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00:01Trains. I've always loved them. Big, small, steam, diesel.
00:07Where did that love come from?
00:10When I was six years old, I stood on this very spot.
00:13And what I saw that day, I'd never forgotten.
00:16It made me the envy of every boy in school.
00:19Because coming across that bridge was a train.
00:22And that train was being driven by my dad.
00:26Ever since then, I've always wanted to get the view he had.
00:30The one that no-one else gets. The driver's view.
00:35So I'm off on a train lover's odyssey.
00:42Riding the footplates of Britain and Europe.
00:45Oh, that's great.
00:47When you were growing up, did you always want to be an engine driver?
00:51Yes, it's a dream when I was a child.
00:54Some will be huge.
00:57Some of that went in.
00:58Others, a little more modest.
01:00I'll meet some wonderful people dedicated to this majestic form of transport.
01:09Already I'm beginning to feel like a train driver.
01:12And have fun off the train too, along some of the world's most beautiful lines.
01:17Well, I wasn't expecting to be doing this.
01:19Join me for a ride with a viewpoint that only an engine driver gets.
01:32This time, I'll be travelling on trains in a part of Europe that was cut off from the west for
01:37nearly three decades.
01:39Eastern Germany.
01:41I'll be overground and underground as I explore the depths of a 500-year-old mine.
01:49I can feel it means the temperature has dropped dramatically.
01:54I feel the wind in my hair in a strange little vehicle that I am assured is allowed on the
01:59tracks.
02:00This is a car?
02:02No.
02:02It's a railway car.
02:04And in Dresden, I take control of a 40-tonne tram.
02:08This is very enjoyable, Oliver. Thank you so much for the opportunity to do this.
02:12Before relaxing on a cruise.
02:19I wasn't expecting that.
02:24My journey begins here, in Meiselwitz, on the edge of the Ore Mountains in Saxony.
02:31For hundreds of years, this region was the source of much of Germany's wealth.
02:41People talk enthusiastically about the romance of the railways.
02:45Well, you won't find much of that round here.
02:48It's hard to believe now, but this was once the heart of a rich, vibrant industry.
02:54And that industry was coal mining.
02:56Millions of tonnes of it were shifted down the lines, pulled by weird locomotives like this.
03:02An EL-3 nicknamed the Crocodile.
03:08Ah, good morning.
03:10Hello.
03:11Hello.
03:12Stefan?
03:12Stefan.
03:14Winnie, Winnie.
03:15Ah, good morning.
03:17It might look a bit odd, but the EL-3 and her big sister, the EL-2, are an East
03:23German success story.
03:25Dating from the 1950s, they were exported across the Eastern Bloc, especially to China.
03:39First impressions, this is a rather unusual engine. I've not been in one like this before.
03:43None of the controls are familiar from the other engines I've been in, so I'm interested to see how it
03:48all works.
03:51I'll be starting my first ride on the Kull Railway at Meuselwitz, travelling towards a place that became really famous
03:58after the end of the Second World War.
04:00The Prisoner of War camp, Kolditz.
04:04From there, I'll travel in an iconic track inspection vehicle, before catching the main line to Fraunau, for a trip
04:12deep into the heart of the Orr Mountains.
04:19Coming back up for a bit of daylight, I'll stop off at Kipsdorf to chuff onto Dresden, where I'll be
04:25touring the city by tram,
04:27before finally conquering my fear of heights on a suspension railway.
04:47What is the purpose of this giant wheel? What does this do?
04:50This is the controller. This is the controller. I'll give it free for the engine motors.
04:57I've been in other non-steamed out locomotives, and usually when they adjust the speed, it's like a little lever
05:04or a knob.
05:05Here is this giant wheel, which is very impressive, even though Bitsfair covered in gaffer tape, and quite mind-boggling.
05:13This wheel is so huge, it doesn't need to be that big, but maybe in East Germany, you're always judged
05:19by the size of your wheels.
05:21And they certainly would win the top prize in any...how thick is the wheel that controls the speed on your
05:27locomotive competition?
05:30The EL series was built by L.E.W. Hennigsdorf, a prominent engineering firm in eastern Germany.
05:38With top speeds of around 40 miles per hour, these locos were all about grunt.
05:44Four traction motors powered from overhead lines, delivering up to 1,300 kilowatts of motive power.
05:52Ours is the EL-3, the smaller narrow-gate version, built to run on the 900 millimetre tracks of the
06:00old Meiselwitz coal line.
06:02But looking out the window, I can't help spotting this line has something missing.
06:08I notice that you have pantographs above, but no overhead wire. How is the engine powered there?
06:14Here we have a transportable generator from the EKW connector, built on an ice-bahn connector.
06:26And this provides a block with straw.
06:30With scrap copper worth a small fortune, the overhead lines were the first things to go when the line closed.
06:36Hence the 500 kilowatt generator.
06:42And I could be wrong, but it looks like something else has been taken away.
06:52In the absence of a level crossing, Vinnie has to jump out with a red flag and stop the traffic
06:56as we've just seen.
06:58You wouldn't get away with its level of non-existent health and safety on the 837 to Leeds.
07:04But this line is in what used to be the German Democratic Republic, known as the GDR.
07:13What is the length of the line? 16 kilometre.
07:1716 kilometres.
07:18Yeah.
07:22It does feel a bit like being on a U-boat.
07:24It could easily be a periscope here, I suppose, couldn't it?
07:45Following the collapse of East Germany in 1990, the mines soon closed.
07:50Back then, the East had 4,000 miles of track and over 28,000 locomotives running on them.
07:58Now, more than half of them are gone, so it won't be possible to continue my journey by train.
08:05This is literally the end of the line.
08:08As you can see, long since abandoned, but it used to bring people to a place that inspired a book,
08:14a film, a television series, and even a board game.
08:19Colditz.
08:22Roughly 50 miles from Moiselwitz, Colditz Castle is nestled in scenic countryside overlooking a beautiful river.
08:36The castle's origins are believed to date back to the 14th century.
08:46Hi, Paul. Welcome to Colditz.
08:48Thank you very much indeed.
08:49That's a rather chilling phrase, isn't it? Welcome to Colditz Castle.
08:53I'm meeting historian and guide Colette Lewis, who is going to show me around.
08:58How many steps are there?
09:00120.
09:01Oh, can I take the lift?
09:03Well, if you find one, you sure can do.
09:08During World War II, Colditz became infamous.
09:13It was a prisoner of war camp for Allied officers, who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps.
09:20Many of whom arrived via the old Colditz railway station.
09:25It looks a lot smarter now, and it seems to have had the five-star treatment, which is just as
09:31well as these days it doubles as a museum and youth hostel.
09:36I think I'd try and escape just to avoid going up these stairs again.
09:39But let's continue.
09:43Colette has taken me up to the castle attic, where, in 1944, prisoners Bill Goldfinch and Jack Best planned the
09:51most audacious escape imaginable.
09:53Well, almost there.
09:55Almost there.
09:55Oh, yeah.
09:56I just hope we can find our way out again.
10:05Wow.
10:07It's quite a marvel, isn't it?
10:08That is extraordinary.
10:10This is an actual model of the real-size glider that was built.
10:15Yeah, just like Jack Best and Bill Goldfinch built theirs.
10:20Goldfinch had been sent to Colditz after escaping from another camp with his friend Jack Best.
10:26With the help of around 50 other prisoners, they built the glider using a book on aircraft design that the
10:33Germans had foolishly left in the prison library.
10:42Where does that material come from, that sort of Czech material?
10:45Is that like tablecloths?
10:46Well, that's their bedsheets.
10:47Bedsheets?
10:47They would have used their blue and white checkered bedsheets, and they used porridge made from millet to make it
10:53airtight.
10:54What stage did it get to of completion?
10:56Had it been nearly completed?
10:58The glider was complete.
11:00The plan was to tear down this wall and use the tables from the course to make a railway.
11:07Uh-huh.
11:08To make a platform.
11:09Oh, like a runway?
11:10Yeah, like a runway.
11:12Uh-huh.
11:12And by tying a bathtub filled with rubble at the front of the glider and kicking that from the roof,
11:19they would have had enough momentum to have launch speed.
11:23This is so extraordinary that if they had succeeded, this surely would go down as the most extraordinary escape in
11:30the history of human civilization.
11:34The glider was ready to go, and nicknamed the Kolditz Kopf.
11:39But in April 1945, the camp was liberated by the Americans, so ultimately, their glider never flew.
11:46Do we know whether it would have worked?
11:49It would have worked.
11:50In 2012, there was a scientist group from UK that built the glider with the exact model and shot it
11:59from a roof.
12:00From here?
12:01Yeah, from here.
12:02Well, I've heard about it, you know, over the years, but to be here in the actual location, looking at
12:07a full-size scale replica of it is, uh, it's really quite moving.
12:13It's extraordinary.
12:15Should we give it a try? Would you pilot?
12:17Let me just say this, I've never crashed in a glider.
12:19Well, me neither.
12:21There, we are. What could go wrong?
12:24Luckily, they've left the gate open downstairs, so 120 steps later, I'm a free man, heading for my next train.
12:32I say train, but is it?
12:35It's yellow, and it's a car.
12:46I'm continuing my trip across Germany, where, after quite literally running out of track, I managed to escape the nearby
12:53Kalditz Castle.
12:56I think I'd try and escape just to avoid going up these stairs again.
12:59Although the train tracks at Kalditz are long since gone, you can still follow their original route east, ending up
13:07in the little town of Rocklitz, where the line has survived.
13:15While their fellow countrymen in West Germany were making Volkswagen Beetles, here in the east, they were producing something equally
13:23iconic.
13:26I'm waiting here for Thomas, not the tank engine, the driver, who's going to be picking me up in something
13:32rather unusual.
13:35What is that?
13:37It's yellow.
13:40And it's a car.
13:44Looks like Noddy has turned up.
13:47Ah, hello, this is a car.
13:50No, it's a railway car.
13:52A railway car.
13:54OK, thank you.
13:55Well, this is truly a unique experience.
14:01Door closed, OK.
14:03So you have a clutch accelerator gears.
14:08Right, OK.
14:09Wow.
14:11Let's go.
14:12OK, fantastic.
14:13I'll take my hat off, we'll blow away.
14:17Brilliant.
14:18No steering wheel.
14:21Wow.
14:24Ah, wunderbar.
14:30Underneath, it's essentially a Trabant, East Germany's most famous car.
14:36Almost four million were built between 1947 and 1991.
14:44Crudely manufactured and with almost no upgrades in 34 years, the Trabant was one of the few cars you could
14:51buy in East Germany.
14:52But even then, you could wait up to 20 years to get one.
14:56Imagine the disappointment when you finally unwrapped your present.
15:08Was this originally a car on the road?
15:12No.
15:12No.
15:13It's most constructed for the railway inspection.
15:17Oh, inspecting the line.
15:19Yes.
15:19Aha, I see.
15:22Known as Sheen and Trabi, about 100 were built using the 500cc engine and drivetrain of the Trabant.
15:29They ferried engineers up and down the East German railways until the late 1980s.
15:38You can do this.
15:40Er, this one?
15:41Light?
15:42The light.
15:45Signal hold.
15:46Signal hold.
15:47Signal hold.
15:48Signal hold.
15:49Just like the horn of a car.
15:51What is the speed of this?
15:53Normal speed with tourists is 20 kilometres per hour.
15:57Top speed is 50 kilometres per hour.
16:0050.
16:00That's fast.
16:03Worryingly, this is not a heritage line and is still used by the occasional freight train.
16:11It's an extraordinary experience because, er, to all intents and purposes, well, you are, you're sitting in a car.
16:18But you're sitting in a car that's on a railway track and is stopping just here because there is a
16:22cross it,
16:23where other cars will come across.
16:24Although, bizarrely, ideally, it should be a train that runs across there.
16:28That would be a perfect image to complete the surreal experience I'm currently having.
16:44Here is the Silver Valley.
16:46The Silver Valley, aha.
16:48And you should see the river Mulder.
16:52Aha.
16:54And you can see the bridge for Kürren.
16:57It is the highest bridge in this area.
17:00How high?
17:0268 metres.
17:03Aha.
17:04You can see two years.
17:06This side?
17:07Yes.
17:081869.
17:09It was beginning.
17:10Yeah.
17:11And 1872 opened the line.
17:17Wow.
17:17That's in just three years this was built.
17:20What?
17:20The complete line.
17:22This is where we end?
17:24This is the end of this road.
17:28Ah.
17:29I get out here?
17:30Yes.
17:31Thomas, thank you very much indeed.
17:33I really enjoyed that.
17:36Well, that was absolutely wonderful.
17:38I thoroughly enjoyed that.
17:39We've had a truly unique experience.
17:44As we are on a schedule, it's time to jump onto the main line.
17:51My little noddy car has dropped me off at Nasdorf, where I'm taking the main line to Chemnitz for a
17:58connection.
18:01The only problem is I am running a little late.
18:07If people insist on running trains on time, this is exactly the sort of thing that's going to happen.
18:12You're two minutes late and the train's just gone.
18:15Oh.
18:17Well, I've got about an hour to kill.
18:20Somewhere I can get a coffee.
18:23Several cappuccinos later, I continue on to Fraunow.
18:32500 years ago, silver was discovered here and would soon be mined on an industrial scale.
18:40This is an extraordinary building. What is this place?
18:44Oh, this is a very old hammer mill.
18:46A hammer mill?
18:47It goes back to the 15th century, when it was mentioned first as a quarter mill.
18:51The purpose was to forge tools for mining and for agriculture.
18:57Right. And what was the material that was being mined?
19:00Silver. It was the main ore we had here in our region.
19:06And this silver made Saxony rich.
19:09Silver was first discovered in 1491.
19:13Well, I recognize this as being a sort of forge from my metal work days at school,
19:18but I don't know what this machine is over here.
19:21That looks really...
19:21These are our three tilt hammers.
19:24Uh-huh.
19:24Well, and here with these hammers, they're produced tools for especially mining.
19:32Showles, hammers, and something like that.
19:36The power comes from this water wheel.
19:40Well, there are poles on the drive shell.
19:42Uh-huh.
19:42And the poles made the hammer dropping.
19:45Right.
19:48Oh, yes, I see.
19:49So, this is hitting the end of the hammer there, pushing the hammer down.
19:53Yeah.
19:54And I then turned into that.
19:55Wow.
19:56And it's rubbing onto the end wood.
19:59It's very ingenious.
20:01This is the power of nature.
20:03Yes, indeed the power of nature.
20:04Yes.
20:05And this is the method for how they made the tools to mine the silver that made this area extremely
20:11rich.
20:12And it all starts with just this very simple but very effective piece of machinery.
20:16You're absolutely right.
20:18Yes, you've made me an expert.
20:20Yeah.
20:30The silver mine itself is just a three minute walk up the road.
20:37I'm heading into here, 600 metres into the mountainside.
20:42But, given the theme of this programme, I'm not walking.
20:45Oh, no.
20:46I'm going by train.
20:50My driver and tour guide will be René, who hopefully knows the way back again.
20:58Hey, Paul.
20:59Nice to meet you.
21:00Pleased to meet you.
21:00Yeah.
21:01Hey, madame.
21:01Oh, okay.
21:02Go on the train.
21:03Right.
21:04We have to hurry up.
21:05Time is money.
21:06Hurry up.
21:06Okay.
21:07Let me see if I can get into this.
21:08Oh, yeah.
21:09I see.
21:09Okay.
21:10It's a bit tight, eh?
21:11It is a bit.
21:11Yeah, I can't.
21:12I'll have to sort of crouch down a bit like that, I think.
21:14Yeah, that's all right.
21:15Okay, that's fine.
21:16Then enjoy.
21:16I will.
21:17I will.
21:17I will.
21:19As much as I can in this very tight engine.
21:22Now, although I'm at the front, it gives the illusion that I'm driving, but René is
21:27going to be actually driving from the back because for all kinds of safety reasons.
21:31It's not the most luxurious of passenger positions.
21:36Off we go.
21:38Oh, I have to say, it is pretty uncomfortable in here.
21:42I think I might be wearing this hard hat, not necessarily because of the danger in the
21:46tunnel, but just because the roof of this cabin is right above my head.
21:51And here we go now into the tunnel.
21:55That bell there is the sort of bell you can hear when you go into a ghost train in a
21:58fairground.
21:59It immediately has that sort of feel of it.
22:01And the other thing I can feel immediately is the temperature has dropped dramatically.
22:07Just looking ahead, there is a light on the front of this engine.
22:11It's not particularly efficient or effective.
22:14If I'm having trouble looking ahead, it's nothing compared to René, who's driving this
22:19train from about 100 feet behind me.
22:25Oh, it's opening a little bit wider now.
22:27It's a lot lighter now.
22:35Can I get out here?
22:36Come on, I'll show you the big cave.
22:38OK, thank you.
22:44The direct to the darkness and the general gloominess is now wet and dark and gloomy, but incredibly atmospheric.
22:54The mine closed in 1953 and is now an underground museum.
23:04It's a pump.
23:05We need water from outside to use the water wheel and to pump up the water out of the tunnel.
23:14Right, wow.
23:15That's a long way down to the water down there, isn't it?
23:17Almost another 250 metres down.
23:19This is a remarkable piece of engineering, considering it was also originally done in the
23:23early part of the 19th century.
23:25The wheel's main purpose was to help remove the water that accumulated in the deep shafts
23:31hundreds of feet below us.
23:34What's even more impressive is that all this was chiselled out by hand, using tools made
23:40in the hammer mill.
23:42You can see it here on the...
23:44Oh, right, yes, that sort of line there.
23:45Yeah, that's what they did by hand.
23:47Right, wow.
23:49Hard work.
23:50It is...
23:51It's quite...
23:52It's quite tight in here, isn't it?
23:54Yeah, but it's...
23:55It's made now for us.
23:56Uh-huh.
23:57In the past it was...
23:58It was low.
23:59Was it?
24:00Lower than this?
24:01Yes.
24:01They lived actually in the mountain.
24:03No daylight, no vitamins, so they started with around 12 years.
24:08It didn't become really tall.
24:09They didn't grow tall because they didn't have the proper...
24:12Good food and no sunlight.
24:13Yes.
24:14Right, wow.
24:15Whoa.
24:16Bit of an echo.
24:17You want to see how it looks with just the candle?
24:21Magic.
24:22Oh.
24:22That's the light.
24:24Right, yeah.
24:24But it isn't that much light.
24:26No, not at all.
24:28In the first five years of the mine's operation, 15 tonnes of silver ore was extracted.
24:35But during the 1950s, miners attempted to extract something else entirely, thankfully with little
24:41success.
24:42After the Second World War, Germany lost the World War, the Russians came in and they were
24:47looking for uranium.
24:49Uranium, right, so that's a key ingredient in the making of atom bombs.
24:54I'm glad there's no uranium here, otherwise I'd start glowing in the dark, which at least
25:00would help me find my way out.
25:08Here we are, back in the beautiful sunshine, and on to my next adventure.
25:15And for that, I'll be transported by both steam and electricity.
25:31My journey through eastern Germany has taken me to Kolditz, by way of an old mining loco,
25:38and on to Rocklitz by, well, this.
25:44Brilliant.
25:45No steering wheel.
25:48Wow.
25:48I then took the main line to Fraunau for a spot of tool making and searched the mines
25:54for silver.
25:57I'm now heading back on myself, through Chemnitz and up to Kipsdorf for my first taste of German
26:04steam.
26:15Wow, this is a powerful looking machine, isn't it?
26:19A real beast and a half, even before it's moving, you just have a real sense of the sheer power
26:25of these things.
26:27They are really sort of quite something.
26:29There's some very long words here in German.
26:31I think the German language must have been invented when letters were very plentiful.
26:36Oh, hello.
26:37Is it OK if I come on board?
26:38Yes.
26:39Good work.
26:39This class 99 locomotive is the pride of the Weiseritz Valley Railway.
26:45It's a narrow gauge line built in 1882 that drops over 1,000 feet on its 16-mile journey down
26:53to the main line of Brightale.
27:03Do you know when this engine was built?
27:081928.
27:09Ah, so nearly 100 years old.
27:11Yes.
27:19What is that?
27:21Is this like a thing for there?
27:22Little people.
27:24Little people.
27:25Ah.
27:26It's for little people.
27:28Now we're getting somewhere.
27:29When little people come on board, they stand on that so they can open up that.
27:40I've been on many steam trains before, but there seems to be many more controls and dials and wheels on
27:48this one.
27:48Yeah.
27:49In principle is it so in Germany.
27:52Links is the Heizer.
27:54And rechts is the Lockführer.
27:57And everyone has about the same thing to use as the number of hand brakes.
28:01Here's the gas pedal, the damp regulator.
28:04And then various hand brakes for the use of the air pump.
28:20Eric, for very good reasons, it is more comfortable speaking German than English. He doesn't know much English.
28:27I can pretend to understand him
28:29but I will only really know what he says
28:30once I see this go out
28:31and I can read the translation underneath
28:35Ah, whistle because of crossing
28:43Ah, thank you
28:49Oh, it's too big
28:51Too big
28:53It shows you, you have to be very clever
28:55to be a train driver
28:56Big brain
28:59Can I blow the whistle at some point?
29:02The, uh, woo-hoo-hoo
29:04Yes
29:04Yeah, although we can't communicate by language
29:06we can probably communicate by whistle
29:08so this is good
29:11The problem that we had on board
29:13with myself talking to Erring
29:15we've discovered a way of making this work
29:17We've found a person who can speak German
29:19Isn't that right? You can speak German?
29:20Yep, I can speak German
29:22She can speak German, okay
29:23So, Erring, I ask you a question
29:25She will translate
29:27Okay
29:27Okay
29:27Do you have a preference
29:29for German steam engines
29:32or British steam engines?
29:34I've never seen it in England
29:36Yes, it would be interesting to see it
29:39But the optics
29:41is more than the German technique
29:45Problem is
29:46it's so noisy in here
29:47we've even had to subtitle our translator
29:57So it's back to plan A
29:59communicating by whistle
30:01Five measures
30:02Okay, now?
30:03Yes
30:09Okay
30:10Thank you
30:11Good
30:19Now that's a perfect example of advanced German technology
30:22They've got a bigger shovel
30:29After an hour of totally failing to communicate with the driver
30:33Whistling only gets you so far
30:35We've pulled into Freytown
30:37where the line ends
30:40Thank you, Erring
30:40Wonderful experience
30:42Thank you
30:42Yes
30:42Wunderbar
30:43Thank you
30:44Thank you very much
30:44Thank you
30:45Cool
30:45Thank you, sir
30:46Thank you, sir
30:47Oh, it's hot
30:48I'll get out now
30:49Let me just see if I can
30:50Oh, thank you
30:53Dankeschön
30:53Get off carefully
30:55Go off in safety
30:56At all times
30:57I don't know which way
30:59I'll just ride
31:01From here
31:02I can take the main line
31:03to my final destination
31:05It's nice to be back out in the open fresh air after that
31:08Well, on a hot day
31:11In the footplate of a very hot train
31:14Wearing a jumper
31:15adds up to only one thing
31:18Warmish
31:20Definitely warmish
31:21So it's good to just feel a bit of a gentle cool breeze
31:25As we wait for the train to take us to Dresden
31:29After the heat and noise of the steam loco
31:32My next ride could not be more different
31:38Thank you
31:41Ah, Marcus
31:41Hello there
31:43Hi, oh, thank you
31:43Thank you very much
31:44This is, uh
31:45Oh, my, this is very modern
31:47Wonderful
31:48We've just been on a steam engine
31:511928
31:52We're very romantic
31:53But it doesn't have the comfort of this
31:56And where you are now
31:57It's clean environment
31:58This chair must be very comfortable
32:01Uh, yes
32:02It's very comfortable
32:03Oh, look
32:04Yes
32:06This is an Alstom Karadia Continental
32:10An electric locomotive with a capacity of 248 seated passengers
32:15We'll be whizzing along the RB30 line to Dresden
32:20And what would be his top speed
32:22The top speed may be 160 kilometres
32:25Wow
32:26That's fast
32:27That's good
32:29These high-tech units have operated on the line since 2016
32:34And the driver's cab couldn't be more comfortable
32:39I'm just looking at this here
32:40Is this a sort of a blind that goes up and down?
32:43Yes
32:44Right, I mean
32:44That's because I can take it up
32:46Look at that
32:48We don't have any sun in front of us
32:50No
32:51And there's another back
32:53Train coming towards us
32:54And I take little greetings to my colleague in the recturing
32:58Uh-huh
32:59Oh, yes, a little flash of lights
33:01Flashing back
33:01Yes
33:02I mean, this is really lovely
33:08Yeah
33:08It is very, very good
33:10But you have always to concentrate you on the lines
33:13Yes
33:13On the signals
33:14Yes
33:14It's very important
33:16I mean, this is the most extraordinary view, isn't it?
33:18It's sort of like
33:18It's beautiful
33:19Isn't it?
33:20Beautiful to see
33:21I would call this the best seat in the house
33:23Because this is the best chair in the house
33:25This is the best chair on the train
33:26Yes
33:26It's the most comfortable
33:27Yeah
33:30I mean, I love the way it just as smoothly comes to a stop
33:33Because are we in Dresden now?
33:34Yes
33:36And brake
33:36Brilliant
33:38Well done
33:39Fantastic
33:41Well, that was an incredibly refreshing experience
33:44A modern train
33:45Oh, wonderful
33:45I got off more relaxed than what I'd got on
33:48And here we are in Dresden
33:50So, can't wait to see the city
33:55The city will provide a great end to my journey
33:58With trips by land
34:01River
34:03And air
34:14I'm on the final leg of my journey through eastern Germany
34:20I'm on the final leg of my journey through eastern Germany
34:21Travelling in something old
34:23Something new
34:24And something yellow
34:27Having taken the main line from Freitall
34:30I have now arrived in Dresden
34:32A city that is both old and new
34:36What a beautiful station this is
34:38Wonderful
34:41Look at that
34:42It's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?
34:44Lifts the spirits when you see a building like this
34:48Dresden was heavily bombed during World War II
34:51In February 1945, across three days and nights
34:56Allied bombers dropped almost 4,000 tonnes of high explosives on the city
35:02This resulted in a firestorm that killed up to 25,000 people
35:06Most of whom were civilians
35:15Hey, Paul, nice to meet you
35:16Hello, I'm very pleased to meet you as well
35:18I'm looking forward to this tour of Dresden
35:20Yes, let's go inside
35:22Yes, please, thank you
35:27The electric tram system in Dresden was first operational in 1893
35:32It was badly damaged in the war
35:34But was modernised and upgraded in the decades that followed
35:37Good
35:40Local guide Annette is going to tell me all about it
35:43Oh, here we go
35:44Let's go
35:45And what better way to see the city than by tram?
35:49Is it a modern tram line?
35:51Was it built after the war?
35:53Or was it pre-war?
35:54After the war
35:55In the war
35:56In the Second World War
35:59Many tram lines were destroyed
36:03Right
36:03But we started
36:05And it was one of our main points
36:08To reconstruct the transport
36:10The public transport system
36:11By hearing it was all destroyed
36:14In the centre of the city
36:16Yes
36:16In February 1945
36:17And the centre of the city was destroyed
36:21Over 80%
36:22All buildings
36:23What I would like to show you now
36:25Are reconstructed after the Second World War
36:28Or built completely new
36:30Pre-war, Dresden was renowned for being a beautiful medieval city
36:35So beautiful that rather than reconstructing it in cold concrete blocks
36:39Like so much of the GDR
36:41Here they decided to restore at least some of it to its former glory
36:46Look on the right side
36:47This is one of the first buildings
36:51What we thought was reconstructed
36:53Right, yes
36:53And we start in May 25
36:55And it was finished in the 1960s
36:59So it's an exact replica
37:00Yes, yes, it is
37:02And here you see our main square
37:04And here you see the square with the castle on the left
37:08And here the Catholic Cathedral
37:11This is original or this is...
37:14This is original
37:14All reconstructed
37:15This is reconstructed
37:16All buildings what you can see here
37:18Are reconstructed after the Second World War
37:21After World War II
37:23Germany was divided into East and West
37:26The East became the German Democratic Republic
37:29Or GDR
37:30A one-party dictatorship
37:32In which everyone lived under constant surveillance
37:35Until the regime collapsed in 1989
37:40Were you born in East Germany?
37:42Yes, I was born in the year of Paris 7
37:45So you remember the Berlin Wall coming down?
37:48Yes, I was 15
37:49As a Berlin Wall broke down
37:52I was educated in GDR
37:54But I graduated in West Germany
37:56What were your parents' reactions?
37:59I asked my mother
38:00And she says
38:01The problem was at the end of the GDR
38:04Yes
38:05We are not free
38:07We have a big-sized secret service
38:10You can't talk free on your table
38:15Even at home around the dinner table
38:17This was also the same one in school
38:21Yes?
38:21Teachers asked me
38:22What do you talk about the table?
38:25Oh
38:25Or so, yeah
38:27For almost 45 years
38:29The people of East Germany
38:31Lived in fear of its secret police
38:33The Stasi
38:35In 1989
38:36The Berlin Wall was torn down
38:38And a year later
38:39East and West Germany
38:41Were unified
38:44So that must have been a very exciting time
38:46When the Berlin Wall came down
38:48Yeah, it was
38:49It was so unbelievable
38:50Our one night you were free
38:53Yes
38:53So you can make your own decisions
38:56For your life
39:05Oh, do you want to have a try?
39:07Oh, yes, please
39:11Driving 40 tonnes of tram
39:13In a crowded city
39:14Is a bit daunting
39:16And you're a good instructor, are you?
39:18I hope so
39:19Well, I hope so too
39:20Everybody hopes so
39:22Okay, so what do I need to do?
39:24But I can't resist having a go
39:28Drum with the stick
39:30Uh-huh
39:30On the top
39:31You turn it to right
39:33Yes
39:33Before you try
39:35I see, okay
39:37And to you
39:39To reverse
39:40Oh, to break
39:41Okay, fine
39:41Turn
39:42You can start
39:43And push
39:44Not too much
39:46Not too much
39:46Okay, just to there
39:48Oh
39:49This is
39:50The tram
39:51This is a good speed
39:53Yes
39:54A little bit
39:55Yes
39:56Okay
39:58These Flexity Classic trams
40:00Were first produced in 2003
40:02And have a top speed
40:04Of around 50 miles an hour
40:05But I will keep it slow
40:08As this is my first time
40:12This is
40:13This is very enjoyable
40:14Oliver
40:14Thank you so much
40:15For the opportunity
40:16To do this
40:17Yeah
40:17This is great
40:21And we stop
40:22On this traffic line
40:24Okay
40:26There are about
40:27120 miles
40:29Of tram line
40:30In Dresden
40:30And I'm pleased
40:31That I got to drive
40:32At least a mile
40:33Of it
40:38Oh, thank you
40:39That was an absolutely
40:40Wonderful experience
40:41Thank you so much
40:42For that
40:42Thank you
40:43Bye
40:44Bye
40:44Wow
40:50Trams aren't the only way
40:51To get to see
40:51This magnificent city
40:53A fleet of nine
40:54Paddle steamers
40:55Has been transporting
40:56People on the river
40:57Elba
40:58Since the 1890s
41:06This is known
41:07As the Blue Bridge
41:07The Nazis destroyed
41:09Every bridge in Dresden
41:10To stop the Russian advance
41:11Apart from this one
41:12Dynamite was laid underneath it
41:14But a couple of locals
41:15Managed to get under the bridge
41:16Cut the wires
41:17And the bridge
41:17Was never blown up
41:18And it was across this bridge
41:19That the Russians advanced
41:20So this is a very famous bridge
41:22In Dresden
41:27Many medieval buildings
41:28Were reconstructed
41:29After the war
41:30To resemble exactly
41:31What they looked like before
41:32But some new buildings
41:34Were put up
41:34As you can see
41:35This rather sort of like
41:37Grey concrete
41:38Blocky kind of buildings
41:40Without much personality
41:41To them
41:42You can't imagine really
41:44That if these ever got destroyed
41:45For some reason
41:45That anyone would bother
41:46Rebuilding them
41:47But that was a style
41:48Of architecture
41:49That was very popular
41:50For a while
41:51Mainly with architects
41:53As much as I love
41:55Travelling by train
41:56Gliding along the Elba
41:58Does offer a special
42:00Kind of tranquillity
42:01This is a beautiful way
42:04To see a city
42:04It's very leisurely
42:05It's very relaxed
42:06Sailing gently down
42:08A very wide river
42:09And you can get the chance
42:11To sort of take in
42:12The landscape
42:13Take in the views
42:15See another
42:17Steam paddle
42:18Even going around
42:26I wasn't expecting that
42:29They should warn you
42:32Blimey
42:35I think I reacted
42:36In a calm way
42:38Now I know it's there
42:39I should be very wary
42:40Of it
42:41But
42:42Yeah
42:43That was a bit much
42:44Sorry about that
42:45I've never been heckled
42:46By a boat before
42:50It's a lovely view
42:51It's a great view
42:52That you have
42:53Not quite the same
42:53As being in a driver's cab
42:55Though
42:55It's lovely
42:57But it's
42:58It's perhaps
42:58Slightly too watery
42:59You haven't got that image
43:01Of the tracks disappearing
43:03Around the corner
43:04There is another
43:06Steamboat coming towards us now
43:08And I suspect
43:09That that will do a little
43:10Sort of whoop noise
43:12And our captain here
43:14Will also do a whoop noise
43:15But now that I'm expecting it
43:17I won't be
43:19So shocked
43:21Frightened
43:22Terrified
43:23As I was earlier
43:31My final trip
43:32Is on Dresden's
43:33Overhead
43:34Funicular railway
43:35Operating from 1901
43:37It was designed
43:38By Carl Ergen Langan
43:40Who for all you
43:41Fact finders out there
43:42Was the man
43:43Who helped invent
43:44The petrol engine
43:45And sugar cubes
43:48This is what the Germans
43:50Call a suspension railway
43:51And it's going to take me
43:52All the way up to the top
43:53Where I'll get some
43:53Marvellous aerial views
43:55Of Dresden
43:56I'm not great with heights
43:57But I think
43:59I'm sure it looks very safe
44:00So I'm sure it is safe
44:02This is the world's
44:03Oldest suspension railway
44:04With a route that spans
44:06Approximately 300 yards
44:09Ah
44:10Wonderful
44:10Well the view's already great
44:13It's a very
44:14It's a very slow start
44:15But it is going uphill
44:17After all
44:18Oh hang on
44:19We seem to be running out of track
44:20In fact we are running out of track
44:25Oh I see
44:26Yeah it's more of a cable car
44:29Than I realised
44:31That was a bit of a worry
44:32When I saw the track disappear
44:34As you may have noticed
44:36From my slight panic
44:37It combines two transport systems
44:39Known as a suspended
44:41Funicular railway
44:42It's funicular because
44:44It uses a cable system
44:45To ascend
44:46But it's a suspension railway
44:48Because of how the cars are hung
44:50Using an overhead track
44:52On a single rail
44:56Right okay
44:57That was a bit of a worry
44:59At first
44:59The cars are pulled along the track
45:01Using a cable powered by electric motors
45:08Sounds like the public information announcement
45:11Is informing the public
45:13All the way up to the top
45:14On this particular trip
45:17I'm sure what he's saying
45:17Is very important
45:22I thought we'd stop for a minute
45:23He was just pausing
45:24Just to turn over the page
45:26It'd be funny if I turned around
45:28There was a bloke behind me
45:28Just sitting there with a megaphone
45:30Just talking right into it
45:31Right behind me
45:31I don't like heights
45:33But because it's all so enclosed
45:34And because we were going up
45:36At the track
45:36And you aren't really aware
45:38Of how high up you are
45:39I suppose once I get out there
45:40I'll see
45:53What a wonderful view
45:55To end my journey
45:56A beautiful city
45:57In a country reborn
45:59I've met a lot of people
46:01On this trip
46:01From different backgrounds
46:03But so many of us
46:04Share a common passion
46:05Be it overland
46:07Underground
46:08Electric or steam
46:10We all love trains
46:13See you next time
46:14If you see you next time
46:27In Lizard
46:27And you shouldinnen
46:28The main bus
46:28And again
46:28That's what it might be
46:34I'll see
46:34But then I'll be
46:36And then
46:43In Lizard
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