Am I the only one how noticed that bro can't even spell Capital right?

The irony of senators traveling in this thing on their way to kill another bill trying to improve public transport 💀

As a train enthusiast myself, I truly understand your interests in such an exclusive rail system.

Yup, the 1994 system is just like Disney's! The 1994 version is what's called a WEDway PeopleMover, just like the attraction at Magic Kingdom! The deal was closed under Bombardier, but was sold under the WEDway brand. When Disney employees who worked for WEDway were transferred to Bombardier, they worked on the Capitol subway. This is also similar to the Subway at George Bush Intercontinental which is another WEDway, but that one was legitimately built under Disney. Disneyland was the first Disney park to get the WEDway PeopleMover, but that system closed in 1995, and it didn't use LIM but rather had Goodyear tires placed along the track for propulsion. Because the Magic Kingdom system did not utilize the rotating Goodyear tires, Goodyear had no part in the East Coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was the original institutional patron of the attraction. Instead of an open track with covered cars, as designed for Disneyland, the trains were designed were built as open-air cars that traveled under a permanent roof over the guideway.

Like someone else said, it is very ironic for these lawmakers to use this fascinating system and then vote against funding for new transit systems in the US. It is a very nice touch to have paintings from a high school student representing every congressional district. In fact, those in the House once fought over one of those paintings back in 2017 because one student from Missouri decided to paint the Ferguson protests to highlight critical issues pertinent to conditions in African American communities. Yes, outrage...over a painting, instead of being motivated to solve what the painting is about. And I love how all the state flags are displayed at 11:26. My favorite US state flags are Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, and Alaska. For the symbolism of Arizona's flag, the copper star on Arizona's flag symbolizes Arizona being the largest producer of copper in the US, it shows the rays of a setting Sun because Arizona is a western state, blue and gold are the colors of Arizona, while red and gold are the colors of the Spanish flags that were carried by Coronado’s Expedition of 1540 to find the Seven Cities of Gold. And New Mexico's flag has sun symbol of the Zia people. Their solar symbol has four lines radiating from the circle in four directions because four is the sacred number of the Zia.

This was really fun to see. Years ago I rode the capitol subway when I went to Washington as part of the Presidential Classroom program for high school students interested in government. While I ended up going into math rather than politics, I still remember riding that train to this day.

8 people miss a train and they are all urgently cool with getting a cute new one for themselves. Millions have trouble getting around and they kill the ideas and funding for public transit improvements for decades upon decades.😂😭Anyway, first time Iv learned of or seen these. Its cool. But also something about it feels creepy and I don't know why lol.

The senate subway uses the same technology and cars as the Houston Intercontinental airport subway in Houston, which was also built by Disney.

I rode the old cars back in the 1950s as a child with my Mother when she was delivering documents to Senators & Congressmen.

12:16 - Yeah, you're absolutely right - the sound of those trains is really quite unique (and absolutely great, of course)!

Thanks for this video. I’m Hill staff and have ridden these a dozen times. Glad the USCP let you film.

I had a chance to ride the Capitol subway in the early-mid 1970's with my brother and mom when touring the Capitol. When we were done looking at the Capitol, we went down to the basement to ride the subway which was open freely to everyone. Beside us in the subway car, we had two members of Congress riding with us, one of the was Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina.

A Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins in a congressional office building...America truly runs on Dunkin! Even though I've only done the touristy tour in 2010, it's really cool to look at all the details of the Capitol! The underground city thing is just like Disney World's Magic Kingdom! At Magic Kingdom, they have the Utilidors which is a system that has some of the world's largest utility tunnels. This makes theme park operations possible. This system allows cast members like costumed characters to reach their destination out of sight from guests. The public can visit the Utilidors if you book the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. According to a legend, Walt was bothered by the sight of a cowboy walking through Disneyland's Tomorrowland en route to his post in Frontierland. He felt that such a sight was jarring and it detracted from the guest experience. Since Disneyland was small, such a tunnel system could not be built, so when Magic Kingdom was planned, the system was built. The Utilidors is not a basement, as due to the elevated water table of its Florida location, most of these tunnels were actually built at ground level, and the Magic Kingdom was built above that.

My dad works for the Federal Government right down the street from the US Capitol building. There are plenty of underground tunnels that lead from different federal buildings throughout DC. A lot of them are confidential. My dad works for the Government Printing Office (now Government Publishing Office), and he can confirm they have a tunnel that leads from his building on North capital street to the US capitol. It’s like a whole network of tunnels underneath DC. But cool video! Very well done!

I absolutely love your enthusiasm on these videos, Thom. I rode both the Senate and House subways during my only visit to the Capitol building, in 1982, before the Hart building and its subway extension opened and had no idea it had been modernized in 1993. In those days you were pretty much free to roam the halls and even have lunch in the Senate Dining Room (everybody said I had to have the famous Senate Bean Soup but I was underwhelmed) but I guess the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed all that.

Those linear induction motors make some of the strangest sounds that I've ever heard from a piece of rolling stock! Also, I definitely should contact my representatives to see if I could get a ride on the Capitol Subway

After college graduation in 1998 I went to the D.C. area to visit my sister. We went to our state senator's office to get passes (free) to access the viewing gallery. The (very attractive) page working his front desk told us how to access the subway system from the Senate office building to the Capitol. We weren't entirely sure we were supposed to be there, but we followed her directions and rode it. The hilarious thing was that it dumped us off in some back-office area of the Capitol, and we had to wander aimlessly to find out way back to the public areas.

This was a catch. I remember seeing a show from the 1960s and the actors looking at the cars as super modern, and state-of-the-art. Cool. Thanks.

It looks so much like a fairground ride, even down to the "please keep hands and feet inside car" notice.

11:26 There was also an airport which I believe was in Boston that had the same sort of subway system installed in the 1980s but it was very recently closed down and torn out leaving behind just wide hallways where it ran! Pretty much it was no longer needed because of a newer high capacity elevated train system. :)

This is awesome. I never knew this. Another thing on my bucket list

Very cool. The newer system reminds me of airport people movers (such as those at Changi). I like how staff can walk next to the rail lines if they want to get their steps up. 🚶

My parents and I were able to get a tour booked around 1990 when we were living in either PA or NY and we got to ride that train. I remember also getting to stand on the balcony of the senate floor for a bit and watch them which I thought was neat. The tour was a fun experience!

I can't believe it! The Dirksen-Hart Subway is a WedWay People Mover. That's incredible. I thought the only ones would be in Magic Kingdom (Florida) and at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston (Texas). Very interesting video.

I love how you geeked out over riding the capitol subway! I’d never heard of this system so it was interesting to learn about it. I’m glad you got to experience your dream to ride it!

Thank you so much for sharing this Thom. As a non-American who will never get to see these IRL - they were absolutely fascinating. Especially the one with the musical linear motor!

Thank you for this fascinating video ! I was completely unaware of its existence, and so glad you were able to take a ride, and explain it all to us. I think it’s a superb idea, and long May it continue !

As a non-american, I don't have a congressperson I could ask for a tour. So thanks for sharing this elusive piece of transit infrastructure!

It's always a pleasure, Thom! Can't wait for DC part 2.

Wooow. I'm impressed. A little metro system between buildings. Unbelievable ❤

Fun fact Bush Airport in Houston uses the same automated system for their underground subway. It's super cool.

Another fantastic video. Full of information and great visuals. It shows that you put a lot of time and effort into your work.

I like your Metro montages please do more!

This is one of the best, if not the very best video ever!!! I had no idea that these existed, or that they could be ridden on!!! Thank you for taking us all on this journey and thank you for all that you do!!!

Thanks for sharing Thom, you have a great day!

I've taken the Capitol Subway before! Waaaaaay back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I helped lobby some members of Congress (I believe it was to do with strengthening parts of the ADA but it's been long enough that I don't remember all the details), and guess how we got to the Senate & House offices...yup the Capitol Subway System! I remember I asked the aides of one of the Senators before about this and they said they can't imagine life without them...if only politicians would realize that trains (like these) are very convenient and useful for moving masses of people at a time and would use that energy to improve our rail system...

Enjoyed the video. Haha he basically said the reason the trains exist is for all our geriatric senators, because for them “walking is not their strong suit”

Thank you Thom for posting this. I’ve been on the Metro and was quite easy to use but that was in 1986 and was quite new then. Nice to see a young lad taking interest in our Capitol city and sharing it with us. Please travel the USA and post more, you do a good job and keep my attention on the video.

The new subway looks like the one you find in the Houston Airport. Very cool you got to ride the Capitol trains.

I know Thom was so happy when he wrote 0:15 into the script. Didn't expect that much fire at the beginning of the video

Thank you for sharing this beautiful.

This is so cool!!! thank you for doing this video!!

I have rode on that before with my aunt, she works in the government. They have children’s art from across the country on the walls, it was really cool.

Oh my! I love that! The LIM one has a strong familiar look with VAL systems. Great episode!

Thank you for sharing.

Great video !! Thanks for sharing it. James.

Homie love your channel! Public transit is one of the best infrastructure marvels mankind has ever created,alongside with dogs! During the covid-19 lockdowns,both public and private transit workers kept working and grinding,selflessly putting their lives on the line getting people to their spots! Transit workers at any level are definitely heroes! Thanks! 🚇 Transit & Dogs 🐕 for life!

Well done! Very interesting and informative, you got yourself a new subscriber!

Dude I moved to MD recently and I've been verbally trying make my friends visualize how awesome the Metrorail system is. Your production style is the exact image I want them to see. Thank you for sharing!

I remember riding these trains in high school when I visited DC for a class trip. Gosh that was almost 30 years ago now. I always thought they were so neat and I still have pictures (actual photographs, like we did back in the day) of them somewhere. This brought back memories for me! Thank you for the video

I really like the old and new metros Wher right next to each other

Comprehensive. You and your "team" do a great job keeping this personal, and smoothly keeping us going with well thought out b roll. Your research and deep diving is invaluable to keeping the channel interesting. Thanks for all your hard work.

That is so cool that you got to ride that secret subway and I loved that you got all dressed up for the honor!

Wow amazing video! Who’d have thought this existed! Thanks for sharing

Great video as usual!

I rode this subway my second week in the USA, a long time ago. It was fun, and it was part of our Washington Week experience as part of our MBA curriculum. I still remember it, more than 25 years later.

Wow, having been to the capital many times, House of Representatives and senate chamber many times, this is actually crazy that I just found this out! Wow!

Thanks for sharing 😊❤

Prior to completion of the Capitol Visitors Center it was common for visitors to take the subway to and from the Congressional and Senate office buildings as part of the the guided tours. Sadly it seems to be more difficult to do these days.

Been quite a while since I had spare time to reconnect with your channel and chill with your excellent videography. This one came up automatically when I googled into the channel. I didn't realise that the Capitol and annex buildings had such a transit system and you have covered it excellently. Now I must grab some lunch before catching up on the backlog. Thanks for this clip. Most interesting.🙂

The art on the wall at 5:10 looks like the MAX light rail in Portland, OR. I used to ride that thing all the time.

Thank you for the experience ❤ Trains are INDEED Awesome 🎉

What a wonderful metros systems there under the Capitol! Love it!

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this video. I didn’t even realize the public could actually ride these. I might have to look into that.

Wow, I did not know this is in the US Capitol

I can't wait to see this video!

Can’t wait to see this episode! 😄

Great Video ---- Loved your SHOES

Great Video Enjoyed it

Leuke video jongens echt vet om te zien hoe dit kanaal gegroeid is in de afgelopen jaren, lekker bezig :)

10:20 That monorail is just SOOOO Steampunk! I love it!

Nice video! Well done!

Fascinating episode, thanks for sharing. From San Diego, CA, home of the Tijuana trolley.

Hey Thom, I'll admit that the Dirksen-Hart Subway does make interesting noises while in transit with its magnetic linear motors, but I still prefer the sound of the NYCT R160B Siemens Propulsion, which btw I operated two at work today(one going southbound from Jamaica Queens to Coney Island and the other going northbound back to Queens from Coney Island Bklyn) although they can be a bit slippery on the Culver Elevated's wet rail in Brooklyn, NY... L8er

Fabulous, Very Interesting. Thanks So Much!!!

Really nice ! Thanx !

You looked like a kid in a candy shop when riding that Senate train! That must have been great fun - thank you for sharing with us!!! I visited the Capitol in 199, but did not know those trains existed. :-)))

Love the HDR viewing experience 🙂

Amazing video

They should have kept the suspended monorail. They ride so much smoother :)

Now for my anecdote, Thom. In 1964, yes in the last millennium, my graduating high school class took a senior trip to DC and then on to NYC. By bus. One of our state’s two senators was then from our home town and he gave us a personal tour, including a ride on the Capitol subway. I recall open air cars, without the wind screens shown in this video. The cars, while comfortable, seemed like roller coaster cars. A photo from that year would confirm, or disprove, my memory. As a bonus I lucked into sitting in a car beside our Senator, John Sherman Cooper (1901-1999). Thanks, Thom, for an excellent video and a ride down memory lane…uh…subway.

Thank you for a wonderful video and less9n.

I never heard of this before, as somebody that's had to use a cane for a few years now and recently had a mild stroke, seeing this is so awesome, short easy to use systems like this show be everywhere.

this looks a lot like a themepark ride. Very cool.

That 3-wire electric hookup looks similar to the connections installed on the overhead cranes at my job

It looks kind of serene I never explore it before ! 왠지 평온해 보이는데

I went to dc 2 weeks ago. Video up. Suprised me how nice the city is. Went to senate hall and White House

YIKES! Imagine being on-board that thing on that fateful day in January 2021….. Cool video!

Glad KZfaq sent me this way. I had no idea this existed!

I road one of theses trains back in the middle 1960's as part of a 6th grade field trip. That was before the DC Metro was even started. My family moved to the DC area just about a month after the last DC street cars were discontinued.

Never knew about this train. But seeing this, yes it is like the little train at Houston Intercontinental Airport. I rode on it a few months ago and for some reason it reminded me of a ferris wheel car... Btw this is a neat vid!

Thanks for the inspiration... I'm gonna build something like this in my long-term project world using Create's trains.

i got to ride that subway when i was on high school trip. me and the other winners of our vocational school competition. we first met our congressman in his office. then we rode that over to the capital, and got a tour of the captial. then had lunch afterwards with our congressman

This is awesome! Did not know about this at all! Too back the newer subway is automated :(

Used to ride these all the time back around 2000. Was easy to get to and anybody could ride. Loved hiking through the bowels of the capitol when crossing from one side to the other for work. You used to NOT need an escort to go through any parts of the Capitol grounds other than the members only elevators or the Senate and House chambers.

Looks like the Houston Bush airport subway train by Disney also. Great video!

Had no idea this existed, thanks for sharing

I enjoyed the video👍👍

Oh it looks like the same subway in Houston airport in Iah. but they have as well an elevated train.

These is a U.K. Post Office Royal Mail Train that runs underneath London alongside the existing Tube train, but these trains in DC look much cleaner, even more so than the New York subway - there is also talk about an underground system for Dublin, Ireland, but it’s anyone’s guess if this will ever get implemented