Train Livestreams!

So I was just watching some random Youtube videos, hard at work researching topics for the humanities blog, when I stumbled across a somewhat weird corner of the site related to our in-class discussions on artistic representations of trains. On the recommended videos for a video I was watching that was tangentially related to trains, I saw links to livestreams that were devoted to streaming footage from trains as they travel across the countryside. The channel has around 100k subscribers and apparently is devoted to livestreaming clips from a Norwegian television special from 2009 called "Bergensbanen Minutt for Minutt" that was just a 7 hour show of footage from a train ride across Norway to celebrate the route's 100 year anniversary. Apparently about 20% of the population of Norway tuned in at some point to watch part of the train's journey, which is impressive I guess? This form of long live stream television has become a sort of specialty in Norway, where it is called sakte-TV, or slow TV. The Norwegian Broadcasting Company has produced over 20 of these types of shows over the last few years. The most popular, depicting a ship taking a 134 journey, was seen by almost half of the Norwegian population.

The streams are somewhat cryptically titled, with names like "LIVE Train 24/24 Train Driver's View: Cab Ride World Railway in WINTER! Best Great." The videos are just kind of there with not much explanation as the only context provided in the video description is mention of the television program the footage came from and a paragraph long definition of what a train is. Below are links to the channel as well as to the most popular stream:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUPn5IEQugMf_JeNJOV9p2A

So now for what this has to do with what we discussed in class, how we view and relate to trains has apparently, and unsuprisingly, changed a lot since the 1800s, when they were harbingers of industrialization. Unlike the paintings that for the most part depicted trains as a new, exciting, and potentially threatening technology, in the context of the hour long videos of train footage, trains seem to be seen more peaceful and outdated as transportation technology has evolved. I think most of the several dozen to several hundred people watching the train streams are doing so as the footage of the train moving through the beautiful country side is sort of serene and peaceful. The television production was originally made to celebrate an anniversary, so there is something nostalgic about the video.

So if you're feeling stressed by modern life and need a moment to relax, I encourage everyone to take a minute and watch the train livestreams for a while. The scenery is nice and sometimes there are exciting events like stopping at stations where you can see passengers get on and off. Warning: I witnessed a few heated political arguments in the live comment section. If you are really a fan of the footage, the whole 246 GB file of the original HD footage from the show is publicly available to download here!