It’s a bird, it’s a plane… No, it’s a train!

It’s not just an elevated railway, it’s a SUSPENDED electric railway! The track runs above the cars so it’s really “you are flying”. How amazing! And such a great restoration of such an old film!

Thanks so much for sharing, this was beautiful and amazing.
posted by hippybear at 11:01 AM on August 28

These flying trains should be everywhere.
posted by w0mbat at 11:07 AM on August 28

Those old 68mm films are amazing. I mean I can understand why they weren’t used that much but the resolution is so impressive even a hundred years ago.

I wonder how many of our digital movies will still be watchable in 118 years?
posted by octothorpe at 11:14 AM on August 28 [1 favorite]

I wonder how many of our digital movies will still be watchable in 118 years?

Restoration efforts will involve cracking encryption keys.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:24 AM on August 28

I found this clip recently via Denis Shiryaev’s YouTube channel. Denis uses neural networks and other techniques to stablize, upres, up-framerate, and colorize footage like this, and it is even more incredible to watch than the source. Highly recommend checking out the other videos on his channel.
posted by srkit at 11:32 AM on August 28 [2 favorites]

I think I’m already on record here on how much I hate colorizing. Black and white is perfect as it is, it doesn’t need to be “fixed”.
posted by octothorpe at 11:39 AM on August 28 [2 favorites]

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

It looks like it should be a ride in the Jules Verne-style Tomorrowland at Disneyland Paris.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:46 AM on August 28 [1 favorite]

Came in to repeat what srkit said and to mention that the Wuppertal monorail is still there and has been featured on both Tom Scott’s channel and The Tim Traveler YouTube channels.
posted by Hey, Zeus! at 11:49 AM on August 28 [1 favorite]

That’s awesome, and great that it’s still going!

There is footage of the first electric elevated railway (not the first suspended) filmed by the Lumière Brothers in 1896, but sadly the Dockers’ Umbrella (as it was known locally) got dismantled in the 1950s.

All that’s left of it now is the odd girder and a tunnel.
posted by amcewen at 12:19 PM on August 28 [2 favorites]

That’s stupendous! Why is this the first time I’ve seen this? Reminds me of Metropolis which was released a generation later, FFS!
posted by Dub at 12:52 PM on August 28 [1 favorite]

OMG it’s still operational. I desperately want to ride it.
posted by cooker girl at 1:16 PM on August 28

This thing carries 25 million people a year and has had one fatal incident. In 118 years. Pretty cool.
posted by klanawa at 1:17 PM on August 28

This thing carries 25 million people a year and has had one fatal incident. In 118 years

Those are extraordinary numbers; that might be safer than elevators?
posted by mhoye at 1:44 PM on August 28

This 12 minute no-narration present day video includes a passenger using a rolling walker. Level entry and exit!
posted by Jesse the K at 2:03 PM on August 28