Wuppertal's Hanging Railway: 125 Years of Flying Through Germany

Wuppertal's Schwebebahn, a suspension railway hanging 26 to 40 feet above the city, has been in operation for over 125 years, opening to the public on March 1, 1901. It is the world's oldest suspension railway, carrying more than 80,000 passengers daily along 8.3 miles of track from Vohwinkel to Oberbarmen, serving 20 stations in about 30 minutes. The train was conceived in the 1880s by engineer Carl Eugen Langen, who died before its construction. It was built to navigate the narrow Wupper Valley, where there was no space for roads or underground tracks. The railway connected the towns of Elberfeld, Barmen, and Vohwinkel, which later merged in 1929 to form Wuppertal. The Schwebebahn has become a cultural symbol, featuring in local folklore such as the story of Tuffi, a baby elephant that fell from a carriage into the river in July 1950 and survived. A bronze statue of Tuffi stands near the town hall. The Kaiserwagen, a royal carriage used by Emperor Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta Viktoria on October 24, 1900, has been renovated and is available for special rides. The Schwebodrom museum, led by managing director Thomas Helbig, is dedicated to the railway's history. Christian Kindinger, head of technology at Wuppertal's transport division, notes the train's revolutionary design. The system is one of few remaining suspension railways, alongside the Dresden Suspension Railway and Japan's Shonan and Chiba monorails.