See How Germany Looked In 1902 Thanks To This Rare Footage Taken During A Ride On “The Flying Train”
Fasten your seat belt, sit back, and enjoy the crisp ride on a suspended railway from back in 1902. You heard me right. The surprisingly clear footage was made 118 years ago in the Barmen-Elberfeld area in Germany, today known as Wuppertal. But thanks to the proprietary 68 mm film, the clip feels like it was made recently.
Initially, the black and white footage released by the Museum of Modern Art was only 2 minutes long. But Denis Shiryaev, an AI specialist from Neural Love agency in Gdansk, Poland, took it to a whole new level.
With the help of machine learning technology, Denis “remastered” the footage and turned it into an almost 4-minute-long video. He also added colors and sound, stabilized the footage, and smoothed out the framing. The mind-blowing results are in down below, and this feels like the kind of roller coaster I’d sign up for.
More info: Youtube | Neural.Love
This vivid footage shows what it was like to ride the suspended railway over the German town in 1902
Image credits: Denis Shiryaev
Wuppertal Schwebebahn is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars
Image credits: wikipedia
The Schwebebahn railway is still in use to this day and carries 82,000 commuters a day
Image credits: wikipedia
Designed by Eugen Langen for Berlin, the suspended railway was instead built in Barmen, Elberfeld, and Vohwinkel between 1897 and 1903
The electric suspension railway is the oldest elevated train in Germany. It was designed by Eugen Langen as an idea to sell to the city of Berlin, and construction on the project began in 1898. Emperor Wilhelm II was one of the first to catch a ride on the innovative train during trial runs in 1900. It was just years before World War I happened.
Its first track was opened in 1901 in a town which is today known as Wuppertal
The remaining footage is so clear and vivid because it was shot on proprietary 68 mm film by the American motion picture company Biograph.
The Mutoscope used 68 mm film, a film stock twice as large as most films at the time. (70 mm film really only came into its own during the 1950s.) The 30 frames per second shooting rate was also faster than the usual 18 fps or 24 fps, which means the illusion of reality is closer to the video rate of today.
The entire trip takes around half an hour to finish
The frames of the film were printed on cards and could be watched through a viewfinder, but it wasn’t intended to become a film in itself.
But thanks to the AI editor Denis Shiryaev, the footage was upscaled with neural network technology. The added colors also help to create the real-life effect even though they are not historically accurate.
The total route is just over eight miles long and follows the river Wupper for most of it
Denis Shiryaev took the original footage, slowed it down to look like real life, and revived it with colors
And here’s the original black and white footage released by the Museum Of Modern Art before it was edited
Image credits: The Museum of Modern Art
And this is what people had to say
There's actually a (maybe not so) funny story about the Schwebebahn: Back in 1950 a little circus named "Zirkus Althoff" pitched up its tent in Wuppertal. The owner, Franz Althoff, had been a circus man all his life an he came up with a rather spectacular idea to get some publicity: he took the circuses elephant lady Tuffi for a ride on the Schwebebahn. Along with a bunch of journalists and Franz Althoff's son Harry, they squeezed Tuffi in the cabin and actually took off. It didn't long though for Tuffi to get increasingly uncomfortable. In a rather panicky attempt to break free, Tuffi went into beast mode and basically crashed the side of the cabin, leading to her falling out of the window and into the river Wupper, which was like 10 Meters below. Luckily she landed in a muddy spot and wasn't hurt except for some minor bruises. Franz Althoff was fined and to this day, there are no elephants allowed. There is however a dairy factory that named its milk "Tuffy" after the elephant :)
That´s interesting, I´ve seen photo of Tuffi escaping cabin and didn´t know that was for real!
Load More Replies...The Schwebebahn is brilliant and I'm so happy to see it here! I've visited it twice already (once we rented a car almost only for this purpose when we went on holiday to Amsterdam and drove to Wuppertal to ride it) and hope to do so again. It's enormous fun to ride it and it's also fascinating to look at. A brilliant piece of engineering and problem solving because the railway was originally built as a solution to a quickly growing industrial city (back then two who later became one). Suddenly they needed public transport but had nowhere (but the Wupper river) to put it. Anyway, I hope I haven't made it too obvious how much of a nerd I am when it comes to public transport...
Additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Schwebebahn
Load More Replies...Interesting... I wish city planners in other (now) congested cities had thought a little harder about public transport alternatives... If I could turn back time and was in charge, I'd have promoted trams and suspended monorails.
I was convinced that monorails and gondola were going to be everywhere when I grew up. I was a little kid for the World's Fair in 84, but the visions for the future stuck. Monorails make so much sense, and wouldn't a gondola would be so much faster and more convenient than a ferry?
Load More Replies...It’s like a window in time. And the weirdest thing to remember is that they are all lived their lives and have passed now. Even the youngest child you see.
And that they had still 12 peaceful and prosperous years ahead before 4 decades of turmoil
Load More Replies...Notice the German is as usual more poetic, calling it a "Gliding" not "Flying" train.
Currently the Schebebahn is under construction and rides only on weekends. There is also a historical waggon called the "Kaiserwagen", it is the one that Kaiser Wilhelm II. and his wife Auguste Viktoria rode on October 24. 1900 for a test ride from Döppersberg to Vohwinkel. You can now book rides and even be wed on that waggon.
I wish I was alive back in those days!! I get so nostalgic looking at old pictures or videos and get so jealousy that the people I these videos or pics got to experience and I didn’t!!!
I know what you mean and I have the same feeling, but then I remember about poor (to our standards) sanitation, medical knowledge and treatments, etc. And of course the wars soon after. I'd LOVE to visit, but not stay
Load More Replies...I've travelled on the Schwebebahn, it's really amazing on every level, in fact it was one of the main highlights of all my trips to Germany during the 1990's.
Already stated, hauntingly beautiful. Thank you for bringing this to life.
Q: Why do the Germans get to have all the Nice Things? A: Because they're willing to *pay* for them!
I went on this train in Wuppertal back in1966 on a school trip. Memories!
The original footage is absolutely astounding even without being compared to typical for the time film. Also have to say that this is the way to public transit. Makes so much more sense than lightrail at ground level. Both require tremendous amounts of work to build the infrastructure, ground level is less flexible and much more expensive to alter when inevitable changes will be made. Not to mention lightrail and such lead to massive upheavels to businesses and residents when it's built. Witnessed that when Phoenix installed it's white elephant lightrail.
This is extraordinary! What I love most about these restored and enhanced films, is how they transport me back to another time and place. What makes me especially wistful is seeing momentary glimpses of all those people, now long gone, just going about their day and living life in the moment. It's a poignant reminder that at some point all of our now moments will just be distant yesterdays, like the ones in this film.
This looks a feels so real. Like being there. It has the haze of my youth (pollution) probably from coal being used. Gorgeous..
Cool. I had no idea this existed. What's the advantage of a suspended train over a plain old elevated train though? Wouldn't the same structure hold either one? Not being critical just curious.
When you see Wuppertal today (that means after WII) theres nothing beautiful there except some industrial buildings and the “Schwebebahn”.. I grown up very close..
Load More Replies...There's actually a (maybe not so) funny story about the Schwebebahn: Back in 1950 a little circus named "Zirkus Althoff" pitched up its tent in Wuppertal. The owner, Franz Althoff, had been a circus man all his life an he came up with a rather spectacular idea to get some publicity: he took the circuses elephant lady Tuffi for a ride on the Schwebebahn. Along with a bunch of journalists and Franz Althoff's son Harry, they squeezed Tuffi in the cabin and actually took off. It didn't long though for Tuffi to get increasingly uncomfortable. In a rather panicky attempt to break free, Tuffi went into beast mode and basically crashed the side of the cabin, leading to her falling out of the window and into the river Wupper, which was like 10 Meters below. Luckily she landed in a muddy spot and wasn't hurt except for some minor bruises. Franz Althoff was fined and to this day, there are no elephants allowed. There is however a dairy factory that named its milk "Tuffy" after the elephant :)
That´s interesting, I´ve seen photo of Tuffi escaping cabin and didn´t know that was for real!
Load More Replies...The Schwebebahn is brilliant and I'm so happy to see it here! I've visited it twice already (once we rented a car almost only for this purpose when we went on holiday to Amsterdam and drove to Wuppertal to ride it) and hope to do so again. It's enormous fun to ride it and it's also fascinating to look at. A brilliant piece of engineering and problem solving because the railway was originally built as a solution to a quickly growing industrial city (back then two who later became one). Suddenly they needed public transport but had nowhere (but the Wupper river) to put it. Anyway, I hope I haven't made it too obvious how much of a nerd I am when it comes to public transport...
Additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Schwebebahn
Load More Replies...Interesting... I wish city planners in other (now) congested cities had thought a little harder about public transport alternatives... If I could turn back time and was in charge, I'd have promoted trams and suspended monorails.
I was convinced that monorails and gondola were going to be everywhere when I grew up. I was a little kid for the World's Fair in 84, but the visions for the future stuck. Monorails make so much sense, and wouldn't a gondola would be so much faster and more convenient than a ferry?
Load More Replies...It’s like a window in time. And the weirdest thing to remember is that they are all lived their lives and have passed now. Even the youngest child you see.
And that they had still 12 peaceful and prosperous years ahead before 4 decades of turmoil
Load More Replies...Notice the German is as usual more poetic, calling it a "Gliding" not "Flying" train.
Currently the Schebebahn is under construction and rides only on weekends. There is also a historical waggon called the "Kaiserwagen", it is the one that Kaiser Wilhelm II. and his wife Auguste Viktoria rode on October 24. 1900 for a test ride from Döppersberg to Vohwinkel. You can now book rides and even be wed on that waggon.
I wish I was alive back in those days!! I get so nostalgic looking at old pictures or videos and get so jealousy that the people I these videos or pics got to experience and I didn’t!!!
I know what you mean and I have the same feeling, but then I remember about poor (to our standards) sanitation, medical knowledge and treatments, etc. And of course the wars soon after. I'd LOVE to visit, but not stay
Load More Replies...I've travelled on the Schwebebahn, it's really amazing on every level, in fact it was one of the main highlights of all my trips to Germany during the 1990's.
Already stated, hauntingly beautiful. Thank you for bringing this to life.
Q: Why do the Germans get to have all the Nice Things? A: Because they're willing to *pay* for them!
I went on this train in Wuppertal back in1966 on a school trip. Memories!
The original footage is absolutely astounding even without being compared to typical for the time film. Also have to say that this is the way to public transit. Makes so much more sense than lightrail at ground level. Both require tremendous amounts of work to build the infrastructure, ground level is less flexible and much more expensive to alter when inevitable changes will be made. Not to mention lightrail and such lead to massive upheavels to businesses and residents when it's built. Witnessed that when Phoenix installed it's white elephant lightrail.
This is extraordinary! What I love most about these restored and enhanced films, is how they transport me back to another time and place. What makes me especially wistful is seeing momentary glimpses of all those people, now long gone, just going about their day and living life in the moment. It's a poignant reminder that at some point all of our now moments will just be distant yesterdays, like the ones in this film.
This looks a feels so real. Like being there. It has the haze of my youth (pollution) probably from coal being used. Gorgeous..
Cool. I had no idea this existed. What's the advantage of a suspended train over a plain old elevated train though? Wouldn't the same structure hold either one? Not being critical just curious.
When you see Wuppertal today (that means after WII) theres nothing beautiful there except some industrial buildings and the “Schwebebahn”.. I grown up very close..
Load More Replies...
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