@@stickynorth It is not the average age of senators that causes them to destroy public goods. It's their political ideology which is largely shared by the entire bunch.
8 people miss a train and they are all urgently cool with getting a cute new one for themselves. Millions have trouble getting around and they kill the ideas and funding for public transit improvements for decades upon decades.😂😭Anyway, first time Iv learned of or seen these. Its cool. But also something about it feels creepy and I don't know why lol.
Isn’t that super depressing to think about? All these politicians who don’t think this would work in their city? Surprised Elon Musk hasn’t tried to replace it with a “loop.”
Like someone else said, it is very ironic for these lawmakers to use this fascinating system and then vote against funding for new transit systems in the US. It is a very nice touch to have paintings from a high school student representing every congressional district. In fact, those in the House once fought over one of those paintings back in 2017 because one student from Missouri decided to paint the Ferguson protests to highlight critical issues pertinent to conditions in African American communities. Yes, outrage...over a painting, instead of being motivated to solve what the painting is about. And I love how all the state flags are displayed at 11:26. My favorite US state flags are Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, and Alaska. For the symbolism of Arizona's flag, the copper star on Arizona's flag symbolizes Arizona being the largest producer of copper in the US, it shows the rays of a setting Sun because Arizona is a western state, blue and gold are the colors of Arizona, while red and gold are the colors of the Spanish flags that were carried by Coronado’s Expedition of 1540 to find the Seven Cities of Gold. And New Mexico's flag has sun symbol of the Zia people. Their solar symbol has four lines radiating from the circle in four directions because four is the sacred number of the Zia.
>Ferguson "protests" >Fiery but peaceful >Intrinsic problem oh there's a problem all right... a genetic one... not one that could be solved without a civil rights act delete.
Yup, the 1994 system is just like Disney's! The 1994 version is what's called a WEDway PeopleMover, just like the attraction at Magic Kingdom! The deal was closed under Bombardier, but was sold under the WEDway brand. When Disney employees who worked for WEDway were transferred to Bombardier, they worked on the Capitol subway. This is also similar to the Subway at George Bush Intercontinental which is another WEDway, but that one was legitimately built under Disney. Disneyland was the first Disney park to get the WEDway PeopleMover, but that system closed in 1995, and it didn't use LIM but rather had Goodyear tires placed along the track for propulsion. Because the Magic Kingdom system did not utilize the rotating Goodyear tires, Goodyear had no part in the East Coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was the original institutional patron of the attraction. Instead of an open track with covered cars, as designed for Disneyland, the trains were designed were built as open-air cars that traveled under a permanent roof over the guideway.
... and that technology is now 50 years old. Disney was truly ahead of their time! I wonder how the electrical efficiency compares to a modern 3 phase traction system?
The Magic Kingdom PeopleMover connection is the weirdest thing about the Capitol subway. A few years ago this seemed to be something of a mystery in the theme-park-fan community, why the Capitol system *looked* so much like the Houston one but nobody could find records of it being a WEDway PeopleMover... but it all seems to be cleared up now.
This was really fun to see. Years ago I rode the capitol subway when I went to Washington as part of the Presidential Classroom program for high school students interested in government. While I ended up going into math rather than politics, I still remember riding that train to this day.
A Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins in a congressional office building...America truly runs on Dunkin! Even though I've only done the touristy tour in 2010, it's really cool to look at all the details of the Capitol! The underground city thing is just like Disney World's Magic Kingdom! At Magic Kingdom, they have the Utilidors which is a system that has some of the world's largest utility tunnels. This makes theme park operations possible. This system allows cast members like costumed characters to reach their destination out of sight from guests. The public can visit the Utilidors if you book the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. According to a legend, Walt was bothered by the sight of a cowboy walking through Disneyland's Tomorrowland en route to his post in Frontierland. He felt that such a sight was jarring and it detracted from the guest experience. Since Disneyland was small, such a tunnel system could not be built, so when Magic Kingdom was planned, the system was built. The Utilidors is not a basement, as due to the elevated water table of its Florida location, most of these tunnels were actually built at ground level, and the Magic Kingdom was built above that.
Those linear induction motors make some of the strangest sounds that I've ever heard from a piece of rolling stock! Also, I definitely should contact my representatives to see if I could get a ride on the Capitol Subway
I had a chance to ride the Capitol subway in the early-mid 1970's with my brother and mom when touring the Capitol. When we were done looking at the Capitol, we went down to the basement to ride the subway which was open freely to everyone. Beside us in the subway car, we had two members of Congress riding with us, one of the was Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina.
I absolutely love your enthusiasm on these videos, Thom. I rode both the Senate and House subways during my only visit to the Capitol building, in 1982, before the Hart building and its subway extension opened and had no idea it had been modernized in 1993. In those days you were pretty much free to roam the halls and even have lunch in the Senate Dining Room (everybody said I had to have the famous Senate Bean Soup but I was underwhelmed) but I guess the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed all that.
I can't believe it! The Dirksen-Hart Subway is a WedWay People Mover. That's incredible. I thought the only ones would be in Magic Kingdom (Florida) and at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston (Texas). Very interesting video.
Enjoyed the video. Haha he basically said the reason the trains exist is for all our geriatric senators, because for them “walking is not their strong suit”
Very cool. The newer system reminds me of airport people movers (such as those at Changi). I like how staff can walk next to the rail lines if they want to get their steps up. 🚶
My dad works for the Federal Government right down the street from the US Capitol building. There are plenty of underground tunnels that lead from different federal buildings throughout DC. A lot of them are confidential. My dad works for the Government Printing Office (now Government Publishing Office), and he can confirm they have a tunnel that leads from his building on North capital street to the US capitol. It’s like a whole network of tunnels underneath DC. But cool video! Very well done!
After college graduation in 1998 I went to the D.C. area to visit my sister. We went to our state senator's office to get passes (free) to access the viewing gallery. The (very attractive) page working his front desk told us how to access the subway system from the Senate office building to the Capitol. We weren't entirely sure we were supposed to be there, but we followed her directions and rode it. The hilarious thing was that it dumped us off in some back-office area of the Capitol, and we had to wander aimlessly to find out way back to the public areas.
I've taken the Capitol Subway before! Waaaaaay back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I helped lobby some members of Congress (I believe it was to do with strengthening parts of the ADA but it's been long enough that I don't remember all the details), and guess how we got to the Senate & House offices...yup the Capitol Subway System! I remember I asked the aides of one of the Senators before about this and they said they can't imagine life without them...if only politicians would realize that trains (like these) are very convenient and useful for moving masses of people at a time and would use that energy to improve our rail system...
Thank you for this fascinating video ! I was completely unaware of its existence, and so glad you were able to take a ride, and explain it all to us. I think it’s a superb idea, and long May it continue !
My parents and I were able to get a tour booked around 1990 when we were living in either PA or NY and we got to ride that train. I remember also getting to stand on the balcony of the senate floor for a bit and watch them which I thought was neat. The tour was a fun experience!
Thank you so much for sharing this Thom. As a non-American who will never get to see these IRL - they were absolutely fascinating. Especially the one with the musical linear motor!
I love how you geeked out over riding the capitol subway! I’d never heard of this system so it was interesting to learn about it. I’m glad you got to experience your dream to ride it!
11:26 There was also an airport which I believe was in Boston that had the same sort of subway system installed in the 1980s but it was very recently closed down and torn out leaving behind just wide hallways where it ran! Pretty much it was no longer needed because of a newer high capacity elevated train system. :)
Houston's airport is the one with the WEDway PeopleMover in its underground hallways. But I think it's still running--though probably not for long; they're thinking of tearing it out and possibly replacing it. (Though since they've already got a second people mover that runs *behind* security, and which most users probably find more useful, they might not replace it.)
@@MattMcIrvin Apparently for quite some time they’ve been wanting to demolish it because on the airport train above it that’s a lot more practical and past security.
This is one of the best, if not the very best video ever!!! I had no idea that these existed, or that they could be ridden on!!! Thank you for taking us all on this journey and thank you for all that you do!!!
Thank you Thom for posting this. I’ve been on the Metro and was quite easy to use but that was in 1986 and was quite new then. Nice to see a young lad taking interest in our Capitol city and sharing it with us. Please travel the USA and post more, you do a good job and keep my attention on the video.
I rode this subway my second week in the USA, a long time ago. It was fun, and it was part of our Washington Week experience as part of our MBA curriculum. I still remember it, more than 25 years later.
Hey Thom, I'll admit that the Dirksen-Hart Subway does make interesting noises while in transit with its magnetic linear motors, but I still prefer the sound of the NYCT R160B Siemens Propulsion, which btw I operated two at work today(one going southbound from Jamaica Queens to Coney Island and the other going northbound back to Queens from Coney Island Bklyn) although they can be a bit slippery on the Culver Elevated's wet rail in Brooklyn, NY... L8er
@@Thom-TRA It's a related weather system, Tropical storm Ophelia... We're expecting rain and windy conditions through the rest of the weekend to about Monday morning and that's the rest of my work week, so more "adjusted operation on the Culver El due to inclement weather, Jay Street Tower..." (if or when they ask about my lateness...Lol!) L8er
I have rode on that before with my aunt, she works in the government. They have children’s art from across the country on the walls, it was really cool.
Comprehensive. You and your "team" do a great job keeping this personal, and smoothly keeping us going with well thought out b roll. Your research and deep diving is invaluable to keeping the channel interesting. Thanks for all your hard work.
Wow, having been to the capital many times, House of Representatives and senate chamber many times, this is actually crazy that I just found this out! Wow!
Now for my anecdote, Thom. In 1964, yes in the last millennium, my graduating high school class took a senior trip to DC and then on to NYC. By bus. One of our state’s two senators was then from our home town and he gave us a personal tour, including a ride on the Capitol subway. I recall open air cars, without the wind screens shown in this video. The cars, while comfortable, seemed like roller coaster cars. A photo from that year would confirm, or disprove, my memory. As a bonus I lucked into sitting in a car beside our Senator, John Sherman Cooper (1901-1999). Thanks, Thom, for an excellent video and a ride down memory lane…uh…subway.
In 1964, that would have been the open aired cars! I totally understand the roller coaster feel. Glad to bring up good memories! I still see senior trips in DC every time I commute on the metro 😂
Prior to completion of the Capitol Visitors Center it was common for visitors to take the subway to and from the Congressional and Senate office buildings as part of the the guided tours. Sadly it seems to be more difficult to do these days.
You looked like a kid in a candy shop when riding that Senate train! That must have been great fun - thank you for sharing with us!!! I visited the Capitol in 199, but did not know those trains existed. :-)))
I remember riding these trains in high school when I visited DC for a class trip. Gosh that was almost 30 years ago now. I always thought they were so neat and I still have pictures (actual photographs, like we did back in the day) of them somewhere. This brought back memories for me! Thank you for the video
Homie love your channel! Public transit is one of the best infrastructure marvels mankind has ever created,alongside with dogs! During the covid-19 lockdowns,both public and private transit workers kept working and grinding,selflessly putting their lives on the line getting people to their spots! Transit workers at any level are definitely heroes! Thanks! 🚇 Transit & Dogs 🐕 for life!
I’ve been able to ride the Russel line because my mom works for the CVC! I took it for a few years when I went with her during take your kid to work day. I never knew that the Russel line was the one restricted so it’s cool I was able to experience it when I could!
Used to ride these all the time back around 2000. Was easy to get to and anybody could ride. Loved hiking through the bowels of the capitol when crossing from one side to the other for work. You used to NOT need an escort to go through any parts of the Capitol grounds other than the members only elevators or the Senate and House chambers.
If you thought 💭 the basement of the US Capitol confusing, I once did find the arrivals section(s) of Boston Logan Airport very confusing-once we’d got our luggage 🧳 (after a flight ✈️ from Edinburgh to Amsterdam and a flight ✈️ from Amsterdam to, of course *Boston* to attend a wedding 💒 in my wife’s family), I looked 👀 everywhere in the baggage 🧳 reclaim area to find the way out onto the arrivals concourse. Every exit I saw 👀 either lead to an elevator 🛗 (to where?) or to an out-of-bounds location of the airport. My wife had to guide me to the main way out to the concourse (whose exit was somewhat hidden in my view).
Been quite a while since I had spare time to reconnect with your channel and chill with your excellent videography. This one came up automatically when I googled into the channel. I didn't realise that the Capitol and annex buildings had such a transit system and you have covered it excellently. Now I must grab some lunch before catching up on the backlog. Thanks for this clip. Most interesting.🙂
I rode the Capitol subway back in the innocent days of the 1980s. My sister and I were both in DC in college--two different universities--and we took a day to tour the Capitol building. In those days, you could just walk in and wander around. We went to the offices of our representative and senator and got passes to sit in the galleries in the House and Senate. It was kind of boring. There wasn't any voting going on, but it was still exciting just to be there. We also rode the House and Senate subways.
I road one of theses trains back in the middle 1960's as part of a 6th grade field trip. That was before the DC Metro was even started. My family moved to the DC area just about a month after the last DC street cars were discontinued.
Dude I moved to MD recently and I've been verbally trying make my friends visualize how awesome the Metrorail system is. Your production style is the exact image I want them to see. Thank you for sharing!
I'm old enough to have ridden these back when the public had open access to the Capitol and the office buildings, and there was no need to arrange for an escort to ride the subways. Too bad that's not true anymore and I don't accept the excuse that it's necessary for security. As far as I know, you can still enter the office buildings through standard security desks, but not the Capitol building itself. Anyway, my rides pre-date the new automated line to the Hart Building, and I doubt I'll stoop to asking permission just to ride it, so thanks, Thom, for taking me on a virtual ride.
It doesn’t strike me as that unusual that in a time where people increasingly choose to express their politics violently, the security of politicians is adequately taken care of
These is a U.K. Post Office Royal Mail Train that runs underneath London alongside the existing Tube train, but these trains in DC look much cleaner, even more so than the New York subway - there is also talk about an underground system for Dublin, Ireland, but it’s anyone’s guess if this will ever get implemented
The London Post Office Railway was mothballed way back. Now the Rail Mail Museum has been created to bring this slice of history to life. Museum Visitors are able to take an exciting ride on a battery powered train over a section of the line. This trip starts and ends in the railway’s original maintenance base, which is beneath Mount Pleasant Mail Centre. The Postal Museum, which is just across the road from the Mail Rail entrance, operates explorer walks around the Post Office Railway including the permanent way. These walks are only operated during closure periods of both the Museum and Railway. They include walking along the tracks and tunnels guided by staff members.
I did a tour through my Congressman's office and got to ride this thing from the Russell Senate Office Building over to the US Capitol back in April of 2022. Was a neat little ride that I enjoyed but I also just like riding trains period.
i got to ride that subway when i was on high school trip. me and the other winners of our vocational school competition. we first met our congressman in his office. then we rode that over to the capital, and got a tour of the captial. then had lunch afterwards with our congressman
Fun fact: there is a purported rumor that the USSR constructed a similar metro system to the US Capitol subway beneath Moscow that's hidden from the public and is only used by government workers to travel between many places including the Kremlin, Moscow State University, and a so-called 'underground city' beneath the district of Ramenki. It's called Metro-2.
I never heard of this before, as somebody that's had to use a cane for a few years now and recently had a mild stroke, seeing this is so awesome, short easy to use systems like this show be everywhere.
Thanks for this video and I was not aware that Russell had the monorail access from 1912 on. When I worked in DC in the 1990s the Hart people mover had just opened and this was open to the public; very handy for getting quickly across the Hill in excessively hot, cold or wet weather, and also quite easy to shortcut past the kitchens in the basement of the Capitol between the Hart and Rayburn subways or to the Longworth/Cannon pedway without getting sucked into vortices of staff, tourists and/or lobbyists. But no longer; security and other concerns following the 1998 shooting deaths in the Capitol Building of two capitol police officers and the 9-11 terror attacks have led to the little trains being reserved for members or staff and their guests only.
We had the pleasure of riding this subway totally by surprise in the 1990’s. We were touring the Capital and had heard you could buy an American flag at the Capital. We asked one of the pages if she knew where we could do that. After a few minutes on the phone, she hung up and said “I’m still working on it”. She started asking other pages, and others if they knew. Finally she was told we could buy one at the book store of the Dirksen Building. We thanked her for all her help and started off for the Dirksen building. She stopped us and said she would get us there faster than walking. We didn’t know what she meant. She said “follow me”. We started going many floors down into the Capital. Some of the stair wells barley wide enough fo one person. We actually past through a muster roll call for the Capital police force. She finally got us to the Capital subway station. She waited with us until the train showed up to tell the driver to let us off at the Dirksen building. We thanked her so much. When we arrived at our stop, the driver was so polite and told us where to go. We found the book store, which was packed with customers, we found our flag, made our purchase and went on to our next stop. Thank goodness for the Capital pages.
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Am I the only one how noticed that bro can't even spell Capital right?
Oh wait I just realized what he meant...
@@TheTransportGuy001 you are one not so smart mf
Capital is a city, Capitol is a location within the city where the government is located 😐
@@notmanciv5016 Bro I literally said that in the first reply 😭
Pin of shame
The irony of senators traveling in this thing on their way to kill another bill trying to improve public transport 💀
EXACTLY
That's was my first thought when watching... Damn Gerontocracy!
The two worse things the government ever did to allow this were the SZEA of 1916 and the Esch Cummins act of 1920😢.
+1
@@stickynorth It is not the average age of senators that causes them to destroy public goods. It's their political ideology which is largely shared by the entire bunch.
8 people miss a train and they are all urgently cool with getting a cute new one for themselves. Millions have trouble getting around and they kill the ideas and funding for public transit improvements for decades upon decades.😂😭Anyway, first time Iv learned of or seen these. Its cool. But also something about it feels creepy and I don't know why lol.
Isn’t that super depressing to think about? All these politicians who don’t think this would work in their city? Surprised Elon Musk hasn’t tried to replace it with a “loop.”
@@Thom-TRA Don't even suggest that. please...
11:15
As a train enthusiast myself, I truly understand your interests in such an exclusive rail system.
I just find them so fascinating
@@Thom-TRAMe too, I feel the same for the London mail train.
Like someone else said, it is very ironic for these lawmakers to use this fascinating system and then vote against funding for new transit systems in the US. It is a very nice touch to have paintings from a high school student representing every congressional district. In fact, those in the House once fought over one of those paintings back in 2017 because one student from Missouri decided to paint the Ferguson protests to highlight critical issues pertinent to conditions in African American communities. Yes, outrage...over a painting, instead of being motivated to solve what the painting is about.
And I love how all the state flags are displayed at 11:26. My favorite US state flags are Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, and Alaska. For the symbolism of Arizona's flag, the copper star on Arizona's flag symbolizes Arizona being the largest producer of copper in the US, it shows the rays of a setting Sun because Arizona is a western state, blue and gold are the colors of Arizona, while red and gold are the colors of the Spanish flags that were carried by Coronado’s Expedition of 1540 to find the Seven Cities of Gold. And New Mexico's flag has sun symbol of the Zia people. Their solar symbol has four lines radiating from the circle in four directions because four is the sacred number of the Zia.
Spending some time near the House has taught me all the ridiculous things people in that chamber can get upset about…
>Ferguson "protests"
>Fiery but peaceful
>Intrinsic problem
oh there's a problem all right... a genetic one... not one that could be solved without a civil rights act delete.
@@Thom-TRAMoskow metro vs Moskow metro 2
@@Thom-TRA the US congress really puts the “chamber” in “echo chamber” ☠️
The car- and oil industry are paying for not voting for better public transport.
Yup, the 1994 system is just like Disney's! The 1994 version is what's called a WEDway PeopleMover, just like the attraction at Magic Kingdom! The deal was closed under Bombardier, but was sold under the WEDway brand. When Disney employees who worked for WEDway were transferred to Bombardier, they worked on the Capitol subway. This is also similar to the Subway at George Bush Intercontinental which is another WEDway, but that one was legitimately built under Disney.
Disneyland was the first Disney park to get the WEDway PeopleMover, but that system closed in 1995, and it didn't use LIM but rather had Goodyear tires placed along the track for propulsion. Because the Magic Kingdom system did not utilize the rotating Goodyear tires, Goodyear had no part in the East Coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was the original institutional patron of the attraction. Instead of an open track with covered cars, as designed for Disneyland, the trains were designed were built as open-air cars that traveled under a permanent roof over the guideway.
Your comment is so much more detailed than mine…. Deleting mine.
... and that technology is now 50 years old. Disney was truly ahead of their time! I wonder how the electrical efficiency compares to a modern 3 phase traction system?
So it’s built by a Canadian company? 😂
The Magic Kingdom PeopleMover connection is the weirdest thing about the Capitol subway. A few years ago this seemed to be something of a mystery in the theme-park-fan community, why the Capitol system *looked* so much like the Houston one but nobody could find records of it being a WEDway PeopleMover... but it all seems to be cleared up now.
This was really fun to see. Years ago I rode the capitol subway when I went to Washington as part of the Presidential Classroom program for high school students interested in government. While I ended up going into math rather than politics, I still remember riding that train to this day.
The world needs math people because I am definitely not one of them
@@Thom-TRA respekt. I’m not n English pursun 🥴
The senate subway uses the same technology and cars as the Houston Intercontinental airport subway in Houston, which was also built by Disney.
A Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins in a congressional office building...America truly runs on Dunkin! Even though I've only done the touristy tour in 2010, it's really cool to look at all the details of the Capitol! The underground city thing is just like Disney World's Magic Kingdom! At Magic Kingdom, they have the Utilidors which is a system that has some of the world's largest utility tunnels. This makes theme park operations possible. This system allows cast members like costumed characters to reach their destination out of sight from guests. The public can visit the Utilidors if you book the Keys to the Kingdom Tour.
According to a legend, Walt was bothered by the sight of a cowboy walking through Disneyland's Tomorrowland en route to his post in Frontierland. He felt that such a sight was jarring and it detracted from the guest experience. Since Disneyland was small, such a tunnel system could not be built, so when Magic Kingdom was planned, the system was built. The Utilidors is not a basement, as due to the elevated water table of its Florida location, most of these tunnels were actually built at ground level, and the Magic Kingdom was built above that.
Are you a big theme park or Disney fan besides transit?
As a non-american, I don't have a congressperson I could ask for a tour. So thanks for sharing this elusive piece of transit infrastructure!
Those linear induction motors make some of the strangest sounds that I've ever heard from a piece of rolling stock!
Also, I definitely should contact my representatives to see if I could get a ride on the Capitol Subway
I remember those sounds, in particular. Pretty unique.
Thanks for this video. I’m Hill staff and have ridden these a dozen times. Glad the USCP let you film.
They were super chill and actually excited somebody wanted to film.
I had a chance to ride the Capitol subway in the early-mid 1970's with my brother and mom when touring the Capitol. When we were done looking at the Capitol, we went down to the basement to ride the subway which was open freely to everyone. Beside us in the subway car, we had two members of Congress riding with us, one of the was Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina.
12:16 - Yeah, you're absolutely right - the sound of those trains is really quite unique (and absolutely great, of course)!
I absolutely love your enthusiasm on these videos, Thom.
I rode both the Senate and House subways during my only visit to the Capitol building, in 1982, before the Hart building and its subway extension opened and had no idea it had been modernized in 1993.
In those days you were pretty much free to roam the halls and even have lunch in the Senate Dining Room (everybody said I had to have the famous Senate Bean Soup but I was underwhelmed) but I guess the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed all that.
Senate Bean soup does sound underwhelming!
@Thom-TRA Actually I think the soup perfectly sums up the feelings to be an outsider, and then an insider of Congress.
I can't believe it! The Dirksen-Hart Subway is a WedWay People Mover. That's incredible. I thought the only ones would be in Magic Kingdom (Florida) and at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston (Texas). Very interesting video.
Another one to add to the list!
@@Thom-TRA True true ☺
Enjoyed the video. Haha he basically said the reason the trains exist is for all our geriatric senators, because for them “walking is not their strong suit”
Neither is thinking. Breathing sometimes seems a challenge as well 🤨
To be completely fair, while I agree age is a big issue in politics, it’s not exactly what I said there
Very cool. The newer system reminds me of airport people movers (such as those at Changi). I like how staff can walk next to the rail lines if they want to get their steps up. 🚶
It’s nice to have options!
It reminds me of the inter terminal train at Houston IAH, because it uses the exact same vehicles
I was thinking the same thing, very similar to the trains at Dulles Airport as well
My dad works for the Federal Government right down the street from the US Capitol building. There are plenty of underground tunnels that lead from different federal buildings throughout DC. A lot of them are confidential. My dad works for the Government Printing Office (now Government Publishing Office), and he can confirm they have a tunnel that leads from his building on North capital street to the US capitol. It’s like a whole network of tunnels underneath DC.
But cool video! Very well done!
I rode the old cars back in the 1950s as a child with my Mother when she was delivering documents to Senators & Congressmen.
This was a catch. I remember seeing a show from the 1960s and the actors looking at the cars as super modern, and state-of-the-art. Cool. Thanks.
After college graduation in 1998 I went to the D.C. area to visit my sister. We went to our state senator's office to get passes (free) to access the viewing gallery. The (very attractive) page working his front desk told us how to access the subway system from the Senate office building to the Capitol. We weren't entirely sure we were supposed to be there, but we followed her directions and rode it. The hilarious thing was that it dumped us off in some back-office area of the Capitol, and we had to wander aimlessly to find out way back to the public areas.
It looks so much like a fairground ride, even down to the "please keep hands and feet inside car" notice.
And they take souvenir photos at the drop too, lol
I've taken the Capitol Subway before! Waaaaaay back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I helped lobby some members of Congress (I believe it was to do with strengthening parts of the ADA but it's been long enough that I don't remember all the details), and guess how we got to the Senate & House offices...yup the Capitol Subway System! I remember I asked the aides of one of the Senators before about this and they said they can't imagine life without them...if only politicians would realize that trains (like these) are very convenient and useful for moving masses of people at a time and would use that energy to improve our rail system...
That’s so cool you had that opportunity to make a difference so young!
Thank you for this fascinating video ! I was completely unaware of its existence, and so glad you were able to take a ride, and explain it all to us. I think it’s a superb idea, and long May it continue !
I’ve heard from a lot of people today who’ve said this is the first time they’ve heard of it!
I thought it only existed in fallout 3
This is awesome. I never knew this. Another thing on my bucket list
The new subway looks like the one you find in the Houston Airport. Very cool you got to ride the Capitol trains.
@@williamerazo3921 That is what I figured.
My parents and I were able to get a tour booked around 1990 when we were living in either PA or NY and we got to ride that train. I remember also getting to stand on the balcony of the senate floor for a bit and watch them which I thought was neat. The tour was a fun experience!
The Galleries are really cool! I've done the House a few times but not the senate yet
It's always a pleasure, Thom! Can't wait for DC part 2.
Come back soon!
Wooow. I'm impressed. A little metro system between buildings. Unbelievable ❤
Thank you so much for sharing this Thom. As a non-American who will never get to see these IRL - they were absolutely fascinating. Especially the one with the musical linear motor!
I love how you geeked out over riding the capitol subway! I’d never heard of this system so it was interesting to learn about it. I’m glad you got to experience your dream to ride it!
It was so much fun!
11:26
There was also an airport which I believe was in Boston that had the same sort of subway system installed in the 1980s but it was very recently closed down and torn out leaving behind just wide hallways where it ran! Pretty much it was no longer needed because of a newer high capacity elevated train system. :)
Houston's airport is the one with the WEDway PeopleMover in its underground hallways. But I think it's still running--though probably not for long; they're thinking of tearing it out and possibly replacing it. (Though since they've already got a second people mover that runs *behind* security, and which most users probably find more useful, they might not replace it.)
@@MattMcIrvin
Apparently for quite some time they’ve been wanting to demolish it because on the airport train above it that’s a lot more practical and past security.
Fun fact Bush Airport in Houston uses the same automated system for their underground subway. It's super cool.
Is the Dirksen Hart a WedWay? It looks almost identical to the one at IAH
This is one of the best, if not the very best video ever!!! I had no idea that these existed, or that they could be ridden on!!! Thank you for taking us all on this journey and thank you for all that you do!!!
I was really hoping this would be one of the best!
@@Thom-TRA it definitely is!!!!!! Awesome!!!!!!!
I can't wait to see this video!
Thank you Thom for posting this. I’ve been on the Metro and was quite easy to use but that was in 1986 and was quite new then. Nice to see a young lad taking interest in our Capitol city and sharing it with us. Please travel the USA and post more, you do a good job and keep my attention on the video.
You should check out the rest of my channel…
Wow, I did not know this is in the US Capitol
Hidden underground!
I rode this subway my second week in the USA, a long time ago. It was fun, and it was part of our Washington Week experience as part of our MBA curriculum. I still remember it, more than 25 years later.
Thank you for the experience ❤ Trains are INDEED Awesome 🎉
Yes they are!
I like your Metro montages please do more!
I know Thom was so happy when he wrote 0:15 into the script. Didn't expect that much fire at the beginning of the video
Thoroughly enjoyed watching this video. I didn’t even realize the public could actually ride these. I might have to look into that.
It takes a few connections but it’s definitely a possibility! And very worth it
Hey Thom, I'll admit that the Dirksen-Hart Subway does make interesting noises while in transit with its magnetic linear motors, but I still prefer the sound of the NYCT R160B Siemens Propulsion, which btw I operated two at work today(one going southbound from Jamaica Queens to Coney Island and the other going northbound back to Queens from Coney Island Bklyn) although they can be a bit slippery on the Culver Elevated's wet rail in Brooklyn, NY...
L8er
Is the weather in NYC as rainy as DC today?
@@Thom-TRA It's a related weather system, Tropical storm Ophelia...
We're expecting rain and windy conditions through the rest of the weekend to about Monday morning and that's the rest of my work week, so more "adjusted operation on the Culver El due to inclement weather, Jay Street Tower..." (if or when they ask about my lateness...Lol!)
L8er
I have rode on that before with my aunt, she works in the government. They have children’s art from across the country on the walls, it was really cool.
Comprehensive. You and your "team" do a great job keeping this personal, and smoothly keeping us going with well thought out b roll. Your research and deep diving is invaluable to keeping the channel interesting. Thanks for all your hard work.
I appreciate this feedback!
Wow, having been to the capital many times, House of Representatives and senate chamber many times, this is actually crazy that I just found this out! Wow!
Now for my anecdote, Thom. In 1964, yes in the last millennium, my graduating high school class took a senior trip to DC and then on to NYC. By bus. One of our state’s two senators was then from our home town and he gave us a personal tour, including a ride on the Capitol subway. I recall open air cars, without the wind screens shown in this video. The cars, while comfortable, seemed like roller coaster cars. A photo from that year would confirm, or disprove, my memory. As a bonus I lucked into sitting in a car beside our Senator, John Sherman Cooper (1901-1999). Thanks, Thom, for an excellent video and a ride down memory lane…uh…subway.
In 1964, that would have been the open aired cars! I totally understand the roller coaster feel. Glad to bring up good memories! I still see senior trips in DC every time I commute on the metro 😂
I really like the old and new metros Wher right next to each other
Glad UA-cam sent me this way. I had no idea this existed!
Glad you could learn something new!
Can’t wait to see this episode! 😄
Prior to completion of the Capitol Visitors Center it was common for visitors to take the subway to and from the Congressional and Senate office buildings as part of the the guided tours. Sadly it seems to be more difficult to do these days.
YIKES! Imagine being on-board that thing on that fateful day in January 2021…..
Cool video!
I’m guessing there was a service suspension that day
Rail replacement bus?
You looked like a kid in a candy shop when riding that Senate train! That must have been great fun - thank you for sharing with us!!! I visited the Capitol in 199, but did not know those trains existed. :-)))
That’s my “I get to ride a cool train face” 😂
Good morning I enjoyed the video👍👍
@@londonwhaley8690 good morning to you too!
991
Thank you for sharing.
The art on the wall at 5:10 looks like the MAX light rail in Portland, OR. I used to ride that thing all the time.
It is the MAX
Another fantastic video. Full of information and great visuals. It shows that you put a lot of time and effort into your work.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
I remember riding these trains in high school when I visited DC for a class trip. Gosh that was almost 30 years ago now. I always thought they were so neat and I still have pictures (actual photographs, like we did back in the day) of them somewhere. This brought back memories for me! Thank you for the video
Thanks for sharing these memories! Come to DC again someday
Homie love your channel! Public transit is one of the best infrastructure marvels mankind has ever created,alongside with dogs! During the covid-19 lockdowns,both public and private transit workers kept working and grinding,selflessly putting their lives on the line getting people to their spots! Transit workers at any level are definitely heroes! Thanks! 🚇 Transit & Dogs 🐕 for life!
Transit & Dogs for life indeed
this looks a lot like a themepark ride. Very cool.
Leuke video jongens echt vet om te zien hoe dit kanaal gegroeid is in de afgelopen jaren, lekker bezig :)
Bedankt! Zeker veel gegroeid, hopelijk kan ik gauw een keer terug naar NL
They should have kept the suspended monorail. They ride so much smoother :)
I’ve been able to ride the Russel line because my mom works for the CVC! I took it for a few years when I went with her during take your kid to work day. I never knew that the Russel line was the one restricted so it’s cool I was able to experience it when I could!
That is awesome!
Oh my! I love that!
The LIM one has a strong familiar look with VAL systems.
Great episode!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful.
Used to ride these all the time back around 2000. Was easy to get to and anybody could ride. Loved hiking through the bowels of the capitol when crossing from one side to the other for work. You used to NOT need an escort to go through any parts of the Capitol grounds other than the members only elevators or the Senate and House chambers.
That 3-wire electric hookup looks similar to the connections installed on the overhead cranes at my job
Love the HDR viewing experience 🙂
10:20 That monorail is just SOOOO Steampunk! I love it!
If you thought 💭 the basement of the US Capitol confusing, I once did find the arrivals section(s) of Boston Logan Airport very confusing-once we’d got our luggage 🧳 (after a flight ✈️ from Edinburgh to Amsterdam and a flight ✈️ from Amsterdam to, of course *Boston* to attend a wedding 💒 in my wife’s family), I looked 👀 everywhere in the baggage 🧳 reclaim area to find the way out onto the arrivals concourse. Every exit I saw 👀 either lead to an elevator 🛗 (to where?) or to an out-of-bounds location of the airport. My wife had to guide me to the main way out to the concourse (whose exit was somewhat hidden in my view).
Looks like the Houston Bush airport subway train by Disney also. Great video!
Yes, it was based off the disney train
What a wonderful metros systems there under the Capitol! Love it!
Thanks for sharing Thom, you have a great day!
Been quite a while since I had spare time to reconnect with your channel and chill with your excellent videography. This one came up automatically when I googled into the channel. I didn't realise that the Capitol and annex buildings had such a transit system and you have covered it excellently.
Now I must grab some lunch before catching up on the backlog.
Thanks for this clip. Most interesting.🙂
It’s so good to hear from you again! Hope you’ve been well. Enjoy your lunch!
Watching from the DMV. Funny, I just got off the train just now.
Baltimore city is getting new heavy rail cars
Cool
I rode the Capitol subway back in the innocent days of the 1980s. My sister and I were both in DC in college--two different universities--and we took a day to tour the Capitol building. In those days, you could just walk in and wander around. We went to the offices of our representative and senator and got passes to sit in the galleries in the House and Senate. It was kind of boring. There wasn't any voting going on, but it was still exciting just to be there. We also rode the House and Senate subways.
i've heard of this from a HAI v ideo
seeing the inside of this thing is gonna be cool :D
I hope it was good!
@@Thom-TRA it was :D
I road one of theses trains back in the middle 1960's as part of a 6th grade field trip. That was before the DC Metro was even started. My family moved to the DC area just about a month after the last DC street cars were discontinued.
And now we have a tiny little symbolic streetcar again that I pray will one day be part of a great network once again…
Dude I moved to MD recently and I've been verbally trying make my friends visualize how awesome the Metrorail system is. Your production style is the exact image I want them to see. Thank you for sharing!
Good thing I have lots of metro rail content coming!!
I'm old enough to have ridden these back when the public had open access to the Capitol and the office buildings, and there was no need to arrange for an escort to ride the subways. Too bad that's not true anymore and I don't accept the excuse that it's necessary for security. As far as I know, you can still enter the office buildings through standard security desks, but not the Capitol building itself. Anyway, my rides pre-date the new automated line to the Hart Building, and I doubt I'll stoop to asking permission just to ride it, so thanks, Thom, for taking me on a virtual ride.
It doesn’t strike me as that unusual that in a time where people increasingly choose to express their politics violently, the security of politicians is adequately taken care of
These is a U.K. Post Office Royal Mail Train that runs underneath London alongside the existing Tube train, but these trains in DC look much cleaner, even more so than the New York subway - there is also talk about an underground system for Dublin, Ireland, but it’s anyone’s guess if this will ever get implemented
The London Post Office Railway was mothballed way back. Now the Rail Mail Museum has been created to bring this slice of history to life. Museum Visitors are able to take an exciting ride on a battery powered train over a section of the line. This trip starts and ends in the railway’s original maintenance base, which is beneath Mount Pleasant Mail Centre. The Postal Museum, which is just across the road from the Mail Rail entrance, operates explorer walks around the Post Office Railway including the permanent way. These walks are only operated during closure periods of both the Museum and Railway. They include walking along the tracks and tunnels guided by staff members.
I remember riding the open top one as a little kid
I did a tour through my Congressman's office and got to ride this thing from the Russell Senate Office Building over to the US Capitol back in April of 2022. Was a neat little ride that I enjoyed but I also just like riding trains period.
I just like riding trains too
This is awesome! Did not know about this at all! Too back the newer subway is automated :(
They each have their own charm
i got to ride that subway when i was on high school trip. me and the other winners of our vocational school competition. we first met our congressman in his office. then we rode that over to the capital, and got a tour of the captial. then had lunch afterwards with our congressman
That is so cool that you got to ride that secret subway and I loved that you got all dressed up for the honor!
Fun fact: there is a purported rumor that the USSR constructed a similar metro system to the US Capitol subway beneath Moscow that's hidden from the public and is only used by government workers to travel between many places including the Kremlin, Moscow State University, and a so-called 'underground city' beneath the district of Ramenki. It's called Metro-2.
I’ve heard of that rumor
I was waiting for Gman to come out adjust his tie and start walking away.
I never heard of this before, as somebody that's had to use a cane for a few years now and recently had a mild stroke, seeing this is so awesome, short easy to use systems like this show be everywhere.
Thanks for this video and I was not aware that Russell had the monorail access from 1912 on. When I worked in DC in the 1990s the Hart people mover had just opened and this was open to the public; very handy for getting quickly across the Hill in excessively hot, cold or wet weather, and also quite easy to shortcut past the kitchens in the basement of the Capitol between the Hart and Rayburn subways or to the Longworth/Cannon pedway without getting sucked into vortices of staff, tourists and/or lobbyists. But no longer; security and other concerns following the 1998 shooting deaths in the Capitol Building of two capitol police officers and the 9-11 terror attacks have led to the little trains being reserved for members or staff and their guests only.
We rode it on our 7th grade trip to Washington DC, perks of Lauren Book’s father being a class tour guide.
Thanks for the inspiration... I'm gonna build something like this in my long-term project world using Create's trains.
They had a sort of open house thing a few years ago, a lot of people got to look around.
You looked very much like a tv news reporter. Well done.
Thanks!
Nice video! Well done!
Thanks!
We had the pleasure of riding this subway totally by surprise in the 1990’s. We were touring the Capital and had heard you could buy an American flag at the Capital. We asked one of the pages if she knew where we could do that. After a few minutes on the phone, she hung up and said “I’m still working on it”. She started asking other pages, and others if they knew. Finally she was told we could buy one at the book store of the Dirksen Building. We thanked her for all her help and started off for the Dirksen building. She stopped us and said she would get us there faster than walking. We didn’t know what she meant. She said “follow me”. We started going many floors down into the Capital. Some of the stair wells barley wide enough fo one person. We actually past through a muster roll call for the Capital police force. She finally got us to the Capital subway station. She waited with us until the train showed up to tell the driver to let us off at the Dirksen building. We thanked her so much. When we arrived at our stop, the driver was so polite and told us where to go. We found the book store, which was packed with customers, we found our flag, made our purchase and went on to our next stop. Thank goodness for the Capital pages.
That’s such a cool story!
I went to dc 2 weeks ago. Video up. Suprised me how nice the city is. Went to senate hall and White House
Interesting video. I had no idea the Capitol had these trains. They do strike me as being a bit rickety! Thanks for uploading.
Anyone else notice that our bro dressed up for this? Also that third one sounds like a spaceship