I have Asperger's and find your videos calming in a way that a host of medications don't seem to manage. I've suggested your channel to others in my Autism group, and it seems our flavor of neurodivergence really find your videos soothing. Thank you
Contrary to the conditions outside the train, I find your videos extremely relaxing. And it's weird seeing the foreground rails buried under the snow. It's as though the train is floating! It's lovely to relax in the evening with a cup of coffee (maybe some chocolate too) and watch the harsh conditions outside of the train window! Fascinating to watch. Thank you.
Hello dear RCG!! After a while, your videos are missed. You have accustomed us to enjoy the beauties of Norway, allowing us to get to know the railway activity in a pleasant, cordial and very professional way. I allow myself to qualify this video as excellent. Thank you for sharing part of your "railway" activity. Noberto from distant Argentina 🇦🇷🇧🇻
I have not been behind "the wheels"of a train, but I have driven a car in conditions like these. If it is too bad they will close the road. Otherwise you will drive in a convoy and follow the car in front of you. Not the most joyful thing I do, but it is mostly boring, not so scary. Of course on the road alongside this railway line. It was teryfying going skiing at Finse in such weather when visibility is close to zero.
This is the most exraordinary of all your fine videos. The conditions you had to deal with shows your great skill and, frankly, courage, as a train driver. These conditions were horrifying, if also beautiful at times. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you! I also agree that this is the most extreme video I've posted. Running freight now gives increases the chance of seeing this type of weather as I'm going over the pass every day, not being stuck in the local service between Voss and Bergen. ;)
@@RailCowGirl Lol "horrifying." Try that in snow several feet over the top of the rails, up a 2.75% grade, 12,000 trailing tons with dpu's, detector failures, signal failures, broken rail and snow slides on blind corners you can't stop for. Then we'll talk horrifying.
@@smokayman - She didn't say "horrifying" ya dumbass. Tom did. That attitude you're copping? That's likely why you drive a train huh? No one wants to be around a Negative Nancy at work. :P
@@ricomon35 Thats rich coming from someone simping in a video about trains lmao. I guess this is why you're a keyboard warrior that contributes nothing to society that everyone looks down on. :P
Noooooooooooo no and NOPEEE!!! That was terrifying. I would have parked that train in one of those tunnels, turned the heat on and waited for spring. You are one brave soul and get all of my respect. I will never in my life complain about the heat here in south Texas again. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Apart from the snow, which we've been missing in Poland for the last 15 years (with some brief stints), on our visit to Tromso, we were so amazed with Norway and its beautiful landscapes, as well as fairytale-like buildings and incredible tidiness of cities and towns. A truly lovely country.
Weather conditions and the land layout in your country show why railroading is crucial to getting people and goods around. So what you drivers are doing is so valuable. I'd love to visit Norway sometime in the future, world conditions permitting. Thank you for letting us view into your world and its unique joys and challenges.
@@Firefly414 AHH yes, sure. Just have to spend a ton of time widening the tunnels, get the permits for actually constructing the road, construct the road etc... No, it would not be more efficient. It would be ridiculously expensive compared to rail.
It's absolutely fascinating seeing what some peoples work day is like, this video and train journey is off the chart, we don't have these kind of conditions in New Zealand, this was a real eye opening experience, thank you for sharing with us
Wow, great journey in such wild conditions. I know from driving a car in snow, the hypnotic effect of the snow coming towards you in the headlights is very draining. I bet you looked forward to each tunnel where you’d get a few seconds of relief. Nothing but respect for the awesome job you do. I’ve been hooked on your videos for over 2 years now. Keep up the great work 👍🏼😊🐮🚄
1:26:09 I'm impressed how brave you had to be to step off the train long enough to shoot those pictures in driving snow. Have to admit the pictures after the passenger train went through at 1:26:58 were really impressive too. They do feel very surreal.
I've enjoyed having this video playing while working, with the sounds of the locomotive and the track and the wind like an eerie but somehow comforting music. Thank you.
My goodness, what horrendous conditions to drive in ... you are one courageous person to do so ... I am so happy you arrived safely and thank you so much for sharing your video with us ... it must be rather terrifying when you hit those drifts with the snow flying up and you can't see anything. Take care RCG and stay safe! You are the best!
Oh, and thank you very much for the photographs that you took of the outside of your train 🚂 during your stop at Finse. You must have gotten out of your nice, warm cab to get those picturesque pictures. Much appreciated!
The more I travel along with you on this journey, the more I am convinced that route knowledge is crucial in these conditions. That must have been an exhausting shift.
Proper qualifications are so important. 99% of the time its foward lookin business as usual. You get some thick fog or blizzard conditions and you realize then you can run mostly on time by sound feel and your watch. It feels so wrong too. Ive ripped down the NEC at 100mph with 15ft visibility relying on cab signaling and hoping to hell I didnt miss a certain bump or sound so I knew to brake for a station. Good times. Lol.
But this route also kills thousands of thousands of animals that get stuck on the track because of the snow. And even when there is no snow. The train operators are notified about animal herds, but they won't slow down.
Thank you very much for taking it upon yourself to go through the expense, IT learning, the beaurocracy and work to record and present us with such geat quality videos. I hope RU-vid is paying you well for each video's viewership. I am also thankful that the rail company allows you to do this. You camera work is some of the highest quality on RU-vid. Again, Thank You.
WOW! What a video. Interesting, compulsive viewing & very relaxing,all in one. Thank you for your courage in doing this route (through the most appalling conditions), videoing it, & then sharing your experience with others. This i the best train route video I've ever seen. All my anxieties of the day just disappeared whilst watching this & your snippets of info (throughout), made it even better. As an ex railway signal technician, this reminds me what i loved about the job. Please keep filming & i (for one), will keep watching. 🙂👍
You live a really good life. I am proud of you. Transporting freight across Norway, doing your part to keep the nation supplied and the economy successful. In a way, you are a hero. 👍
Exciting! Love your videos. "Stormy winter conditions on the mountain pass" was the first one I watched years ago. Awesome then, even more awesome now. Good job.
@@RailCowGirl I have to go up into thin air above 11,000 ft. in Colorado, in winter, to find these extreme conditions, yet they are "just another day in the office" for you. I would move to Norway tomorrow!
I watch this video to sleep almost every night. I am someone who loves the cold and has heat intolerance caused by neurological problems. This video puts my mind at ease and makes my eyes feel heavy. I appreciate your work!! 💌
Absolutely amazing video!!! Wow!!! I couldn't believe the speeds in the snowstorm. I really liked the views from Voss...very beautiful in the snow at night.
Some of the best snow pictures we have ever seen. We lived through several major snow storms with drifts over the roof of our home. We were never out in these conditions as we stayed inside out of harm’s way. Very dangerous conditions. Thank you for posting this amazing video that we have watched many times. 👍👍👍. 5-3-22
I live in New Hampshire in the United States and have driven through bad snowstorms but not nearly as bad as this. Thanks for taking us for a ride! I love your videos!
That really was a white knuckle ride over the mountain. Travelling at 100kmh with 800+tonnes behind you, it is more than just a bit scary to have no vision at all because of snow. You must have nerves of steel. Thanks for putting this up.
@railcowgirl I was curious about that. I'm in my middle 50s, and anymore, driving for work (telco, evenings) in heavy snow conditions wears me out. The monsoon like rain storms we sometimes get does the same.
What an amazing ride through the heavy snow. Watching this at x2 speed really gets the adrenaline flowing. Scary! I started shivering while watching this video and had to put a coat on.
These are nice to have playing on my television just as background entertainment, good for Saturday nights when some friends are over. I would totally buy a DVD of these videos!
I also have aspergers and when I watch their video this not only looks after me, but I can well imagine that I myself am a locomotive driver in norway thank you for och invite this channel accompanies me for 3 years
What an amazing landscape and some fabulous driving skill. Here in the UK the train stops for "The wrong kind of snow" on the track any time snow even flutters on a rail, and yet you guys do this. Incredible work!
There's something both eerie and exhilarating driving in blizzard conditions like that on a road. I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like driving a train through similar blizzard conditions where it could be days before help would get to you should something go wrong. Awesome (and relaxing) video RailCowGirl. Thank you.
In the UK the trains would be cancled and parked up at the sight of snow our country has a fear of it news makes out 2inches is a new ice age... Yet you just plod on not even being able to see the track brilliant videos fix my anxiety and bi polar disorder by keeping me clilled out
Simply, awesome! Just the kind of journey I was hoping for! And without wanting to be indelicate, I think it surpasses many of the other winter travels you have been kind enough to share. Thank you for bringing us along on this one. 😊
I salute you for driving through the blizzard so skillfully. Around Myrdal, it must have been scary to run this all alone and possibly getting stuck in the middle of nowhere if the overhead wire failed. Not to mention the wheel slip. Going downhill on the frozen track, with the heavy train pushing from behind, would have made me sweat in spite of the cold weather.
1:26:13...YIKES !!! though it really looks bad, as I remember, of the first harsh winter conditions, you had one where the station personnel broke off the accumulated ice from the engine front, with their shovels. Anyway....BRRRRR looks really cold. Loved the narrative, great ride, thanks for sharing.
That is just because of the direction of the wind :) signals has been completely covered large portions of this winter, so line knowledge is key :) that said, I'm very glad they weren't covered completely on this trip. :)
Wow... that's breathtaking! I've never seen anything like that before, and every minute it gets better and scarier. Congratulations to the conductor, gorgeous ability!
Quite hypnotic running through the falling snow, but must have been hard on the eyes. I saw in an article in the Guardian that not only Amundsen but also Shackleton & Scott prepared for their antarctic expeditions around Finse, and I think I can see why. P.S. Also been enjoying the nest-box camera inset on the stream.🙂
Next time I go to Norway I would like to experience the Bergen Oslo line. I am from Norway but live in the US. I have taken Dovrebanen many times but this will be on my list. Very exciting video. I love traveling on trains.
around 42:30 time mark into the video, i love the balance of blue dusk skylight and snow, & artificial light from the light poles and the red and other artificial human made lighting . In the photography and movie business we call this "the magic hour" , in France called l'heure bleue - the blue hour
Awesome video! I have two questions tho: 1. What is that horn that goes off every so often? Are you sounding the horn of the train? I cant seem to find a pattern to that... 2. What does "written permission" mean? Do you have a printer in your cabin and get those permissions via email or fax?
I like watching the Bergen-Oslo run. My wife's grandfather Brynjulf Rogne came to Kindred, North Dakota from Voss in 1900. Most of his neighbors in Kindred came from Gol Hallingdal. His brothers worked on the Finse railroad station over a century ago. The storm around Finse looks much like a North Dakota blizzard. I've driven in those conditions many times, but I didn't have a plow on the front like the locomotive has. My wife's cousins started the Sports store in Geilo, and I have a cousin in Oslo.
This was so enjoyable to watch! My favorite conditions outside are pretty much what you drove through. In the woods the wind dies down and there’s a kind of a dull silence with just the evergreens creaking and clumps of snow falling down. Your video is much more dynamic than that of course :) Thank you again, this was a great ride to see!
ISSUE RESOLVED! Now available in all resolutions again! Enjoy! Sun 24th 12:05pm CET: Weird issue! This video is available in 4K, for some reason not all are able to view it in 4K. I've been in contact with RU-vid support and they are now working their magic to solve the issue. :) UPDATE: Tue 4:13pm Just received an email from RU-vid stating that the reprocessing of the video has not resolved the issue, the case has now been lifted to some specialists. Awaiting new information. - Sun 10:08pm: Reprocessing can take up to 48 hours they say. Of course they don't prioritise, even when they effed it up.
This is truly amazing. My hat goes off to you. You must have great trust in your loco and very thorough route knowledge to have the confidence to cross "the mountain" in these conditions. You've deserved your cocoa tonight!
This was amazing, and well done to the driver, it became more auting as the journey continued, the lone passenger on the platform, the night drawing in, the mist and as a photograper I could feel the subjects in front of me, excellent video.
WOW!! You are confident in your skill as a train driver and you are confident in the skill of the people helping you drive your train. But the trip must have been unnerving and you were probably relieved to get to the end. I bow to you and all of your associates.
Snow is my thing. I love it. I love it even when it stays on the roads for a month. It cleans all the ugly and darkness from the world. And the more snow the better. As a result, I've watched this one countless times. i have a whole playlist of these, also a few from Sweden. but 9 out of 10 times I'm watching this one on loop until I fall asleep. Snow is beautiful yes but above that, I think it simplifies everything. No choice overload and no adhd. Just snow, movement and the occasional horn or engine hum. So needless to say I find this to be the single best video on youtube.
Talk about "a dark and stormy night"! Wow. Thanks for all the notes explaining what was going on. They made it much more interesting. At the terminal in Bergen, how does the loco get unhooked from the train to go to the other end? I didn't see a crew member on the ground to do that.
This is amazing! Amtrak closes down for little more than snow flurries... In the old Pennsylvania Railroad days, they used to operate through ALL kinds of weather even through stuff like this.
I have been to Norway several times (my cousin moved there) and I like both Bergen Line and Flåm Railway very much. I come from a "railway family" you could say and I loved to be in the locomotive with my grandfather as a child. This video was awesome and really interesting to see how the line looks from the driver's perspective in winter!
Wow, TUNNELS! I’ve never appreciated the Finse tunnel the way you drivers must! Then, coming out of the tunnel to see all of Bergen lit up - better than Christmas after this drive! That signal failure protocol, however necessary, is a stretch, too. Thanks for reposting this!!
I finally took the tour through the "room" in the Finse tunnel. Wow!!! A turntable and 2 storage spurs, and it appears more could be added. Thank you so much for your efforts to record that for all to see. You all do railroading RIGHT! U.S. still uses smokey diesels and burning fossil fuel in huge amounts. Electric is far better. Rock on, my friend! We all love you over here in Minneapolis, Minnesota! 🤗
All in all a bit of a straining night. My dad drove a truck 🚛 in his day and drove through many a snow ❄️ storm and blizzard here in the USA. He called them " white knuckle runs in the stormy rocky mountains" he had the tire chains to keep him company during his turn in the Rockies. He knows the feeling of your just on the edge of out of control. People don't know what a responsibility it is doing this kind of work. Stay safe and KEEP THE SHINY SIDE UP"
Amazing video, love them! I can just imagine these little towns along the way the next morning when the blizzard has passed. No wind, blue skies and the sun rising to reveal a landscape blanketed in pure white snow. It must really be a sight to see...
WoW this really takes serious nerve and skill. Respect to you.. Coming from Dublin, Ireland, we don't see conditions like this.. I was lucky to spend some time in Arendal and Oslo one Christmas time and it was truly beautiful. Thank you for your videos. Sláinte ☘️
"As it was only the train driver who died, you couldn’t call it a disaster. There were 269 people on board when the train, due to a meteorological phenomenon that I have not yet understood completely, came off the rails and missed the tunnel through Finsenut." (The first sentences of "1222" by Anne Holt - which is a quasi classic style murder mystery novel that takes place in Finse in a horrifying winter storm.) After watching your video, it is not too hard to imagine those conditions that I read in this book about. Take care, dear RailCowGirl!
Great video I work at an airport as a fire fighter and this was nice to watch while I sat in the watch room while everyone slept. Thanks for a great video!!
Horrible blizzard ! 🥶 It snowed heavily in Japan this winter too. In Hokkaido, trains were stopped on all lines for several days. When you fell asleep, did you close your eyes and see the afterimage of a blizzard burned into them? Thanks for the amazing video ! And be safe ! 👍
Some years ago when exchange rate wise skiing was a vieable possiblity in Norway I travelling from Bergen to Geilo one snowy winters evening. It was grim indeed with long, long periods of remaining stationary, eventually arriving at Geilo about 04.00am. In the hotel dining room I thought it was in the basement, but it was the snow about 3 metres high around the hotel! The heat from the hotel had melted the snow back about a metre. Happy days! Good friendly people the Norwegians!
I just rewatched this video. It's one of my favorites, although I could understand that it might not have been one of your favorite trips...:) I stopped to look up and read the history of the remote station Hallingskeid, located in the snow shed. It's all so beautiful❤
Я очень люблю Ваши видео! Норвегия красивая страна. А у Вас очень трудная и опасная работа. Желаю Вам здоровья и удачи на всех Ваших дорогах! И новых, интересных видео! Спасибо. ))
Putting the full screen mode on and turning lights out in the room i could get close to the screen and almost feel like i was there.. Weird i could enjoy a train ride through Norway from sunny California.... Thanks for taking the trouble to film it ...
I have only just come across you channel, but what an amazing cab ride. What harsh conditions and it was great how you were abla to stop your locomotive and let everyone see the secret room in the Finse tunnel. I'm going to watch a few more of your vid's. It's a bit warmer where I live in Australia by the look of it. Please keep up the great work you are doing.
As an American Southerner (Texan) that loves the *idea* of snow, this has made me double-think that to an extent. I'm surprised trains, even passenger services, were running during such awful conditions, but I guess once you're used to the severe snow, it's not so bad? Either way, an amazing and quite anxiety-inducing video, especially when the snowdrifts blinded the cab for a good bit. Stay safe in the snow :)
The advantage trains have in conditions like that is, they're guided by the rails (so can't 'get lost' or run off the road) and their wheels cut through the snow to give them traction instead of skidding on top. But those were spectacularly awful conditions.
@@cr10001 I’m a little of a overthinker here and was wondering. How come the wheels not “de-detach” from the raiIs in these conditions. I get that the train weighs allot, but surely when you are compressing that much snow under the tracks the wheels doesnt “grip” anymore?
@@Eduartswag Train wheels are slightly conical, which forces any snow out sideways from between the wheel & track. Combine the shape of the wheel with the weight of the engine, and you get a remarkably effective snow plough effect.
Snow is the worst. It's cold, its heavy (shoveling it), it makes a mess of driving, you have to scrape it off your car (and then shovel it off the driveway), it gets FILTHY in the city (it turns brown and slushy), gets covered with dog piss, and when it finally melts, you find trash strewn all over your lawn that was hidden in the snow. I'd take texas in a heartbeat over another cold and snowy winter.
I was wondering what that blue'ish flashes were... untill i realized it was snow/ice between the panto and the wire that causes sparks... thought for a moment my monitor was broken :P Also epic drive.
