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Description

I mentioned in my previous shot how some stations are structurally separate from the framework that holds up the tracks, while some are themselves part of the structure.

This is the view underneath the station Völklinger Straße , with a GTW 72 type train having just departed towards Oberbarmen. As you can see, the station, just like the open tracks, is anchored via inverted V-shaped support columns that brace against the reinforced banks of the river Wupper below. Back in the day, the area in front of the actual platforms was just left open, with platform doors keeping passengers from falling in. Since this made it tedious to get in and out of the train, they were removed, with a safety net between the platforms preventing accidents. These days, there's a steel grating in place, but through it, you can still look down at the river below.

Here is also an outside view of one of the classic, original stations that "float" above the river. Sadly, all of these historic stations were completely torn down and rebuilt recently. While the newly built ones match the appearance of the predecessors, while also adding elevators, it still means that the actual historic structure was lost. This makes the building of the station Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof, which was rebuilt in the 1920s, the oldest surviving structure of the Schwebebahn.

Description

I mentioned in my previous shot how some stations are structurally separate from the framework that holds up the tracks, while some are themselves part of the structure.

This is the view underneath the station Völklinger Straße , with a GTW 72 type train having just departed towards Oberbarmen. As you can see, the station, just like the open tracks, is anchored via inverted V-shaped support columns that brace against the reinforced banks of the river Wupper below. Back in the day, the area in front of the actual platforms was just left open, with platform doors keeping passengers from falling in. Since this made it tedious to get in and out of the train, they were removed, with a safety net between the platforms preventing accidents. These days, there's a steel grating in place, but through it, you can still look down at the river below.

Here is also an outside view of one of the classic, original stations that "float" above the river. Sadly, all of these historic stations were completely torn down and rebuilt recently. While the newly built ones match the appearance of the predecessors, while also adding elevators, it still means that the actual historic structure was lost. This makes the building of the station Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof, which was rebuilt in the 1920s, the oldest surviving structure of the Schwebebahn.