WEBVTT 00:00.111 --> 00:04.115 [SPEAKER_01]: How many miles of railway tracks do you think there are in the whole world? 00:04.175 --> 00:07.379 [SPEAKER_01]: 100,000 miles, maybe 250,000 miles? 00:07.939 --> 00:16.949 [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, the world's railway network spans more than 800,000 miles with trains proving essential to the economies of almost every country on earth. 00:17.489 --> 00:22.013 [SPEAKER_01]: But the trains riding the rails are getting bigger, longer, and more powerful every year. 00:22.433 --> 00:24.775 [SPEAKER_01]: And some just have to be seen to be believed. 00:25.196 --> 00:33.963 [SPEAKER_01]: From monstrous machines that cross deserts to massive passenger trains that wind up mountains, let's explore some of the largest and longest trains in the world. 00:47.033 --> 00:54.016 [SPEAKER_01]: All right, full steam ahead, starting with train number 3143 from Australian mining company BHP. 00:54.596 --> 01:05.700 [SPEAKER_01]: This freight train was assembled way back in June 2001 to move vast quantities of iron ore and was designed to haul a staggering 682 wagons of the stuff with each 133 feet in length and 11 feet high. 01:07.961 --> 01:28.815 [SPEAKER_01]: In total, the locomotives and wagons alone weighed in at over 100,000 tons, and when fully connected, the entire wagon train measured in at around 4.6 miles long, that's long enough to cartoede 24 Eiffel Towers into N. It was so long that at the time of this recording, it still holds the record for the longest and heaviest train in the world. 01:29.555 --> 01:40.283 [SPEAKER_01]: BHP relied on this train and many others like it to heave away iron ore, however, only the 3143 was capable of hauling over 90,000 tons of it in one journey. 01:40.744 --> 01:54.915 [SPEAKER_01]: The machine carried this payload 171 miles through the Australian Outback from BHP Yandy to Port Headland, but being so heavy it took a painful 10 hours in 4 minutes to do so, with the train traveling at an average speed of just 16 miles per hour. 01:55.455 --> 01:59.659 [SPEAKER_01]: still to move all that weight even at that speed, you need hella horsepower. 02:00.039 --> 02:05.244 [SPEAKER_01]: No, not the kind that goes nay, but the measurement of power produced by an engine to propel a vehicle. 02:05.985 --> 02:08.987 [SPEAKER_01]: The 3143 relied on eight diesel locomotives. 02:09.348 --> 02:19.397 [SPEAKER_01]: These are the engines that power the train along, placed in pairs every 168 to 178 wagons plus one at the rear, which collectively generated some 50,000 horsepower. 02:20.558 --> 02:32.132 [SPEAKER_01]: To put this into context, most cars and trucks run on 180 to 200 horsepower, so it would take roughly 1,250 vehicles to produce the same power the 3143 does. 02:32.732 --> 02:34.074 [SPEAKER_01]: Now that's how you pump iron. 02:34.555 --> 02:40.622 [SPEAKER_01]: We need to head from Australia to America for this next train, which is aptly known as Union Pacific's Big Boy. 02:41.879 --> 02:57.713 [SPEAKER_01]: First delivered way back in 1941, the name was fitting because these titans weighed 600 tons, were 132 feet long and 16 feet tall, and back in the 1940s at this size, these trains were so big, they would have just about squeezed through even the tallest railway tunnels. 02:58.113 --> 03:08.523 [SPEAKER_01]: Running from Ogden, Utah to Cheyenne, Wyoming, they could Heathcargo along at 70 to 80 miles per hour, though laws at the time prohibited them to a not so impressive 55 miles per hour. 03:09.103 --> 03:22.877 [SPEAKER_01]: While the boys may not have been the fastest, they were certainly some of the strongest, with 6,200 horsepower, these shorts and aggers could pull a 3,600 ton train over the Utah and Wyoming mountains at some 40 miles per hour. 03:23.057 --> 03:26.741 [SPEAKER_01]: 25 big boys were constructed and delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. 03:28.042 --> 03:33.345 [SPEAKER_01]: with the last revenue earning run on July 21, 1959, and retirement in 1961. 03:33.625 --> 03:38.568 [SPEAKER_01]: To date, just eight have survived and were donated to museums across the USA. 03:38.949 --> 03:40.510 [SPEAKER_01]: But that's not the end of the tracks. 03:40.870 --> 03:54.078 [SPEAKER_01]: In 2013, one boy, the 401-4 began a multi-year restoration process, and in May 2019, gloriously returned to service to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first Transcontinental Railroad. 03:54.598 --> 03:58.540 [SPEAKER_01]: It's safe to say that America is no stranger to gigantic trains. 03:59.041 --> 04:07.225 [SPEAKER_01]: On average, 84% of U.S. trains are used for freight cargo, with just 16% for passengers, but in Europe it's the opposite. 04:08.066 --> 04:13.569 [SPEAKER_01]: Roughly 80% of trains here prioritize passengers, with just 20% dedicated to freight. 04:14.029 --> 04:18.992 [SPEAKER_01]: As a result, American trains are typically longer and wider than their transatlantic counterparts. 04:19.716 --> 04:30.101 [SPEAKER_01]: American freight trains can dwarf their European passenger counterparts, imagine a Union Pacific freight monster running next to a compact Swiss passenger carriage, and you get the picture. 04:30.681 --> 04:32.302 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's just the start. 04:32.702 --> 04:36.304 [SPEAKER_01]: In January 2010, Union Pacific's test train, the 04:42.307 --> 04:49.493 [SPEAKER_01]: At 18,661 feet it was nearly 3.5 miles long, the longest train ever assembled by Union Pacific. 04:50.754 --> 04:59.882 [SPEAKER_01]: The monster barreled along at 70 miles per hour, linking 295 wagons double stacked with cargo containers, adding up to over 15,000 tons. 05:01.867 --> 05:12.092 [SPEAKER_01]: That's big even for America, but with three locomotives at the head-end, two sets of two in the middle, and two at the end, this power distribution managed the journey seamlessly. 05:12.852 --> 05:16.614 [SPEAKER_01]: However, when the 08 rolled through LA, it caused a shock. 05:17.434 --> 05:24.197 [SPEAKER_01]: Union Pacific had given no prior warning of the train's size, leaving politicians enraged and regulators dumbfounded. 05:24.737 --> 05:27.759 [SPEAKER_01]: At the notion Union Pacific were trying to increase the size 05:29.471 --> 05:34.755 [SPEAKER_01]: You see there's evidence that longer freight trains pose a greater risk of derailment and traffic sniles. 05:35.756 --> 05:45.363 [SPEAKER_01]: Well since then, there's been no plan for any trains this long to run on a regular basis, lucky for the L.A. contingent, but unlucky for the area's avid train spotters. 05:46.208 --> 05:48.549 [SPEAKER_01]: We're hopping back to Australia now for the gun. 05:49.009 --> 05:59.555 [SPEAKER_01]: This train is currently operated by Journey Beyond and is made up of 44 carriages, clocking in at 2,300 tons and measuring nearly 3,600 feet long. 05:59.895 --> 06:05.698 [SPEAKER_01]: That's 13 times longer than the Antonov and 225, one of the world's biggest planes. 06:06.238 --> 06:14.423 [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, it's so long that on May 22nd, 2017, it broke records as Australia's longest passenger train in over a decade. 06:15.063 --> 06:28.153 [SPEAKER_01]: The rail line the gun runs on travels through the heart of Australia, from Adelaide to Darwin, with the north-south Transcontinental Journey spanning some 1,851 miles, one of the longest in the world. 06:28.874 --> 06:38.801 [SPEAKER_01]: The train itself first began service in 1929 with its name paying tribute to the Afghan Kamaliers who blazed trails across Australia from the 1860s to the early 20th 06:40.963 --> 06:46.867 [SPEAKER_01]: While today the gun is a luxurious desert cruise for passengers, back then, it really wasn't. 06:47.607 --> 06:58.053 [SPEAKER_01]: The railway track was prone to faults and washouts, meaning it towed a flat car which was always equipped with spare tools and sleepers so that the crew and even passengers could repair the line. 06:58.733 --> 07:00.995 [SPEAKER_01]: I wonder why anyone would have traveled on this train? 07:01.395 --> 07:07.959 [SPEAKER_01]: Well back then, the gun was a steam train, and this route was the only one with enough water access to power the steam engines. 07:08.219 --> 07:12.801 [SPEAKER_01]: So if you wanted to travel across Australia by train, you didn't really have a choice. 07:13.202 --> 07:15.443 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, that shifts your perspective up a gear. 07:15.803 --> 07:26.829 [SPEAKER_01]: If you want spectacular scenery, there's nothing quite like the Alps of Switzerland, and there's no better way to see them than via the Ration Railway, a train that takes tourists through the stunning vista. 07:27.469 --> 07:33.951 [SPEAKER_01]: In 2022, this track hosted the longest narrow gauge passenger train in the world. 07:34.191 --> 07:42.753 [SPEAKER_01]: It had 4,550 seats across 100 coaches, adding up to a weight of over 3,200 tons, and over 6,200 feet in length. 07:43.253 --> 07:48.314 [SPEAKER_01]: That's as long as 5 Empire State's building stacked on top of one another, is tall. 07:48.894 --> 08:02.605 [SPEAKER_01]: embarking on a 15 and a half mile journey from Preda to Alvina at a leisurely 22 miles per hour, passengers wound through Bruceo Viaduct and could look back to see the train disappearing and reappearing from tunnels in the mountainside. 08:02.925 --> 08:09.871 [SPEAKER_01]: This spiraling track was specially built for the company and curves around the landscape to offer the best views of the area. 08:10.491 --> 08:12.872 [SPEAKER_01]: Wow, that thing's making me feel dizzy. 08:13.612 --> 08:17.293 [SPEAKER_01]: Unfortunately, you can't actually ride Rachel's biggest train. 08:17.753 --> 08:25.416 [SPEAKER_01]: The Colossus was a one-off to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Railways in Switzerland and won't be entering regular service. 08:25.936 --> 08:43.802 [SPEAKER_01]: Though winding up the track in one of the smaller ones looks just as exciting, Russia is famously home to the Transciberian Railway Line Witch at 5,771 miles long, stretching between Moscow and Vladivostok is one of the longest railway systems in the entire world. 08:44.382 --> 08:47.923 [SPEAKER_01]: However, another of Russia's locomotive marvels is the Sapsen. 08:49.490 --> 08:55.834 [SPEAKER_01]: This high-speed electric express is Russia's fastest train connecting any two major cities in the country. 08:57.355 --> 09:07.781 [SPEAKER_01]: Traveling from St. Petersburg to Nishni Novgorod at an impressive 155 miles per hour, this train finishes its 700 mile journey in just 8 hours. 09:08.281 --> 09:10.102 [SPEAKER_01]: Nearly half the time it takes in a car. 09:11.411 --> 09:21.915 [SPEAKER_01]: Back in 2009, Sapson reported its trains hit 180 miles per hour, making them the fastest trains in Russia, but that's not the only record they've broken. 09:22.596 --> 09:35.021 [SPEAKER_01]: Back in August 2014, Russian railways opted to increase the trains' capacity up to 20 cars, meaning it measured in at over 1,600 feet long, making it the longest of its kind in the world. 09:35.521 --> 09:42.746 [SPEAKER_01]: Like that wasn't impressive enough, this thing can travel through Arctic temperatures, sometimes as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. 09:43.166 --> 09:43.907 [SPEAKER_01]: My God. 09:44.227 --> 09:45.608 [SPEAKER_01]: Russia sure gets chilly. 09:46.288 --> 09:53.493 [SPEAKER_01]: Plowing through the landscape of America are the British Burlington Northern Santa Fe, or BNSF freight trains. 09:54.458 --> 10:09.729 [SPEAKER_01]: Every day, 1,200 of their 7,500 trains traverse over 400 railways spread over 32,500 miles of track across the American landscape, making this rail company one of the biggest on the entire continent. 10:10.689 --> 10:20.176 [SPEAKER_01]: On average, their locomotives reach up to 6,900 feet in length with their longest machine running in July 2009 from Los Angeles to Clovis. 10:21.645 --> 10:28.949 [SPEAKER_01]: The Colossus stretched to 2.2 miles and was comprised of 458 wagons each filled with cargo containers. 10:29.350 --> 10:38.495 [SPEAKER_01]: While there isn't any footage of this specific monster, picture a snake of cargo containers stretching further than the I can follow, curling around the horizon. 10:39.156 --> 10:47.881 [SPEAKER_01]: Impressive, for sure, but even their shorter trains have the capacity to take up the entire landscape, a wall of steel rolling past for minutes on end. 10:48.401 --> 10:58.145 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, you may think I'm kidding, but trains used by big railroad companies have genuinely been getting longer since 2017, with some exceeding 12,000 feet. 10:58.645 --> 11:06.229 [SPEAKER_01]: This is due to the adoption of the U.S.'s precision scheduled rail-roading model, which prioritizes fewer trains at a larger size. 11:06.749 --> 11:14.152 [SPEAKER_01]: According to these companies, longer trains mean more goods delivered with less fuel consumption, which saves on cost and the environment. 11:14.652 --> 11:21.118 [SPEAKER_01]: BNSF are no exception, with their trains 200 feet longer on average than they were in 2021. 11:21.559 --> 11:23.320 [SPEAKER_01]: I guess they're making their money stretch. 11:24.481 --> 11:30.447 [SPEAKER_01]: And their trains, mechanisms don't need to be really long to catch my eye, I like big things too. 11:30.907 --> 11:33.650 [SPEAKER_01]: So hook her up because I'm going to give you a kiss. 11:34.224 --> 11:37.228 [SPEAKER_01]: Don't worry, it's a train, a two-story train. 11:37.768 --> 11:43.054 [SPEAKER_01]: The Russian Eurasia Stadler Kiss is the widest model in the world at 11 feet across. 11:43.715 --> 11:52.926 [SPEAKER_01]: It rattles along at 99 miles per hour and stands at 17 feet, making it the tallest train I've come across and quite possibly the world. 11:54.575 --> 11:59.378 [SPEAKER_01]: The kiss family of trains was brought to life by the Swiss company Stadler in 2010. 12:00.159 --> 12:09.225 [SPEAKER_01]: After which the train was set loose between Europe and the Euro Mountains, and has even been ordered by CalTrain in the USA, which will be delivered in 2024. 12:09.645 --> 12:19.212 [SPEAKER_01]: Its length is normally on the shorter side at 2 to 8 cars, not that it matters when you can pack up to 1,000 passengers over both decks, depending on the region-specific design. 12:20.121 --> 12:33.694 [SPEAKER_01]: That being said, in March 2023, 1,200 Hungarian passengers set off from Uganda station to the Danube Bend aboard the longest kist train ever with 40 carriages making it nearly 1,600 feet long. 12:34.154 --> 12:36.577 [SPEAKER_01]: That's longer than the Empire State Building is tall. 12:38.159 --> 12:42.803 [SPEAKER_01]: OK, a two-story train is impressive, but when are we going to get a three-story train? 12:43.283 --> 12:44.764 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I'm veering off track. 12:45.304 --> 12:47.846 [SPEAKER_01]: Bungie jumping, skydiving, hiking of feeding. 12:48.567 --> 12:55.232 [SPEAKER_01]: Some people do pretty crazy things on their vacations, but traveling in a wagon full of iron ore across the Sahara Desert. 12:56.073 --> 12:57.654 [SPEAKER_01]: Now I've heard everything. 12:58.314 --> 13:04.439 [SPEAKER_01]: Let me take you to the train due dessert, a state-run freight train crossing through the sandy terrain of Mauritania. 13:05.565 --> 13:15.029 [SPEAKER_01]: The train stretches over 1.8 miles long and flaunts up to 210 wagons with each wagon hauling around 92 tons of iron ore a day. 13:16.389 --> 13:20.131 [SPEAKER_01]: All this totals up to an average of 18 million tons per year. 13:20.491 --> 13:23.712 [SPEAKER_01]: That's the same weight as the Empire State Building, 49 times over. 13:26.291 --> 13:30.195 [SPEAKER_01]: The journey begins in Zuerat and stops in the city of Newodibu. 13:30.575 --> 13:38.724 [SPEAKER_01]: The construction of this 437 mile line began in 1960, and the train due to desire has been chugging along since 1963. 13:39.184 --> 13:47.192 [SPEAKER_01]: While it's definitely not advised tourists have taken to hopping into the open top wagon, filled with iron ore so they can watch the desert fly past for free. 13:47.873 --> 13:58.702 [SPEAKER_01]: It's dirty, noisy, dangerous with no shelter to sleep or hide from the 100-4-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, but hey, it's one way of avoiding the train's single-crowded passenger car. 13:59.183 --> 14:03.226 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I'll be the son of a wombat, it's another train heralding from Australia. 14:04.007 --> 14:11.513 [SPEAKER_01]: It turns out, Journey Beyond, the operators of the gun, operate another massive passenger train, the Indian Pacific. 14:12.309 --> 14:17.911 [SPEAKER_01]: The passenger train measures 2,880 feet, that's as long as eight standard football fields. 14:19.431 --> 14:34.596 [SPEAKER_01]: Waying in at over 1,800 tons this beast twists across the outback at a maximum speed of 71 miles per hour, covering 2,700 miles on a single track rail from Sydney to Perth, which is the span of the entire continent in some 65 hours. 14:36.177 --> 14:42.683 [SPEAKER_01]: The train has 16 accommodation cars, three restaurant carriages and two lounge cars for passengers to ride in style. 14:43.143 --> 14:48.548 [SPEAKER_01]: But since it entered service in 1970, riding the train comes with its fair share of risks. 14:48.948 --> 14:56.235 [SPEAKER_01]: In the desert outback, temperatures can soar to 104 degrees Fahrenheit and then dive to 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night. 14:56.655 --> 15:05.538 [SPEAKER_01]: These drastic shifts can condense the air in the pneumatic brake pipes into water, causing the brakes to malfunction, so train operators need to be on the ball. 15:05.898 --> 15:15.782 [SPEAKER_01]: Because of how dangerous being stranded in the outback can be and with the limitations of a single track line, technicians drive ahead of the train to make sure the railway is smooth and clear. 15:16.222 --> 15:22.645 [SPEAKER_01]: Any kinks in the line can damage the train, and any animal bodies lying on the tracks can damage the train's engines if hit. 15:24.315 --> 15:27.417 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I guess working on big trains means big jobs. 15:28.078 --> 15:34.162 [SPEAKER_01]: When it comes to circuses, one of the greatest of them all is the traveling wringling brothers in Barnum and Bailey Circus. 15:34.482 --> 15:38.405 [SPEAKER_01]: But how do you pack up and travel with an entire gigantic show? 15:38.905 --> 15:42.308 [SPEAKER_01]: It turns out a circus with a long name needed some long trains. 15:42.788 --> 15:53.013 [SPEAKER_01]: In 2010, the Ringling's two trains measured a staggering 6,100 feet long and pulled along 60 rail cars, including four elephant stock cars. 15:53.473 --> 16:02.438 [SPEAKER_01]: When fully loaded, the train would weigh 750,000 tons, that's like pulling the weight of two entire Empire State buildings, and then, it's up. 16:03.195 --> 16:19.573 [SPEAKER_01]: The original train first started service in 1872, doubling to two trains by 2010, which journeyed all over the USA and made them two of the longest privately owned trains in the world, each performed in 41 cities and traveled 35,700 miles a year. 16:22.179 --> 16:32.402 [SPEAKER_01]: That was until 2017 when after years of animal rights protests and diminishing ticket sales, the circus closed down, and its trains were retired after 146 years. 16:33.162 --> 16:35.462 [SPEAKER_01]: Though this isn't the end of Ringling Brothers. 16:37.063 --> 16:40.664 [SPEAKER_01]: In 2023, the circus returned without the animals. 16:41.304 --> 16:45.845 [SPEAKER_01]: Sadly, its legendarily long-trained was decommission, and won't be returning either. 16:46.452 --> 16:48.153 [SPEAKER_01]: I guess it's curtains for these trains? 16:48.554 --> 16:52.557 [SPEAKER_01]: Did you know that the world's biggest robot is nearly one and a half miles long? 16:53.118 --> 16:54.739 [SPEAKER_01]: No, it's not the iron giant. 16:55.179 --> 16:57.782 [SPEAKER_01]: It's surprise, surprise, a train. 16:58.925 --> 17:06.626 [SPEAKER_01]: It goes by the name Otto Hall, straight from the land down under, brought to life in 2018 by the mining company Rio Tinto. 17:07.307 --> 17:13.788 [SPEAKER_01]: Being technically classed as a robot, the train is completely autonomous with no human driver on this train at all. 17:14.288 --> 17:24.250 [SPEAKER_01]: This mechanical marvel heaves a whopping 240 wagons each loaded with approximately 116 tons of iron ore, adding up to over 30,000 tons. 17:26.065 --> 17:33.791 [SPEAKER_01]: Powered by 3 diesel locomotives, it transports its load over 170 miles from Tom Price to the Port of Cape Lambert. 17:34.192 --> 17:38.415 [SPEAKER_01]: The whole trip from loading to dumping cargo can be completed in 40 hours. 17:38.896 --> 17:47.243 [SPEAKER_01]: While the Auto Hall ventures on, operators back in Perth located more than 930 miles away, monitored the entire journey remotely. 17:48.197 --> 17:58.792 [SPEAKER_01]: impressive but this tech doesn't come cheap, the whole project cost auto haul 1.3 billion Australian dollar reduced, that's some $940 million in US dollars. 17:59.970 --> 18:07.255 [SPEAKER_01]: This is a major step into full-scale autonomous operation of the railways as we know them, which is pretty terrifying when you think about it. 18:07.955 --> 18:09.697 [SPEAKER_01]: Actually, what do you think about it? 18:10.137 --> 18:12.659 [SPEAKER_01]: Let us know in the comments if the platform allows it. 18:13.179 --> 18:19.443 [SPEAKER_01]: Of course, trains don't run by themselves, they need railway tracks to run across, but who keeps these lines in check? 18:19.844 --> 18:20.684 [SPEAKER_01]: I hear you screech. 18:20.964 --> 18:27.149 [SPEAKER_01]: That would be rail grinders, machines that run along tracks, smoothing them down, removing any bumpy or uneven parts. 18:27.809 --> 18:31.615 [SPEAKER_01]: The biggest of these is the Lorm RG 400 from the United States. 18:32.076 --> 18:39.507 [SPEAKER_01]: It's nearly 700 feet long over 10 feet wide, more than 15 feet tall, and can grind at a steady pace of 20 miles per hour. 18:40.462 --> 18:49.484 [SPEAKER_01]: Each axle, that's the rod that runs beneath the train that holds its wheels in place, can support up to 35 tons, that's the same as supporting five African elephants. 18:49.884 --> 18:55.585 [SPEAKER_01]: With all that grinding friction on the surface of the metal rails is going to make it hot and cause sparks to fly. 18:56.105 --> 19:02.566 [SPEAKER_01]: Thankfully, the machine has water pumps so workers can spray this onto the tracks to cool things down and stop any fires breaking out. 19:02.986 --> 19:09.167 [SPEAKER_01]: Lourms water cars hold up to 25,000 gallons, that's like driving around with 600 battubs of water. 19:09.727 --> 19:13.268 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, now we know where all the train drivers go on a hot day then. 19:13.748 --> 19:23.452 [SPEAKER_01]: Over in South Africa, the company Transnet is a freight port pipeline and engineering company, one of the biggest government owned companies of this kind in the entire world. 19:24.092 --> 19:27.393 [SPEAKER_01]: But it's biggest subsidiary is its freight rail operation. 19:28.233 --> 19:32.775 [SPEAKER_01]: Every year their freight trains haul a whopping 60 million tons of iron ore from 19:40.075 --> 19:48.739 [SPEAKER_01]: In August 1989, they launched their biggest train ever, stretching over 4.5 miles long and tipping the scales at roughly 79,000 tons. 19:48.799 --> 19:53.961 [SPEAKER_01]: That's about the same weight as the entire Eiffel Tower, 8 times over. 19:54.742 --> 20:01.285 [SPEAKER_01]: It boasted 660 wagons each weighing over 20 tons by themselves and carrying over 90 tons of ore. 20:02.005 --> 20:11.450 [SPEAKER_01]: Powering this beast was a squad of nine electric locomotives and seven diesel engines, which hauled the gargantuan load and ensured a smooth ride through the rugged terrain. 20:11.910 --> 20:16.072 [SPEAKER_01]: When the train first set off, it took 12 minutes to pass the watching engineers. 20:16.453 --> 20:26.258 [SPEAKER_01]: The steep gradient of the tracks combined with the train's weight, length and distance it traveled, made some skeptics worry that the machine would run into severe technical difficulties. 20:27.072 --> 20:38.405 [SPEAKER_01]: If it did, and it was traveling at just nine miles per hour with all that weight and momentum behind it, the entire train would have needed a breaking distance of almost two miles to come to a complete stop. 20:39.206 --> 20:41.990 [SPEAKER_01]: However, as you can see, the plan went off without a hitch. 20:42.410 --> 20:44.571 [SPEAKER_01]: I guess that's what happens when you train hard. 20:45.071 --> 20:51.793 [SPEAKER_01]: I know I've talked a lot about iron ore, but did you know that 18% of all iron ore actually comes from Brazil? 20:52.253 --> 20:59.735 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the largest iron ore mines in the world is in Carahaz and is operated by Veil, one of the world's biggest mining companies. 21:00.275 --> 21:04.036 [SPEAKER_01]: To transport this iron, they use incredibly long freight trains. 21:04.716 --> 21:11.227 [SPEAKER_01]: In 2020 alone, these mega machines transported over 110 million tons of raw materials from the mine. 21:11.587 --> 21:15.013 [SPEAKER_01]: That's like carrying 17 great pyramids of Giza. 21:16.513 --> 21:25.155 [SPEAKER_01]: Vales' biggest train spans two miles long and heaves a convoy of 330 wagons from Kara Haas to Pantadama, Dara, filled with horror. 21:25.855 --> 21:30.336 [SPEAKER_01]: For Vales, these trains are worth their weight in gold or, in this case, iron. 21:30.757 --> 21:36.518 [SPEAKER_01]: However, since its first journey in 1985, these trains have come at a greater cost to communities. 21:36.958 --> 21:49.024 [SPEAKER_01]: The Karajah's railroad cuts through at least 130 indigenous villages, which, sadly, means the constant rumble in tremors from these super-heavy trains has left some locals with permanent migraines. 21:49.584 --> 21:53.326 [SPEAKER_01]: The absence of bridges over the tracks means crossing it is very unsafe. 21:53.926 --> 21:59.169 [SPEAKER_01]: Houses routinely experience damage from the tremors along with noise, water, and air pollution. 21:59.689 --> 22:04.952 [SPEAKER_01]: So while these big trains are pretty mesmerizing to look at, they also come with big consequences. 22:05.785 --> 22:08.307 [SPEAKER_01]: We all like to do something to mark a special occasion. 22:08.787 --> 22:18.894 [SPEAKER_01]: I, for instance, buy a cake with an actual picture of my face on it to commemorate the day I launched this channel and then smash it with a baseball bat until it looks like a flat white circle. 22:19.875 --> 22:22.657 [SPEAKER_01]: Super therapeutic, you guys should try it! 22:23.377 --> 22:37.528 [SPEAKER_01]: On February 19th, 1989, Dutch rail company Nettarlensis for Vagan, went a different route and celebrated their 150th anniversary, the only way they knew how by driving a really long train. 22:38.228 --> 22:47.676 [SPEAKER_01]: It linked together 70 passenger carriages measured over 5,600 feet, weighed over 3,000 tons and made its way from Keefook to Eindhoven, 22:49.597 --> 22:58.543 [SPEAKER_01]: Season drivers Ari Wander and Corda Raika had been handpicked for the job due to their experience, and then sworn to strict secrecy about the massive train. 22:59.123 --> 23:09.850 [SPEAKER_01]: Driving the Goliath wasn't a walk in the park, despite their experience, Wander and Raika had never steered anything like that before, and the carriages weren't designed to be convoyed to such an extraordinary length. 23:11.188 --> 23:16.152 [SPEAKER_01]: Ever watchful crowds lingered around the station, piling the pressure on the nervous drivers. 23:16.672 --> 23:24.878 [SPEAKER_01]: Undeterred, wander and riker rose to the challenge and netterlands of Spurvegan earned its place as the operators of one of the world's longest passenger trains. 23:25.552 --> 23:28.174 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, that's how you celebrate an anniversary. 23:28.674 --> 23:36.861 [SPEAKER_01]: We've covered the United States Russia and most of Europe, but we haven't looked to India yet, because I was saving some of the best and biggest for last. 23:37.501 --> 23:44.426 [SPEAKER_01]: First we need to take a look at the Southeast Central Railways, or S-E-C-R, operated Shesh Nag. 23:44.806 --> 23:48.289 [SPEAKER_01]: This behemoth spans about 1.7 miles long, weighs over 23,000 tons, and flaunts 251 wagons. 23:53.813 --> 24:03.355 [SPEAKER_01]: In 2020, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry proudly announced they were running this train, which was one of the longest trains ever to grace India's tracks. 24:04.035 --> 24:12.017 [SPEAKER_01]: The machine was created by combining four box and rakes, these are Indian freight trains to make this one mohusev train. 24:13.377 --> 24:19.359 [SPEAKER_01]: It first traveled 161 miles from Nagpur to Corba in six hours, that's four hours 24:21.986 --> 24:25.028 [SPEAKER_01]: The Sheshnaug appeared as a result of the COVID epidemic. 24:25.348 --> 24:30.272 [SPEAKER_01]: Fewer passenger trains on tracks meant less traffic, allowing for big trains like this. 24:30.912 --> 24:42.701 [SPEAKER_01]: But unlike many of the super long trains we've talked about, which like to run a record-breaking train once and then, never again, SECR has run this four-rate formation multiple times. 24:43.281 --> 24:58.314 [SPEAKER_01]: In January 2021, SECR operated the Super Sheshnag, another 1.7 mile long freight train comprised of the 4 B-O-XN rakes hauling coal from Nagpur to Corba, then again in May 2022. 24:59.495 --> 25:09.885 [SPEAKER_01]: The world was getting used to the site of the Sheshnag, and then in August 2022, SECR tested their latest locomotive monster, the Super Vasuki. 25:10.747 --> 25:21.896 [SPEAKER_01]: At a whopping 2.1 miles long, the 295 wagon freight train was powered by no less than six locomotives, carrying more than 28,600 tons of coal. 25:22.676 --> 25:27.460 [SPEAKER_01]: That's enough to fire a 3,000 megawatt power plant for an entire day. 25:28.060 --> 25:32.283 [SPEAKER_01]: Man, I wonder if India are working on an even bigger train as we speak? 25:32.664 --> 25:39.449 [SPEAKER_01]: Our train journey has come to an end, and I did it all without making a single, Thomas the Tank Engine joke. 25:40.185 --> 25:43.008 [SPEAKER_01]: Well done me, which train was your favorite? 25:43.369 --> 25:51.117 [SPEAKER_01]: Let us know in the comments if the platform allows it, and if you enjoyed this episode, hit follow wherever you listen to podcasts, so you don't miss the next one. 25:51.497 --> 25:52.318 [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for listening.