A train that never sees daylight

Deeply buried below the mountain Mittagskogel, the funicular (cablecar) Pitztaler Express operates in a long and dark tunnel, tirelessly transporting people up and down the mountain. In this video, you will discover how this mysterious train works and get to know its operators.

Many thanks to the Pitztaler Bergbahnen who once again let me film everything and patiently explained the funicular and it's propulsion, top to bottom!

[WhatsEndoDoing]

I can't believe not more people have discovered your channel. Your videos are super informative and interesting!

[Dave_Sisson]

This is so much more sophisticated than the timber harvesting funicular railways that used to operate 100 years ago east of Melbourne in Australia. There were hundreds of them. In 1939 the founder of Mt Buller ski resort died when the simple mechanical brake failed on one of them failed. Passengers were banned on logging tramways, but he was testing funiculars with plans to install one to improve access to the ski resort.

[stijn]

This feels like the new, long-form Tom Scott. Glad to see there is someone ready to take on the job ones Tom retires this year.

[PaulRobertHayes]

Love the engineering spaces views, IMHO that's the real tour of the spaces. Far too often these places are hidden away tucked away and never to be seen, and yet they are essential to any of the modern amenities we enjoy. I really appreciate the folks that let you see some of the spaces, and talk through how they all work. Most appreciated.

[joasvdeerden]

I did not expect this kind of quality from a channel with just 8k subscribers. Keep it up!

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Another difference between the San Francisco cable cars and funiculars is that the San Francisco cable cars can detach from and attach to the cable, while funiculars are of course permanently attached. Thus the San Francisco cable cars are the last of the traditional cable cars. The idea for them originated in 1869 (nice) by Andrew Smith Hallidie, who had the idea after witnessing an accident in which a streetcar drawn by horses over wet cobblestones slid backwards, killing the horses. Hallidie solicited financial support in 1871 and 1872, and the first successful cable-operated street running train was the Clay Street Hill Railroad which had its inaugural run in August 1873.

The cable cars are pulled by a cable running below the street, held by a grip that extends from the car through a slit in the street surface, between the rails. Each cable is 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter, running at a constant speed of 9.5 miles per hour (15.3 km/h), and driven by a 510 horsepower (380 kW) electric motor located in the central power house (part of the Cable Car Museum), via a set of self-adjusting sheaves. While these are the last of the traditional cable cars, other lines pretend they're cable cars, like the Great Orme Tramway in Llandudno, Wales that goes between the summit of Great Orme to the center of town at Llandudno Victoria where a part of it is street running. Lisbon's three street funiculars act that way too.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Underground funiculars exist elsewhere too! Examples include the Tünel/F2 in Istanbul! It has two stations connecting Karaköy and Beyoğlu. It runs uphill from near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the Bosphorus and is about 573 meters (or 1, 880 feet) long. It opened all the way back in January 1875, making it the second-oldest underground railway in the world after the London Underground, and the oldest in continental Europe as it opened two decades before Budapest opened their Metro!

There's also the Carmelit in Haifa! As the name implies, it runs through the religiously important Mount Carmel. It has a total of six stations and connects downtown Haifa with Carmel Center, and connects to places like the Haifa Zoo, Haifa Center railway station, and the beautiful Baháʼí World Centre. It's the oldest subway system in the Middle East as it opened in October 1959, but because of its small size, it's also one of the world's smallest subway systems as well, as the tunnel is just 1.8 km/1.1 miles long!

[nei_]

Incredible video - it's like you exactly read my mind, answering every question I came up with, and addressing all the parts that I wanted to learn more about! Subscribed, thank you!

[waffle_bars]

This is really cool! Thanks for showing this amazing equipment and the amazing people who operate it.

[LisaMiza]

Thank you youtube for suggesting me this well produced video! And thank you Kalsan for great thumbnail and title work to lure me in :D

[mesillahills]

I had ridden the underground funicular at Kaprun several times that killed all those many people. Once you understand what happened by fire, it is something I would never do again. My understanding is that the train no longer exists. Back then there was no door at the lower end of the tunnel to stop wind. It as a blow torch once the fire started.

[mathewst]

This channel is super underrated! Every single video is an absolute banger. Your Style and topics are always engaging and interesting. Thank you for everything you do!

Liebi grüess us em aargau :)

[xceptdev]

Hi! Finnally new video! I've been waiting for it. Can you do "A day in life of ropeway operator?"

Edit: Thank you'all guus for 6 likes! You are the best❤

[jimmypockrus]

This is an amazing video. I've known of funicular railways and as they are called in the USA incline railways but I wasn't aware of a funicular railway running completely in a diagonal tunnel. It was neat to see just how much it had in common with the gondola system only flipped perpendicular 90 degrees. I was noticing the similarities of the power supply when you said you wouldn't go into anymore detail because you had covered it in another video. I thought it was funny when the operator said that if there was a fire detected in the tunnel the alert would come up on the panel and he said Oh, shizer. I want to thank you for making these videos in English.

[thomasicekeys]

This is fascinating! Thank you for this very well made video. Another set of childhood questions that nobody could answer…finally answered.

[ashj]

Love your tone and manner of presenting. Thanks for a fascinating detailed video about such a cool funicular!

[ghost]

Very nice model. There are lots of channels that try to explain things while looking at the real thing and just end up confusing their viewers. Reducing the whole system down to 2 cars, a wheel, and a string on a sheet of cardboard was perfect.

[wagonmoundno.]

Very nice stuff - I work as a driver of the only funicular in New Zealand. Always love hearing more about the system and its history!

[SpmMe]

Luckily the driver speaks German so I don't need subt...
... thank you for including subtitles.

Didn't know about the trick with different wheels for switches. Ingenious little trick!

[kegwf]

YAY!! A new video to enjoy during lunch!
As usual, awesome work, great editing, and great people at the facility!

Thank you.