Hey! You ready for the ride of your life? You'll climb on board the first, the fastest,
and the most luxurious trains out there. Along the way, you'll find out why trains
can't go uphill and how some go without wheels! But are you sure you’re ready? We’ll board a couple of ghost trains! We begin in 16th-century Europe. Doesn’t feel like you’re riding a train,
huh? That’s because you’re on its prototype. It’s a trolley that moves on wooden blocks
instead of a railway. You won't be on it for long since it was built
to transport goods between a village and a mine. Horses and people were used instead of an
engine. Later, they started connecting trolleys with
each other for greater efficiency. You arrive in the nearest village on this
locomotive ancestor and… You're in the 19th century now! You take the first steam engine train. Thick sooty smoke pours from it. A muscular stocker is working in a special
compartment – he throws coal into the engine. You ride at a measly speed of about 30 mph. (Measly compared to our next stop, anyway!) If it's hot outside, then inside it becomes
simply unbearable. Air conditioners haven't been invented yet. Fortunately, you ride through a time tunnel
and find yourself in present-day Shanghai. You transfer to a comfortable modern train,
and it’s one of the fastest types in existence – Maglev. And, yes, we have AC now! You're sitting on a soft chair as the train
travels so quietly and smoothly that you wouldn’t even know you’re currently moving about
268 mph. But this isn’t the train’s main feature. It's unique in that it travels without wheels,
but levitates with the help of electromagnetic forces. It doesn't even touch the rails! Take the equal sides of two magnets and try
to press them together. Feel the resistance? That's the power Maglev moves with. And will you look at that – you’re now
in Scotland! You catch a train in the small town of Fort
William. It seems familiar to you, but you can’t
quite recall where you’ve seen this thing before. As you’re passing through picturesque meadows
along the high Glenfinnan Viaduct, you realize that you’re chugging along on the real Hogwarts
Express! No time to go to magic school, though. We’ve got many more stops! We’ve arrived in Edinburgh. You go to a special station to catch an equally
special train. You come up to it, and the red carpet is immediately
spread in front of you. "They must’ve confused me with some kind
of superstar?" – you think. Before you board, you’re handed a book with
the descriptions of the places you’ll pass. You hear live music playing in the fashionable
carriage. Attendants offer you drinks and food. You’re admiring the beautiful view from
the window when you notice a bus following the train. A strange sight it is, but it’s there in
case you suddenly want to get off and enjoy a local attraction. And don’t worry about the train leaving
without you – the bus will take you to the next station where this luxurious locomotive
will stop. You're hungry, and fortunately, there are
two restaurants on the train. But you can only dine there in your best evening
wear. In the restaurant, you'll be served local
dishes of the region you’re currently passing through. This train is called the Royal Scotsman. You can ride in it for a whole week, but you
need to get off now… We’re in England, at the railway station
in the small town of Snaith. But it looks…deserted? There are no ticket machines, no ticket offices,
not even taxi parking. Just when you’re starting to think you’re
stuck in a ghost town, the train arrives. You hop inside the car only to realize you’re
the only passenger on board! “It really is a ghost train!” Nah, no mysticism here. Empty trains travel around the UK all the
time. They pass through stations that have long
been abandoned. So, why not close them? Well, for that, a rail company would need
to go through a bunch of expensive bureaucratic procedures, and that doesn’t exactly sound
like a good time. Plus, these ghost trains aren’t bothering
anyone! Kinda cool, in fact! You reach a hill, and now your party of one
must deboard because there’s no more railroad ahead! They can’t just keep laying the line up
the slope – they’d need to cut through the hill. Long and explosive story short, you need to
do everything so that the rails are straight and flat. Because the train can't go uphill, and here’s
why: Tracks and train wheels are steel. There's very little friction between these
smooth steel parts. It's less than between your car’s rubber
tire and the road, in fact! Yet there’s still a firm grip, and the train
can accelerate quickly since its mass is heavy and it lies on a thin rail's area. But as soon as the train rises uphill, its
weight distribution changes, the frictional force weakens, and the wheels begin to spin
in place. It can go up an elevation of only 2°. Or you can increase the train mass, and then
it’ll climb a small hill. But there's another way. You need to put “teeth” on the rails and
wheels so that the train moves like a gear. The highest gear railroad is in Switzerland
– a place known for its mountainous terrain! So, you take this gear train and ride along
one of the most scenic routes in the world. But the beauty of these places is soon shrouded
by a darker tone. You’re heading to Italy in 1911, and you
get on a train of the Zanetti railway company. The train, which isn't destined to reach its
destination, will become the most famous ghost train ever! You and about a hundred other passengers enter
a mountain tunnel in Lombardy…but you don’t make it out the other side! No one saw the train after that. A couple passengers managed to jump out at
the last minute. They said that a thick white fog formed around
the train inside the tunnel. Then the whole thing just disappeared. But records dated 1845 were discovered all
the way over in Mexico City. According to them, about a hundred strangely
dressed Italians appeared out of nowhere in the city. Rumors soon spread that this train didn't
just vanish – it passed through time and space! Ok, fine, it’s likely only an urban legend
given its questionable lack of reliable sources. But I’m just trying to have some fun here! Let’s get back to the real world – Sweden,
to be precise. You, along with 250,000 other daily commuters,
enter the Stockholm Central Station. And this station is extraordinary: it recycles
all those people’s body heat! All that warmth is collected by heat exchangers
in the station’s ventilation system. It then gets converted into hot water, which
is pumped into the heating system of a neighboring building. That’s pretty futuristic and efficient,
but hurry along – our next stop is… Japan. You arrive at the station with pinpoint accuracy. Seriously, the average delay time is under
a minute for the entire year! Ever been so punctual in your life? Me neither! If this train was ever late for some reason,
you can get a special delay certificate at the station that you can present at work as
a valid reason for being tardy. Of course, our train arrives right on time,
we sit inside, and head to… Cambodia. If you love adventure, then you'll appreciate
a ride on the Norry bamboo train. People gather wide bamboo slabs and lay them
on a square frame with wheels. The makeshift train takes you through the
Cambodian jungles along old railway tracks. Such a journey resembles a trip on trolleys
in mining tunnels. The coolest thing is that you can build your
own carriage. Equip it with a motorcycle motor, or you can
simply accelerate using the oars. Locals make such carriages in about 4 days. You get to the next station going a surprising
31 mph. The heat of the jungle is replaced by snow
meadows and alpine mountains. We’re back in Switzerland. You board the Glacier Express. One of the most beautiful routes in the world. There are wagons with panoramic windows showing
breathtaking views of white fields, hills, snowy villages, frozen lakes. A real winter wonderland! And that concludes our journey! Get off my train! Nah, just kidding. No really. Get off now. ha If you learned something new today, then give
the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other cool videos I think
you'll enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
