Smithsonian Magazine ·Smart escape
When Germany Built a Flying Train 125 Years Ago, a City Coalesced Beneath It. It Has Moved Royalty, Commuters and Tourists—and One Elephant—Ever Since
Published 2026-07-08 12:00:00+00:00
How did a train suspended over a river end up creating the city beneath it?
0:00 / 13:14 · Narrator Gacrux
Context
When the towns of Germany's Wupper Valley ran out of space on the ground a century ago, they built a train that dangles from a steel track over a river. Published on 8 July 2026, the piece looks past the sheer mechanics of the world's oldest suspension railway to focus on how infrastructure creates identity. The flying train did more than clear up street traffic. It physically stitched several separate towns together, eventually turning them into an entirely new city.