You'll absolutely want to ride on the Schwebebahn

Procol Harum fans know all about trains – the Whisky Train, the Ghost Train, the Last Train to Niagara – and of course Gary Brooker himself has written about railways (see here) and earned his nickname 'Hornby' (from Eric Clapton ... see here) because of his fondness for model railways. However, you ain't seen nothin', trainwise, until you've ridden upside-down on the oldest monorail in the world ... and that means going to Wuppertal!

As you can see, it's not possible to get lost on the Schwebebahn: Wuppertal is a linear town, and its railway, though eccentric, is uncomplicated

A peaceful moment in the Werther Brücke (pronounced a bit like 'Brooker', arguably) station. Despite its age
and eccentricity the suspended monorail is the standard commuter transport system of the Wupper valley

Trains in a station

A bit of train-swinging-out-over-road action

The stairway: not an exciting shot, perhaps: but view this clip to get a more dynamic impression of the system in action

High-profile Procol Harum posters are in evidence wherever you turn

Linda from Bristol, Jens from BtP, Michael from 'Whaling Stories': riding the Schwebebahn
during BtP's fact-finding mission (June 2012) to plan the Palers' Parties for April 2013

View of river and road below the carriage

The stations are constantly being renewed and upgraded, as this picture shows

The railway crosses over road-systems but much of its course swings above the river Wupper

A much more modern-looking station

Railway over the river

Jens and Michael striding purposefully towards some Procol-oriented rendezvous

Models of the 'Kaiserwagen', which comes out on special occasions

In 1950 an elephant named 'Tuffi' leapt from the railway into the river below: read about it here

A saint's day procession winds its way beneath the Schwebebahn

Procol dates in 2013 | Wuppertal booking-index