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Comment by canada_dry | Hacker News Reader

A side-by-side view of 1902 vs current:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TqqdOcX4dc

As an aside, I find it interesting that this steel wasn't reclaimed sometime during WWII when the industrial machine was desperate for iron/metal.

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Thanks for sharing. I watched the MoMA original and thought that there is no way that system survived shortages of two world wars. And, what a testament to the turn of the century industrialization in Germany to be able to produce such a system.

Thanks for sharing, this brought back some great memories. I grew up in Wuppertal and took the Schwebebahn all the time, fantastic ride to avoid traffic. You can still book the classical Kaiserwagen I believe for special occasions, although I think it may not be possible now during COVID.

https://www.wuppertal.de/kaiserwagen

covid or other reasons - it will be available again presumably in autumn 2021.

> Der Betrieb des Kaiserwagens ist derzeit nicht möglich. Wir gehen davon aus, dass der Kaiserwagen im Herbst 2021 wieder fährt.

It's disgusting how many cars we have in cities, isn't it. Why do all these people need cars? They're even literally parking under a railway line.

I was wondering just what, exactly, made the old one look so pleasant, and why the new one looked so much more dreary by comparison. I think this is it.

If you pause at 00:36 you can see the same view on google maps today https://goo.gl/maps/4oskPzyT5MRCma1PA

Awesome video!

There is also full speed-corrected colorized version:

https://youtu.be/EQs5VxNPhzk

The trees are gone and the parking spots are in. A necessary evil for a modern society sure, but definitely a less beautiful society.

I agree with everything you said - besides the "necessary" part.

As someone that currently (not going to sit in full trains/subways for 2h a day the way it is right now) sits in the car for around 100 minutes a day (at least for every day me and the little one commute in) - I really like cars for technical/nostalgic reasons, but god I hate cars so much.

It is not what a single car does, it is what happens when everyone drives cars - out of necessity and even worse: "for fun". The emissions, the wasted space, the streets, the parking, the noise, the stress, the anger (had a young girl on a bike beat my passenger window and swearing like a dock-worker because of a slightly dangerous confusion), the pain, the costs (for individuals and the society). It is just sad.

And no, sorry, electric cars will only solve one aspect of all the issues caused by everyone sitting in his own car. Autonomous driving only some others. There is no way ever growing societies can sensibly continue this way.

I want my train ride back. My little one also.

Thank you! What a great find. You don't often get this kind of historical document.

Agreed about scrapping the train. Glad they didn't.

Wow! that‘s a fascinating video collage – thanks for sharing!

a) getting people to their jobs was likely deemed more important than the paltry amount of metal it could have provided

b) I'm pretty sure that's not the original structure

When the suspension rail was build, Wuppertal was one centre of the German steel production, so steel was available. I don't know how much of the original structure survived World War 2 but it should be more or less original from the original construction. But I'm kinda curious now. I will ask the WSW for a comment.

Some of the buildings adjoining it are the same.

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