are great, as they not only involve trains but also are informative and entertaining. You're now, officially, one of my favorite UA-camrs.
In that case I am officially honoured! Thank you 🙂
I have only seen 3 or 4 videos of yours and I already love your introductions.
UA-cam Spams my homepage with your videos and I love it
This would have to be my favourite video of yours!
Your channel is lowkey fire it deserves more recognition
Your videos are epic, amazing, refreshing and knowledge enriching, Very Informative and yet lighthearted
The transition between trainspotting paradise and the narration with the horn was brilliant
Just found this..... Love it!
I really enjoyed this tour! I had the privilege of crossing the Semmeringbahn on the way to Graz in 2014. I hope to make it back to see it again before they finished the bypass tunnel.
Regional Trains will still use the old line
All the gratuitous train shots are what I subbed for. Thank you, really.
First video of yours I’ve seen but that train watchers paradise reference was amazing
Amazing video!! You’re talking as if you’re reading my mind! Great landscapes, great concept and great production! I can’t wait to see more! If you ever want to make something like this in Greece, you know who to ask 😉
Ah cheers Steroumel! I was in Greece a couple of years ago (you might have spotted Meteora in my video intro) and I actually have some film from my visit, but I'm not sure there's quite enough to make a video out of it. Guess I should come back and film some more :)
Well produced, fantastic!
Great! I had just about beaten back the urge to set up my model railroad again!
I laughed so much at the Train Paradise and the horse joke. Thank you and as always, superb video.
Great video Tim, hope you keep them coming
Cheers Alex! Going to try and do one every couple of weeks
"We've been spending most our lives, living in a trainspotter's paradise.
I camped a crossing once or twice, living in a trainspotter's paradise.
Those tri-horn tones just sound so nice, living in a trainspotter's paradise.
See the flashing end device, living in a trainspotter's paradise."
Thanks for a new idea for the next hiking day!
This is video that made me sub, that train spotters paradise bit was inspired. Well done!
I’ve seen a couple of your videos and really enjoyed them. Your rewritten Gangsta’s Paradise convinced me to subscribe. Love it!
Thank you so much for this wonderfull vidéos .
just discovered your channel, amazing production quality
really good stuff
The main aim of building this railway was a connection to the port of Trieste, back then Austria's access to the sea. It was expedited by the 1848 revolution in an attempt to disperse rebellious workers and get them out of Vienna.
Breitenstein will probably remind me of a nasty accident in 2015, which luckily didn't cause any deaths but considerable damage. As far as I remember the story, a goods train broke down in Breitenstein with a second goods train stuck behind it, patiently waiting at a signal. Eventually, the decision was made to dispatch another loco from Breitenstein to Semmering and back up to the second train and pull that train back into Semmering station. The engineer of the stuck train apparently fell asleep while waiting for the loco, awoke with a jolt, thought the loco had already been coupled to his train and released the brakes without bothering to check if the loco had actually been there. It hadn't, so the train started rolling downhill towards the loco, eventually meeting it in the Pollereswand tunnel 1.1 km down the line. Both the trains and the tunnel suffered extensive damage and the engineer on the second locomotive was mildly injured in the crash. The line was closed for almost two weeks while emergency repairs were made. The carnage was moved to a siding in Breitenstein and sat there for several weeks.
The Ghega Museum has some pictures at the bottom of the page:
www.ghega-museum.at/galerie-15.html
This is your best vid for humour, so gooood!
Wow that is so beautiful, great weather for the scenery!
Whilst looking at the wunderbah viaduct my eyes were also drawn to the mole attacked football pitch, ah the love of the game never leaves you even in old age, love your series keep them coming
This is actually very useful!! A good way to help me visualize and organize my trips (I'm a young Travel Designer) 😊🙏 thank you for your video and your sense of humor!! The revisited Gangsta's Paradise was very funny 😜
Most excellent! You are a breath of fresh air.
As a finnish person, i am in love with the available captions
Omg this channel is so great and underrated, I hope you get more subscribers! The trainspotters paradise is the best thing ever I smiled so much
Gosh....your videos are very intresting and addictive.
🍻
Just discovered your channel, I’ll bet you reach 100k subs very soon. Love your vids keep it up
The June 2024 edition of "Today's Railways Europe" magazine letters page brought me here. It mentions this excellent video.
I lost it when you started rapping, new favorite channel for sure!
Hi Tim , good to see your video.
👍 Love the choice of sign-along music 😉
Yay - you showed one of my favourite hiking trails. I live in Vienna and every year, usually in the Spring, i walk the "Bahnwanderweg" :-))
Just discovered your vids. You, sir, are a genius.