The one-lane bridge shared by cars and trains

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  • čas pƙidĂĄn 9. 06. 2019
  • Near Hindon, on the South Island of New Zealand, there's one of only two remaining one-lane road-rail bridges in the country. No barriers, no lights, no sirens: if you're driving across this, you need to make sure to listen out for the train horn.
    Thanks to all the Dunedin Railways team! You can find out more about them here: www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/
    Edited by Michelle Martin (@mrsmmartin)
    đŸŸ„ MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
    (you can find contact details and social links there too)
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Komentáƙe • 1,5K

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  Pƙed 5 lety +7006

    I completely forgot to record my "thank you to Dunedin Railways" outro. It is a beautiful rail journey on the South Island: pull down the description for a link to their site!

    • @akankshpiasa8612
      @akankshpiasa8612 Pƙed 5 lety +7

      Tom Scott hi I’m a big fan

    • @jack-er5bz
      @jack-er5bz Pƙed 5 lety +59

      another time travel comment

    • @mickmoon6887
      @mickmoon6887 Pƙed 5 lety +26

      3 Weeks ago. Tom Scott is verified time traveller.

    • @dolphee9935
      @dolphee9935 Pƙed 5 lety

      Time travel!

    • @hedlund
      @hedlund Pƙed 5 lety +19

      Did you record it on a Thursday? I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

  • @carriageofnoreturn.1881
    @carriageofnoreturn.1881 Pƙed 5 lety +9627

    Sometimes, things are *so* dangerous that they actually end up being safe - everyone treats it with caution!

    • @cosmicjenny4508
      @cosmicjenny4508 Pƙed 5 lety +374

      +Carriage of No Return. It’s like the phenomena of zebra crossings sometimes causing more accidents... because people treat it with not enough caution!

    • @magnusbruce4051
      @magnusbruce4051 Pƙed 5 lety +661

      This reminds me of when my entire city had no power for about two days meaning that all of the lights at crossings were out. A taxi driver was telling me that nothing happened and the traffic actually flowed better than usual because people were being more observant and letting people in when they needed to rather than when the lights told them to.

    • @theotherwalt
      @theotherwalt Pƙed 5 lety +166

      @@magnusbruce4051 In the states any traffic signal that has malfunctioned must be treated as a four way stop.

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD Pƙed 5 lety +275

      That actually ends up being quite common apparently. When something looks dangerous, people tend to be more cautious, which some road layouts actually exploit.

    • @OrangeC7
      @OrangeC7 Pƙed 5 lety +104

      @@theotherwalt And if the traffic is flowing better when they're treated as four way stops, does this mean the traffic signal shouldn't be there? đŸ€”

  • @TheYoshieMaster
    @TheYoshieMaster Pƙed 5 lety +7068

    I love that the train driver waved back. :)

    • @GhostHostMemories
      @GhostHostMemories Pƙed 5 lety +302

      look like it surprised Tom a bit there

    • @wanhapatu
      @wanhapatu Pƙed 5 lety +221

      They've always waved back to me!

    • @1234567895182
      @1234567895182 Pƙed 5 lety +404

      A big train used to pass by my elementary school all the time. Me and a bunch of friends would all have and try to get him to blow the train horn. 9/10 they always did! Train drivers are cool people (:

    • @sam08g16
      @sam08g16 Pƙed 5 lety +338

      The countryside is different than the big city. You naturally wave at strangers and they naturally wave back. You know, like real human beings.

    • @mikeblatzheim2797
      @mikeblatzheim2797 Pƙed 5 lety +65

      Once I was in Philly city centre filming a departing CSX train, and to my utter surprise (being from Germany and not used to this) the engineer waved to us and blew the horn.

  • @lforlight
    @lforlight Pƙed 5 lety +3618

    "Trains and cars don't usually combine very well"
    I'd say they combine TOO well. Once they meet, it's hard to separate the two.

    • @SeanBZA
      @SeanBZA Pƙed 5 lety +198

      Very easy to separate, the stuff still on the rails is train, the stuff on the sides that is not ballast was the car.

    • @SeanBZA
      @SeanBZA Pƙed 5 lety +24

      @@crimmy838 Generally yes.

    • @ansh0133
      @ansh0133 Pƙed 5 lety

      đŸ˜Č

    • @Brooklyn-Manhattan
      @Brooklyn-Manhattan Pƙed 4 lety +2

      Hirail Truck.

    • @JesseC1007
      @JesseC1007 Pƙed 4 lety +11

      As a locomotive engineer for 23 years I can relate to that !

  • @piranha031091
    @piranha031091 Pƙed 5 lety +1077

    0:16 That timing with the train horn!
    You look like you couldn't believe it yourself! ^^

    • @hasanalarbash4057
      @hasanalarbash4057 Pƙed 5 lety +57

      I feel like it was planned. It's too good to be true

    • @gabrielmaja6127
      @gabrielmaja6127 Pƙed 5 lety +22

      Could have been sound effects edited in

    • @flashsurfing
      @flashsurfing Pƙed 5 lety +83

      More like that's where trains sound their horn, approaching the crossing, like everywhere else in the world

    • @nztphotography5758
      @nztphotography5758 Pƙed 4 lety +8

      D G Not in NZ exactly, unless a whistle (horn) board is in place, it’s just well timed.

    • @PrezVeto
      @PrezVeto Pƙed 4 lety +15

      editing. notice the camera cuts

  • @slamalamadingdangdongdiggy5268
    @slamalamadingdangdongdiggy5268 Pƙed 5 lety +2447

    Look at Tom being nice and waving at the train driver what a nice guy

    • @OrangeC7
      @OrangeC7 Pƙed 5 lety +96

      Only the cool kids waved at the train driver

    • @Roooobb
      @Roooobb Pƙed 5 lety +47

      remember 2 thank ur train driver

    • @SeanBZA
      @SeanBZA Pƙed 5 lety +4

      @@OrangeC7 I do every time I see Aubrey, but some of the other drivers are long dead, or retired.

    • @eramsorgr
      @eramsorgr Pƙed 5 lety +21

      I always wave to the drivers, the usually wave back or the hit up the horn and scare the crap out of me

    • @user-sm9tk1ur8k
      @user-sm9tk1ur8k Pƙed 4 lety +12

      and the train driver waived back!

  • @krovek
    @krovek Pƙed 5 lety +431

    I have a feeling you'd like Whittier Alaska. The only land access to the town is a 3 mile, single-lane tunnel, used for cars and trains in both directions. There are tolls and massive waiting areas on either end because the direction of the tunnel flips every hour.

    • @roblamb8327
      @roblamb8327 Pƙed 4 lety +9

      Hope there's a river nearby 'cos I think it'd be tricky navigating that tunnel in an oil tanker.

    • @samhansen9771
      @samhansen9771 Pƙed 4 lety +4

      That's what I was thinking. The story about the engineering that went into the tunnel is incredible!

    • @AaronOfMpls
      @AaronOfMpls Pƙed 3 lety +18

      @@roblamb8327 It's on a coastal inlet (and was actually founded as a military harbor during WW2). I imagine hazardous materials -- and things that don't fit through the tunnel -- get barged in via the harbor.

    • @joncalon7508
      @joncalon7508 Pƙed 2 lety +11

      That tunnel (Anton Anderson Memorial) was originally hewn out of the rock for the railway. For the longest time, if you wanted to take your vehicle from Anchorage or elsewhere in Alaska to Whittier, for example to take on a ferry, you’d load it onto a train and the Alaska Railroad would transport you and the vehicle to Whittier.
      They put pavement in the tunnel a decade or so ago, added traffic controls, and made it a dual-purpose tunnel. Trains still use it to this day, because Whittier is the dock that accepts barges carrying railcars from the south (until recently, that was Prince Rupert and Seattle, now it’s just Seattle.)

    • @krovek
      @krovek Pƙed 2 lety +1

      @@joncalon7508 Interesting, thanks. I visited Whittier in 2016 and loved it, absolutely gorgeous place. The story about it being built as a cold war era base absolutely makes sense, very defensible since there's really only one approach by land or by sea. Funny how now it's almost a social co-op from what I've been told.

  • @robscallon
    @robscallon Pƙed 5 lety +1046

    Thanks for such an incredible CZcams channel Tom

  • @Ultimatro
    @Ultimatro Pƙed 5 lety +600

    On this week's episode of Tom's holiday to new Zealand: trains

    • @SakanaOtoko
      @SakanaOtoko Pƙed 5 lety +12

      We've peaked

    • @thelastcube.
      @thelastcube. Pƙed 5 lety +18

      It's interesting how Tom is squeezing every bit of his holiday-educational trip into bite sized pieces.
      I really like it tbh

  • @Ciara_Turner
    @Ciara_Turner Pƙed 5 lety +455

    ‘Trains and cars don’t usually combine very well’ - There’s an exception to every rule I guess.

    • @undead890
      @undead890 Pƙed 5 lety +33

      I think the problem is Trains and Cars combine too well.

    • @beetemup1642
      @beetemup1642 Pƙed 5 lety +5

      undead890 I think the problem is traincars.

    • @TheMorpheus017
      @TheMorpheus017 Pƙed 5 lety +4

      Back to the Future 3.

    • @awildfilingcabinet6239
      @awildfilingcabinet6239 Pƙed 4 lety +6

      An unstoppable force meets a very movable object

    • @pisces2569
      @pisces2569 Pƙed 4 lety

      Ciara Turner the exception is those pickup trucks modified for traveling on railroads

  • @catcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatca
    @catcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatca Pƙed 5 lety +127

    This is one of those things that is very safe compared to suprisingly many things, precisely because it seems so dangerous and the hazard is clearly visible.
    Suprisingly, sometimes adding safety-elements is dangerous, because people tend to trust them more than they actually protect.

    • @2bfrank657
      @2bfrank657 Pƙed rokem +2

      Also, it looks like this is way out in the wops where people are used to tight, twisty gravel roads, wash-outs, ford's, stock movements, etc. That motorist who went past was probably a farmer. This isn't in the middle of a city or anything.

  • @guyincognito.
    @guyincognito. Pƙed 5 lety +68

    Until very recently, there was a shared bridge like this south of Greymouth on New Zealand's west coast. It wasn't just some rural town either, it was the main north-south highway where both the road and train track crossed the Taramakua river over a single bridge. It has since been replaced by separate bridges but it scared the crap out of me every time I drove over it because you're literally driving on a train track for a good 20 seconds with no lights or barriers to warn you of oncoming rail traffic.

    • @DoubleMonoLR
      @DoubleMonoLR Pƙed rokem +1

      There were bells at least from memory. It could be intimidating, but there was no risk in reality, on the odd occasion the train would end up following a car across.
      The only safety issue with it was the driving surface(presumably largely due to the actual rails), from memory I think a motorcyclist had an accident on the bridge and died.

    • @hahno455
      @hahno455 Pƙed rokem +2

      @@DoubleMonoLR Nope, no bells, just 'Railway Crossing/ Give Way' signs. 😊 I couldn't tell you how many time I drove over that bridge, was sad to see it go to an exclusive rail bridge. Was the same with the old Arahura River bridge too.

    • @timconnors
      @timconnors Pƙed rokem

      I rode through there on motorbike. Motorcycles don't have reverse gears usually...

    • @apveening
      @apveening Pƙed rokem

      @@timconnors But motorcycles can turn in place.

    • @mapper7310
      @mapper7310 Pƙed rokem

      Would that have been the one on state highway 6?

  • @GuanoLad
    @GuanoLad Pƙed 5 lety +317

    Yay! My home town of Dunedin appears again. Always interesting to see how it's viewed by an outsider.

    • @DRSDavidSoft
      @DRSDavidSoft Pƙed 5 lety +11

      I like your hometown

    • @Frog_Is_My_Name
      @Frog_Is_My_Name Pƙed 5 lety +7

      GuanoLad my dad did part of his uni there and all I’ve gathered is that it is bloody cold, and now I also know that they have a steep road and weird bridges
      I already knew about the bridges tho

    • @GuanoLad
      @GuanoLad Pƙed 5 lety +3

      @@Frog_Is_My_Name It's a great University. It's a lot like Scotland, with a lot of rain, rolling hills, and rocky cliffs on the coast.

    • @gasdive
      @gasdive Pƙed 5 lety +1

      One of my favorite places.

    • @presenttomato1060
      @presenttomato1060 Pƙed 4 lety +2

      I'm from Christchurch, I went to Dunedin for a concert, really nice place actually!

  • @Paul_Lucas
    @Paul_Lucas Pƙed 5 lety +127

    Nice work nailing that piece to camera in one take! Pressure!

    • @beeble2003
      @beeble2003 Pƙed 3 lety +3

      There's no reason to believe it's one take. As another commenter has pointed out, if you go to 0:19, you can see a ghost image where two images have been merged. There are also multiple cuts in the video: the cut away to the train at 0:20 and back; the cut to the company building at 0:24. We cut back to Tom at 0:55, away again at 0:59, back at 1:03, away at 1:06, back at 1:10, and that shot ends at 1:20. The longest continuous shot there is about ten seconds.

  • @MervynPartin
    @MervynPartin Pƙed 5 lety +55

    New Zealand can be quirky in places, but I absolutely love it. I have travelled over one road/rail bridge but a new road bridge has been built so it is now train only. Well done for showing us this one.

    • @tkara1980
      @tkara1980 Pƙed 4 lety +3

      I assume your referring to the Taramakau Bridge part of State Highway 6 on the West Coast. South of Greymouth and near the junction with State Highway 73 to Christchurch.

  • @GroundHOG-2010
    @GroundHOG-2010 Pƙed 5 lety +61

    This actually was a common occurrence on the west coast where the expected road traffic was light (given it was the 1930's when the roads were built) and you needed to minimize the number of expensive bridges across rivers. They are only in the last 10-20 years finally replacing the final major ones, with the Awatere Road Rail bridge (in Seddon, with it's rail over road design) only taking rail since 2007, and the two major ones on the west coast, Taramakau, which got turned into rail only last year, and Arahura which got replaced in 2009, but you can still go on a portion of the original span.
    Also good to see that at the end of the video you showed the way to go over such a bridge. You never drive on the rails, always to one side.

    • @danielcarroll3358
      @danielcarroll3358 Pƙed 5 lety +2

      Thanks for the update. I went down the west coast by bus years ago and was thinking, "But what about the bridges on the west coast?"

    • @maytrestar
      @maytrestar Pƙed 4 lety +2

      I was thinking of the one in Taramakau while watching this! They were still doing roadworks when I was there :)

    • @catherinekilgour2563
      @catherinekilgour2563 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      The Awatere Road Rail bridge was the one that came to mind for me. Just the chance of having a train cross at the same time was exciting to me as a child.
      I'm only sorry they removed the road decking it would be the perfect place to take photos.
      Would also be great as a pedestrian cycle bridge.

  • @johinder8648
    @johinder8648 Pƙed 5 lety +18

    I seem to be the only one who’s impressed by Toms timing with just starting to talk and 20 seconds later the train coming out of the tunnel

    • @soaringvulture
      @soaringvulture Pƙed 4 lety +3

      That's because Jacinda Ardern is famous for making the trains run on time.

  • @pegeonpera
    @pegeonpera Pƙed 5 lety +563

    Dunedin ~ DĂșnedain
    Guess New Zealand is really Middle-earth

    • @brandonkey181
      @brandonkey181 Pƙed 5 lety +4

      Close enough!

    • @benjaminschultz8046
      @benjaminschultz8046 Pƙed 5 lety +35

      Much of the LOTR movies was filmed in New Zealand, so you’re not far off!

    • @JesusJuenger
      @JesusJuenger Pƙed 5 lety +79

      @@benjaminschultz8046 I think Jetlite knew that when they wrote the comment :P

    • @gurrrn1102
      @gurrrn1102 Pƙed 5 lety +14

      DĂčn Èideann. It’s extremely annoying how they don’t pronounce it at all accurately.

    • @matthewamer713
      @matthewamer713 Pƙed 5 lety +32

      Jetlite it’s Gaelic for Edinburgh! Scottish heritage of New Zealand

  • @backslash777
    @backslash777 Pƙed 5 lety +24

    Can we just all stop for a moment and admire the perfect timing of the train coming out of the tunnel? :)

    • @backslash777
      @backslash777 Pƙed 5 lety +3

      @@ragnkja Nevertheless, it had to be challenging to do it properly. And yet so minor thingy :D

    • @beeble2003
      @beeble2003 Pƙed 3 lety +3

      It's not perfect. At 0:19, you can see a ghost image where two shots have been blended into one.

  • @maxhoughtonmusic
    @maxhoughtonmusic Pƙed 5 lety +288

    Fully welcoming this channel becoming "The Weirdness of New Zealand Show"

    • @TommoCarroll
      @TommoCarroll Pƙed 5 lety +16

      The world didn't know it needed a "The Weirdness of New Zealand Show"....but ohhhh lord we did

    • @shiwanabe
      @shiwanabe Pƙed 5 lety +11

      I find it amusing that I'd guessed it was somewhere in NZ due to the background on thumbnail and the 'sillyness' of sharing the bridge.
      Yay for more No.8 wire logic. :)

    • @PrograError
      @PrograError Pƙed 5 lety

      well, it's in the south hemisphere...

    • @RatelHBadger
      @RatelHBadger Pƙed 5 lety +2

      I wonder if Tom will visit the Otira tunnel?

    • @Miranda-vj8yy
      @Miranda-vj8yy Pƙed 5 lety

      Yes love it!! Most of this is things i didnt know i was living close to😂

  • @alastairward2774
    @alastairward2774 Pƙed 5 lety +59

    A new driving strategy, let the train win.

    • @MiseFreisin
      @MiseFreisin Pƙed 5 lety +4

      Alastair Ward The train always wins.

  • @rogerkearns8094
    @rogerkearns8094 Pƙed 5 lety +57

    It's a very acute-angled level crossing.

  • @Not_Aaron_
    @Not_Aaron_ Pƙed 3 lety +4

    I really love that I have watched tom scott for over 1 year now and still keep getting videos in my recommended that I haven't watched

  • @NewbyTon
    @NewbyTon Pƙed 5 lety +126

    Now Takumi can finally challenge the train driver from polar Express in an epic drift battle, pushing both characters to their driving limits

  • @nickkokay
    @nickkokay Pƙed 5 lety +13

    Tom, I'm absolutely loving the series of videos you're putting out about New Zealand - I'm a Kiwi, but you're showing off parts of my country that I never knew existed!

  • @joppetie
    @joppetie Pƙed 5 lety +56

    If trains were invented today, we'd never have had platforms without barriers in train stations. Much like this bridge, so long as you're careful it's not a safety hazard.

    • @TWX1138
      @TWX1138 Pƙed 5 lety +13

      At modern light-rail stations I've seen idiots sit on the platform edges with their legs dangling above the rails as they wait for the next train. When trains pull in they end up within an inch of the platforms.
      I personally like having my legs and feet too much to assume that I'll be able to move quickly enough when the train pulls up and that the driver would see me in time to try to stop.

    • @tobybartels8426
      @tobybartels8426 Pƙed 5 lety +7

      @@TWX1138 : That gives new meaning to ‘Mind the gap’!

    • @LordZarano
      @LordZarano Pƙed 5 lety +6

      @@TWX1138 Sounds like they need to install more benches

    • @TheCandoRailfan
      @TheCandoRailfan Pƙed 5 lety +3

      The floor is also an option. Not a great option, but better than in front of a train.

    • @netking66
      @netking66 Pƙed 4 lety

      And southern England would never have had 'third rail' (750 volts) electric railways.

  • @Blasikov
    @Blasikov Pƙed 4 lety +7

    Grant Craig's wonderful Kiwi accent is mesmerizing.
    Thanks for the interesting segments, Tom!

  • @Abitibidoug
    @Abitibidoug Pƙed 3 lety +3

    I had the privilege of going over that bridge on the train in February 2017 while travelling around New Zealand. If you're in Dunedin the Taireri Gorge Railway is a worthwhile scenic trip. There was another road and rail bridge at Little Current, Ontario where you go on to Manitoulin Island, until the railway tracks were removed many years ago.

  • @Opalium
    @Opalium Pƙed 5 lety +155

    New Zealand drivers better be trained in handling this road, or they might be... Well, train'd.

    • @violeteclipse3912
      @violeteclipse3912 Pƙed 5 lety +4

      nice one

    • @bremCZ
      @bremCZ Pƙed 4 lety +8

      NZ drivers are barely trained at all. You don't have to spend even 1 minute at a driving school

    • @LetsGoGetThem
      @LetsGoGetThem Pƙed 4 lety

      @@bremCZ What you got against them, Ms.?

    • @bremCZ
      @bremCZ Pƙed 4 lety

      @@LetsGoGetThem The lack of driver training of course.

    • @LetsGoGetThem
      @LetsGoGetThem Pƙed 4 lety

      @@bremCZ Why, Ms.?

  • @NewbyTon
    @NewbyTon Pƙed 5 lety +44

    Remember to always thank the train driver and be a good boi like Tom

  • @KingRCT3
    @KingRCT3 Pƙed 5 lety +1

    The Taramakau Road-Rail Bridge is even bigger and longer than that. We went on it not knowing it was a thing, and you can imagine how baffled we were when our GPS told us "yes yes, that's the road you gonna take". It's a really unique driving experience in hindsight, but you're not 100% relaxed when you're on it! Luckily there were other cars in front of us, because I don't know if we would have drove on it otherwise. The trains rolling on it are no small ones too..!

  • @BaltimoreAndOhioRR
    @BaltimoreAndOhioRR Pƙed 4 lety +23

    That's so cool!! 👌

  • @araylaurence6220
    @araylaurence6220 Pƙed 5 lety +82

    interesting stuff that we only see from you Tom keep going

    • @slipperyslytherin3470
      @slipperyslytherin3470 Pƙed 5 lety

      Where are you inserting it?

    • @araylaurence6220
      @araylaurence6220 Pƙed 5 lety +3

      @@slipperyslytherin3470 were the like button is

    • @joshduthie3401
      @joshduthie3401 Pƙed 3 lety

      I'm probably the only person commenting here who's actually been over it in a car and that was 30 ish years ago.

  • @peterdenk6200
    @peterdenk6200 Pƙed 5 lety +11

    Your videos are always either mind-boggling or heart-warming. Thanx a lot.

  • @jpopelish
    @jpopelish Pƙed 5 lety +1

    In 2002, I rode a motorcycle through the 2.5 mile long, one-lane Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel that connects Wittier to the rest of Alaska. It was tense riding between the two slots for the train wheels, and it was quite scary to ride unexpectedly, under the six, 75 horsepower jet engine-loud, air fans inside the tunnel, only a few of which were operating. The train schedule was not obvious before I entered the tunnel. And there was no traffic for me to blend into.

  • @xyldkefyi
    @xyldkefyi Pƙed 5 lety +47

    "Level crossings are worse"
    Well if New Plymouth is anything to go by they're a hole in a fence so yes, I suppose they are 😅

    • @gearandalthefirst7027
      @gearandalthefirst7027 Pƙed 3 lety

      At least you guys have a fence, I've lived places where tracks going down the middle of a city only have a meter's width of dirt on either side and level crossing are just when asphalt got poured around the rails

  • @user-sc8mj5bb6k
    @user-sc8mj5bb6k Pƙed 5 lety +81

    We always thank the bus driver, but noone thanks the train driver...

    • @klaxoncow
      @klaxoncow Pƙed 5 lety +17

      In fairness, on a bus, you typically pass the bus driver on your way off the bus - so it's easy to throw a "cheers, driver!" thank you to them as you're leaving.
      But, with trains, you don't naturally pass them as you leave, so it's not an easy thing to do.
      Indeed, if everyone insisted that they had to go up to the driver's cab when they leave the train to say "thank you", then you'd get quite a traffic jam on busy stations and it'd just slow down train operations, as the driver's obliged to wait to allow everyone to offer them their "thank you"s.
      So I'd guess that the train operators and train drivers would actually say "though it's appreciated, please don't actually do this".

    • @user-sc8mj5bb6k
      @user-sc8mj5bb6k Pƙed 5 lety +5

      @@klaxoncow ...hmm,
      thank the train driver, but be late?
      *_A small price to pay for salvation._*

    • @watfordjc
      @watfordjc Pƙed 5 lety +5

      If getting off at the back of a Crossrail train, you'll be 2 football (American or soccer) pitch lengths away from the driver. When I used to get off the back of a TfL bendy bus I considered the driver too far away to thank.

    • @pdarsh3588
      @pdarsh3588 Pƙed 4 lety

      @@user-ds6jv5jf5o you must be from London I'm guessing?

  • @Mousy677
    @Mousy677 Pƙed 5 lety +8

    the train coming into view over the hill is just - the most comedic image somehow

  • @ianto3540
    @ianto3540 Pƙed 5 lety +36

    You basically live in New Zealand now Tom

  • @johan21mp
    @johan21mp Pƙed 5 lety +1

    I grew up near one of these in Germany. It linked Anglia and Swansea. I'm not joking those are the two peninsula. I cannot imagine not having barriers to make sure there isn't a train coming the other way.

  • @bladerunner162
    @bladerunner162 Pƙed 4 lety +4

    Discovered your channel a couple of days ago, and Ive been binging the whole lot. Incredibly interesting stuff. Keep up the great work Tom.

  • @lewismassie
    @lewismassie Pƙed 5 lety +6

    You did a video 5 years ago about a manual rail crossing in Canterbury. I realised it's close to my university campus, so I went and had a look the other day

  • @abbiearcher4716
    @abbiearcher4716 Pƙed 5 lety +2

    I can actually think of two more examples of shared train-car bridges:
    - Porthmadog, Wales: The Welsh Highland Railway enters and leaves along a short road running section across a bridge.
    - Preston, England: The Ribble Steam Railway crosses over a shared Road-Rail Bridge.

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD Pƙed 5 lety

      I forgot about both of those for a moment! Saw another comment about the Preston one but forgot the name of it

    • @WesternOhioInterurbanHistory
      @WesternOhioInterurbanHistory Pƙed rokem

      Theres one in Chicago too

  • @the_cheese
    @the_cheese Pƙed 5 lety +1

    This is the coolest bridge! It reminded me a little bit of the Anton Anderson Tunnel in Alaska, where cars and trains share a 4100m tunnel

    • @Genius_at_Work
      @Genius_at_Work Pƙed 2 lety +1

      There is a Bascule Bridge shared by Cars and Trains in Germany, and it happens to be single Lane too. It's secured by Lights and Barriers though, because there is more Traffic (Road and Rail), the Trains are faster and mostly because German Drivers can't be trusted to act independently. A simple broken Traffic Light literally is an inevitable Crash, because People think it means "green" and blast into the Intersection without even slowing down or looking.

  • @mattDBTNZ
    @mattDBTNZ Pƙed 5 lety +3

    I love these videos you're doing in NZ, I've been watching your channel for quite a while and the added bonus of seeing your videos about the country I call home thrills me :D

  • @andreaaristokrates9516
    @andreaaristokrates9516 Pƙed 5 lety +14

    Ah, a classic case of something seemingly dangerous making people cautions, making the thing actually less dangerous, than the safer seeming alternatives.

    • @jordanrodrigues1279
      @jordanrodrigues1279 Pƙed 5 lety +1

      As long as people don't get rushed or complacent, yes.
      Once the novelty wears off and people are late to work, etc, this kind of thing rapidly becomes very dangerous.

    • @laurencefraser
      @laurencefraser Pƙed 5 lety +2

      @@jordanrodrigues1279 conveniently, in this case, the only thing on the other side is a couple of farms, so that's mostly a non-issue.

    • @joshduthie3401
      @joshduthie3401 Pƙed 3 lety

      @@laurencefraser there's also a nice river and picnic area abut you'd have to know about it, it's miles from anywhere.

  • @mikeandtriciajohnson7241
    @mikeandtriciajohnson7241 Pƙed 4 lety +2

    We have been on that train, they stop just after the tunnel to let passengers off to walk across the bridge so that you can take pictures of the train coming at you and then the train stops just around the corner so that the passengers can get back on.
    It's a very good trip with some stunning scenery.
    Dunedin station is worth a visit even if you're not traveling, the ticket hall is incredible.

  • @gasdive
    @gasdive Pƙed 5 lety +1

    Lucky to see this. They were common in the 90's. There were still a few road/rail bridges on the west coast when I was there in 2015, but when I visited again in 2018 they were all gone.

  • @klutterkicker
    @klutterkicker Pƙed 5 lety +18

    Tom should do a series called Amazing Potential Disasters.

  • @JourneywithSmee
    @JourneywithSmee Pƙed 4 lety +3

    I've visited New Zealand a couple of times. It really is a quirky weird country like no other and my God is it gorgeous.

  • @iankemp1131
    @iankemp1131 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    The Taieri Gorge railway is a great day out for those who don't know it, very spectacular. There was a one-lane road/rail combined bridge at Connel Ferry near Oban (Scotland) for many years. Since the closure of the Ballachulish branch in the 1960s, it has been road only.

  • @CaveJohnson376
    @CaveJohnson376 Pƙed rokem +1

    i love how train driver waved back at Scott, when that train was passing by

  • @JawTooth
    @JawTooth Pƙed 3 lety +7

    That is cool!

  • @burbanpoison2494
    @burbanpoison2494 Pƙed 5 lety +72

    All bridges should be like that. I'm tired people driving into moving traffic and assuming it will stop.

  • @hobbitilius
    @hobbitilius Pƙed 5 lety

    Mad respect for the effort put into the camerawork of this video, Tom.

  • @StuffWePlay
    @StuffWePlay Pƙed 5 lety +2

    As dangerous as it sounds in concept, its great to see how peaceful this is in practice!

  • @OzzyMate88
    @OzzyMate88 Pƙed 5 lety +9

    As soon as you said road/rail bridge I knew it was going to be NZ. they have many awesome ones up the west coast too but sadly they are separating them as traffic increases so the experience will eventually dry up

  • @charlesyin
    @charlesyin Pƙed 5 lety +4

    Not dissimilar to Connel Bridge
    near Oban. The bridge wasn't wide enough for both trains and cars, so it worked more or less like a level crossing.

  • @KwarterCraft
    @KwarterCraft Pƙed 5 lety

    Thanks for showing all these cool oddities Tom! The world is full of neat little features and you're allowing people to see them all.

  • @CSXRailfanNick1003
    @CSXRailfanNick1003 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    I am a Railfan in the US (I film trains) and it’s nice to see other countries trains.

  • @biponacci
    @biponacci Pƙed 5 lety +4

    Loving these videos from my home in NZ : )

  • @GigglingChinchilla
    @GigglingChinchilla Pƙed 5 lety +8

    "Sorry, I screwed up my line. Could the train come back and drive over again?"

  • @NicholasMaietta
    @NicholasMaietta Pƙed 5 lety

    More than the content itself, what amazes me the most his how Tom can seemingly get so much information out in what seems like one camera take. That's some expert level memorization right there.

    • @Genius_at_Work
      @Genius_at_Work Pƙed 2 lety

      It's the other Way around. Research Informations and write a Script, so you know what to record and be efficient at it.

  • @camdynkellett6782
    @camdynkellett6782 Pƙed 2 lety

    Yessss! that timing of the Trian was perfect! Thank you for having such attention to detail Tom!

  • @pegeonpera
    @pegeonpera Pƙed 5 lety +7

    I can imagine some action movie scene taking place here
    A car just making it through while a train is coming from other side

  • @lordsqueak
    @lordsqueak Pƙed 5 lety +3

    The train always has the right of way, even if it doesn't, it will make it's own right of way. The train never loses.

    • @SassyP17
      @SassyP17 Pƙed 5 lety

      Ah unless there is dynamite

    • @lordsqueak
      @lordsqueak Pƙed 5 lety

      @@SassyP17 Or another train,,, loaded with dynamite.

  • @Remmes
    @Remmes Pƙed 5 lety

    What a stunning view.

  • @brendono9
    @brendono9 Pƙed 5 lety

    Great to see you are enjoying your time in our fair land Tom! Having just returned from a holiday in the UK and Italy I'm very glad to be home and extremely grateful for the simple things New Zealand had to offer, including quirky train bridges and fruit based town monuments (Kiwifruit in Te Puke, Carrots in Ohakune, L&P Bottles in Paeroa). Keep up the good videos!

  • @ScorpioHighlander
    @ScorpioHighlander Pƙed 5 lety +32

    Level crossings are worse... I can believe that, people will pay way more attention to this.

  • @gaius_enceladus
    @gaius_enceladus Pƙed 5 lety +5

    Good video! Hope you're having a great time here in NZ, Tom!
    Maybe you can do a video or two here in Wellington!

  • @gamingwithflash7902
    @gamingwithflash7902 Pƙed 5 lety

    Always happy to see a new Tom Scott vid

  • @werelemur1138
    @werelemur1138 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    My grandmother lives on an island with a one-way access road leading toward the bridge. There is an unspoken etiquette: no signs tell you to give a driver coming around the blind turn onto the inbound road a few moments to show themselves before pulling onto the road from the outbound side. Everybody who's been there a while just learns by seeing it happen, and the only time there are ever issues is when both drivers are both a) new enough that they haven't picked up on the fact that the unspoken rule gets everyone where they're going with the least amount of fuss and b) determined not to be the one to back down.

  • @VuizTV
    @VuizTV Pƙed 5 lety +3

    Went over a few of these in Uganda, most of the trains in the country have stopped running now though.

  • @lukasschramm5906
    @lukasschramm5906 Pƙed 5 lety +3

    The Taramakau Road-Rail Bridge south of Hokitika in New Zealand is an even weirder example of this

    • @HerrSchnapps
      @HerrSchnapps Pƙed 5 lety +1

      Sadly it's recently been replaced

    • @lukasschramm5906
      @lukasschramm5906 Pƙed 5 lety

      @@HerrSchnapps Is that really true? Such a shame! are there any sources for this? Are there now to bridges?

    • @Catrope
      @Catrope Pƙed 5 lety

      Yup, you can see it on street view in Google Maps

  • @austinvincent5999
    @austinvincent5999 Pƙed 5 lety

    I really appreciate the timing of that shot. Respect.

  • @sergiofreitas9368
    @sergiofreitas9368 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    In Portugal we have a similar bridge still standing, the Jafafe Bridge in Sernada do Vouga. The train does go into the bridge *very* slowly, and I believe there are barriers, but still very cool to see.

  • @SteelSkin667
    @SteelSkin667 Pƙed 5 lety +10

    At 0:24 my derpy brain read "Home of George Takei railway" for a second. Oh, my.

    • @tkara1980
      @tkara1980 Pƙed 4 lety +1

      Wrong the Taieri Gorge. Taieri is pronounced "Tie-we."

  • @TaranVH
    @TaranVH Pƙed 5 lety +76

    How'd you get the cameras on the bridge to so perfectly pan to follow the train? They've gotta be motorized somehow...

    • @nelsonglover3963
      @nelsonglover3963 Pƙed 4 lety +25

      GoPro Fusion 360 probably then planning around the sphere in post

    • @JohnSmith-dt1tw
      @JohnSmith-dt1tw Pƙed 3 lety +24

      @@nelsonglover3963 Tom does a lot of neat stuff with that camera. His series "Two of These People are Lying" (a 4 people around a table panel show type thing, well worth a watch) was shot on the 360° camera, with the camera in the middle of the table. It's probably a lot easier to set up than 4+ go-pros, plus if someone moves you can track them after the fact.

    • @xtrct7303
      @xtrct7303 Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Taran, the only human being that asks about camera setup on Tom Scott’s video

    • @JonatasAdoM
      @JonatasAdoM Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@JohnSmith-dt1tw Wait... I never realized that there weren't any cameras!!
      You blew my mind!
      I'm so used to the cameras and microphones I just assumed they were there.
      Another reason to go watch it again yay!

    • @Skorpychan
      @Skorpychan Pƙed 2 lety

      Probably a gyro-stabilised camera attached to one of the smoothest and most precise tracking systems available; trained human hand/eye coordination.

  • @distanttouch
    @distanttouch Pƙed 5 lety

    There's a similar bridge in Wilderness, South Africa, used by the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train, although the line hasn't been used since it was damaged in a landslide a good few years back.

  • @harryscorah2091
    @harryscorah2091 Pƙed 5 lety

    In the UK you can go to Preston Docks and see a road and rail swing bridge! It’s used far more by cars than trains. It sees weekend heritage passenger trains on the Ribble Steam Railway at weekends and in holidays and also sees a long freight trains in and out of Lindsey oil refinery from the mainline a few times a week.

  • @JJRicks
    @JJRicks Pƙed 5 lety +5

    Never expected a semi-railfanning video from Tom Scott, nice work!

  • @-4subscriberswithahammerad521

    I seriously hope nobody has been in a hurry and tried to go ahead of the train

    • @Huntracony
      @Huntracony Pƙed 5 lety +1

      Here's the thing, I don't think they would on a damn bridge, people do try on level crossings.

    • @TheSpaghettiKnight
      @TheSpaghettiKnight Pƙed 5 lety

      Not a New Zealander here, but someone has, I'm sure of it. :/

    • @roblamb8327
      @roblamb8327 Pƙed 4 lety

      Perhaps they ought to have added passing places mid-bridge? And/or "No Overtaking" signs? That's the/our British way of taking Health and Safety to excess.

    • @trueriver1950
      @trueriver1950 Pƙed 3 lety

      People don't usually try that a second time

  • @ursusss
    @ursusss Pƙed 5 lety

    Love how short but informative your clips are. Congrats, nice channel

  • @colinmerrilees
    @colinmerrilees Pƙed 2 lety

    The Kazungula Bridge just opened last year on the border of Zambia and Botswana (and Namibia and Zimbabwe - 4 way border!) which is a shared rail/road bridge too.

  • @sparkywolftail
    @sparkywolftail Pƙed 5 lety +3

    No!! Tom your greying! Its ok we still love you no matter what ❀

  • @VithorCasteloTutoriais
    @VithorCasteloTutoriais Pƙed 5 lety +33

    0:04 "the rules are simple"
    YOU LAUGH YOU LOSE

    • @shahimagesyt
      @shahimagesyt Pƙed 4 lety

      Well you already know what happened to me

  • @tiswasthe1
    @tiswasthe1 Pƙed 5 lety +2

    There's a bridge in Preston, Lancashire, UK next to the marina that's a swinging bridge and used by trains, yachts and normal road use

    • @cool110
      @cool110 Pƙed 5 lety

      That thing doesn't half shake when it's a steam train going over

  • @firefox39693
    @firefox39693 Pƙed 4 lety

    In Alaska, there is a small town called Wittier, and it's only road link is a single-lane tunnel, and it's shares between cars and trains.

  • @nightw4tchman
    @nightw4tchman Pƙed 5 lety +4

    There's a swing bridge in Preston in the UK similar to that, Tom. Although as you say it has barriers and warnings.

    • @Cookie1994UK
      @Cookie1994UK Pƙed 5 lety +1

      You beat me to it. I've seen a train on the bridge but I've never been there to see it open for a boat to go through

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD Pƙed 5 lety +2

      Oh I think I’ve seen that one somewhere! What a crazily impressive bridge it is, a combination of a swing bridge and level crossing...

    • @taygadesign
      @taygadesign Pƙed 5 lety

      @@Cookie1994UK wait then how do they make sure the railway track is aligned when the bridge is lowered?

    • @nightw4tchman
      @nightw4tchman Pƙed 5 lety

      @@Cookie1994UK I've been on trains over it and driven over it countless times. Yet to see it open for a boat in person though. There's two level crossings either side of it as well which makes it fun if you're driving.

    • @nightw4tchman
      @nightw4tchman Pƙed 5 lety +1

      @@taygadesign It locks in to place I believe. I've driven on it countless times and it looks almost perfectly aligned every time.

  • @drlogiq1494
    @drlogiq1494 Pƙed 5 lety +5

    FINALLY, a place where natural selection may continue... we need more places like this in the world :D

  • @Schwertsan
    @Schwertsan Pƙed 5 lety +2

    That is a great train trip in the spring. The other train/car bridge in NZ is on a main highway, lots of traffic.

    • @julianevans6486
      @julianevans6486 Pƙed 5 lety

      That is now rail only. New road bridge opened. That is located just south of Greymouth

  • @deanfrench4014
    @deanfrench4014 Pƙed 3 lety

    Taramakau River bridge just south of Greymouth is a one way bridge with rail, and a major state highway for New Zealand, also with out barriers or lights.

  • @researchinbreeder
    @researchinbreeder Pƙed 5 lety +15

    Tourists: Trains have right-of-way? Not on my watch!
    Also tourists: _Gone. Reduced to atoms_

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD Pƙed 5 lety +1

      Train: “I’m about to end this man’s whole career”

    • @OrangeC7
      @OrangeC7 Pƙed 5 lety +1

      Tourists: Tries beating the train to it
      Thanos: Snaps the universe

  • @randomdude9135
    @randomdude9135 Pƙed 5 lety +5

    You know you're lucky when both Tom and Ted-ed upload on the same day :)

  • @darkbyte2005
    @darkbyte2005 Pƙed 5 lety

    Amazing scott thanks for bringing this cool place to us

  • @gab_v250
    @gab_v250 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    1:08 I recall there was a bridge of this type in Novi Sad, Serbia, over the Danube, built after the previous one was exploded in the Balkan Wars, and decommisioned after the new bridge was opened.

  • @francoisrd
    @francoisrd Pƙed 5 lety +11

    How did they perfectly time the train horn with Tom's monologue???
    Edit: 0:18

    • @flashsurfing
      @flashsurfing Pƙed 5 lety

      Tom timed when the train would arrive, paused monologue for the horn

    • @bremCZ
      @bremCZ Pƙed 4 lety

      Edit the horn into the monologue.

  • @RamsyC9
    @RamsyC9 Pƙed 5 lety +41

    just one thing: How do you come up with all the ideas/places for your videos?!
    Do you have people researching for you?
    Anyways, keep up the good work!

    • @FailTorrent
      @FailTorrent Pƙed 5 lety +6

      A lot of people e-mail him with suggestions for his video's, but I can imagine a lot of companies like this also get in touch with him, because it's good promotion.

    • @TheCrowDoctor
      @TheCrowDoctor Pƙed 3 lety

      There are only 5 cities with over 100k population excluding the lower hutt. (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) so there is not a large selection.

    • @TheCrowDoctor
      @TheCrowDoctor Pƙed 3 lety

      @John Citizen Hahaha jokes on you, you live in Dunedin like I do probs not, our architecture is amazing.

  • @dasten123
    @dasten123 Pƙed 5 lety

    I love these small and interesting videos. I hope there are many more to come!

  • @thehuntfamily4651
    @thehuntfamily4651 Pƙed rokem

    There is a tunnel in Alaska connecting Whittier to Anchorage, the tunnel is the only road and railroad way into and out of the town of Whittier, it is called the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. the tunnel cuts straight through the middle of the mountain that separates the two cities.