The Football Team With A Steam Railway Running Through Their Ground
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2023
- We've all seen that viral video of the football team who have a steam train running through their stadium. But where exactly is this magical place? How DID a railway end up running through the middle of a football ground? And what is it like if you turn up for their biggest match of the season? I travelled to the small town of Čierny Balog, in the pine forests of central Slovakia, to experience the magic for myself...
INSTA - / the.tim.traveller
TWIT - / thetimtraveller
FACE - / thetimtraveller
LINKS
TJ Tatran Čierny Balog's official Facebook page (in Slovak) - profile.php?...
The railway's official website - www.chz.sk/en/
Ellis's video on the @awaydaysfootball channel - • I Visited The Worlds W...
Peter's Instagram - / peterbercik
The original source of the viral video, "Steam train rides through the football field in Jánošovka" by vlareha - • ČHŽ - Steam train ride...
IMAGE CREDITS
Slovak bus by ŠJů - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Roman Skuhravý by podbrezovan.sk - www.podbrezovan.sk/trener-roma...
Tim is unintentionally becoming a European football historian 😂 Peter is a true legend; nothing altered his plans to catch some rays!
Yes, and his fact about Hyde Road struck me as Quite Interesting
It should also be mentioned that the railway was saved and basically newly built by unpaid volunteers, railfans from Slovakia and Czech Republic, who have spent so much of their free time there. And I can proudly say that including myself, even though my contribution was miniature compared to others. :)
Tim, you should check out the whole narrow gauge system around Cierny Balog and its history in a separate video. ;)
I sort of hope that Cierny Balog is twinned with somewhere like Ffestiniog, or Corris, or Porthmadog, or Towyn (home of the worlds first railway preserved by volunteers).
This is great! What was your contribution? I would love to see a video on how the railway was brought back to life
Same gauge, 760mm as the Polish narrow gauge railways.
Yes Tim, they were donated 7 complete electric train compositions of the Swiss Waldenburg Railway. They have equipped one with a diesel generator and are making their first test runs.
@@fmb64 - not exactly DONATED, those were decomissioned by the Swiss, and CHZ bought it for a very discounted price, probably the price of a scrap metal. :)
Nowhere in the world can the away team arrive onto the pitch on a train, it's no wonder they did it! Also, well done on the tricky "Manchester City" pronunciation Tim.
That one always trips me up. Asked for a ticket to Man-chess-etter-shire once and the chap behind the counter just blinked slowly.
@@harbl99 A bit cringe, innit bruv?
(j/k)
I think the pronunciation is wrong. When I was at school, we used to pronounce the "C" as a "sh" sound.
@@timtranslatesMansh-hester. Got it.
Shouldn't that be spelt “Man-čes-tr Siti”?
Love how the train is just teasing people around. First it brought the away team, then the double-header, and finally push-pull config. Love that it's basically just showing-off.
Just been asked to give TH-cam some feedback on this comment... that's a first!
@@Eric_Hunt194 No no, you got it backwards, you are supposed to give TH-cam some backfeed! So you need to feed TH-cam the comment!
Even mr beast cant flex this hard
Tim: The real holy grail here is to see the train go through the stadium during a match.
Me: No, Tim! The REAL holy grail is the BE ON THE TRAIN as it goes through the stadium during a match. Come on! it's a train. Where else do you and I want to be?
but then you can't watch the match!
@@squelchedotter I mean, you can, for a minute or two.
@@squelchedotter Dude! Train!
Right? It's not even moving very fast. You could hop aboard at one side of the stands and hop off at the other.
@@squelchedotterThat is fine, I don't usually watch football, love trains on the other hand.
Never saw a better team entrance on a football field !
I'm wondering if that was the only condition they made for turning up, "We're only coming if we can arrive on that train".
It was glorious!
football doesn't do anything for me, but a team arriving by narrow gauge steam train directly INTO the stadium is just so cool!!
Same here. Most adorable.
You ain't lyin'. They should do that for every match.
As a Slovak, I must say your pronunciation of the Slovak place names (and Czech ones in other videos) is top notch compared to other TH-camrs!
The line "my den couldn't get much dobryer" made my den the dobryest in a while!
As a native from a village on the Czechoslovak border, it feels bizarre to see Tim travelling through a place that looks so much like home (but I guess that goes for all people who watch travellers' channels). It also feels strange but amazing to hear the basically as accurate a pronunciation of the place names as one can expect from a non-native speaker. And the word play in "get dobrý denned so that your den cannot get any dobrier" is absolutely hilarious, (even though it makes the linguist in me sweat a bit because "dobrý" has an irregular comparative form "lepší", just like you have good->better in English, but it kills the joke so eeeh, I'll get over it)
The bus crashing the screenshot out of frame is so satisfying to watch. Absolute beautiful piece of quirky editing.
We should start a petition to rename Čierny Balog as "Tim Town" because this is the ultimate Tim place.
To quote Tim, it has "quirky trains, football and almost mountains". Add local madlads and English people unwilling to pronounce local names to that, and you've got the ultimate Tim experinece.
Indeed, no wonder the music changed to "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" there! 😁
@@AaronOfMpls I do love the cheeky piano remixes so fittingly incorporated into Tim's videos.
@@P3x310 I have to watch every TTT video three times: once for the overall story, again to catch all the many details I missed the first time, and a third time to listen to the music.
As a Czech, I'm pretty sure I can speak for the whole of former Czechoslovakia when I say the British should step off since they sold us out in WWII, as well as the Poles.
@@TimWochomurka as another Czech and a friend of many Slovaks, I respectfully disagree. It is short-sighted to blame descendants for the sins of the ancestors, however upset one may be by history. And especially so in the comment section of a video of a good-hearted traveller who promotes the heritage of other nations.
You should come to Slovakia more often because you'll do a much better advert for this country than any official tourist agency ever could. Great video, I hope you had an equally great time.
Just a small footnote, you can't actually get a direct train from Bratislava to Brezno, you need to change in Banská Bystrica, but I believe there are some direct buses that run, mostly on Fridays to Brezno and back on Sunday.
Oh you're absolutely right, I forgot we had to change in Banská Bystrica. -10 pedantry points for me. Thank you for the correction!
It's funny that you put it like that, because just a month ago, another TH-cam channel called Geology Hub was sponsored for a week by the EU to do videos on the (mostly dead) volcanoes and volcanic remnants on Slovakia, which featured quite a few sweeping vistas.
Can we take a moment to appreciate the glorious transition from the Grandstand theme tune to 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' AND BACK at 12:20. That was incredibly smooth!!
Oh, moment absolutely taken, and an appreciation song and dance has been performed. Tim's little mood tunes are truly gold.
Not to mention 'Crazy Train' at the beginning!!
It's actually incredible.
@@domhughes7739omg thank you!! it sounded so familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on it
Plus at 8:45 there's the QI theme when Tim is answering his own question with some QI facts about stadiums with railway lines.
ive seen a couple tim traveller videos in the past so i occasionally get his videos in my recommended, but never have i clicked on a video so quick. this is the kind of content that makes me love youtube, a silly little video about a silly obscure premise that delivers on its promises and makes me smile throughout with how fun and wholesome it is. 10/10, will be recommending to everyone
You mean you are not subscribed to this talented creator? Le gasp!
@@epender haha dont worry, that issue has been fixed by now!
@@sophiaemily1819 As one would expect! 😆
@@sophiaemily1819 ; I was worried there for a second, this is a great place for random European location knowledge.
That's basically the premise of the whole channel. haha
This has to be one of the most wholesome videos ive seen in a long time..
i smiled all the way through it..
its quirky and has football in it.. whats not to love about it..
And TRAINS!!
And mountains.
I don't relate to the football, but it still made me grin throughout and outright laugh several times, and generally made me feel much better than I had been feeling before I watched it. My mouth is still wanting to grin as I write this. Best sort of video!
This is the most Tim Traveller, Tim Traveller video and I'm here for it.
Tim, you had wayyyyy too much fun making this video
Too right. I don't think I'll ever have more fun making a video :)
I love how you put all the names with correct diacritics, and even more that you pronounced them almost like a native! Chapeau!
I literally just watched AwayDays video going to this stadium and almost failed to get the shot.
This is basically the sequel to that video, only in an alternate reality where everything goes right
"If this is the team bus, shouldn't there be some footballers on it?"
I'm guessing they're all on the TRAIN-ing ground already, Tim. :D
Yay, Tim came to Slovakia. The phrase "I was dobry denned" is my knew favourite. Come to High Tatras and you will see proper Mountains.
I spent five weeks in Slovakia this spring. I froze my Dupa off in the High Tatras in April. 😮. I love Slovakia!
"My 'den' could not get much 'dobry-er'"😂😂😂
👏👏👏 Well played!
It's the music that puts Tim's videos over the top. Always takes me a few seconds to get it, but the choice is always spot on.
Funnily enough, When I first saw the thumbnail, I immediately had the Thomas the Tank Engine theme in my head, so I greatly appreciated hearing it in the sound track when looking at a similar shot in the video. 🙂
This video is Peak Tim! That "heaven is a place on earth/grandstand" medley was spot on!
Can we talk about how incredible the music is here
Tim's music is always great but that remastered grandstand theme is amazing
and the MOTD in the intro ofc
id love if he put the raw versions up on abandoned rugs
Not to mention finishing with "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" before the end theme. 😁
The opening note of his usual theme into Match of the Day was brilliant!
For me it was the QI theme when Tim was answering the question about stadiums with railway lines.
Kudos to the railway management who (presumably) arranged to have the visiting team arrive by train - on national TV no less - and then fired up both of their engines to make the most of the opportunity. You couldn't buy advertising like that!
Hi Tim. I really appreciate your effort of finding a very very rare occasions when there is a good match and also trains running through. There are many videos either with trains, but not the football or there is some match, but trains don't operate.
I think this is the best video, cause you also film special match with many viewers. Big thumbs up!
Wow, glad you enjoyed your stay in Slovakia, it rarely gets attention and it is even rarer for small towns such as Cierny Balog! :-) BTW, the train service was renewed for tourists as it is unique in some technological aspects which I didnt remember. It even has a "twin" railway in Taiwan.
the most savage team entrance ever, also props to Peter for the shirtless vibes.
Finally... That is what dedication meets opportunity 😂. Wonderful video as usual.
Your channel is so far off from what i usually watch, but it's always so delightful over here. Cool video.
you really cover some of the best stuff. going to a football game in san marino with you is on my bucket list.
Tim has honestly turned me into a San Marino supporter!
I have no way of traveling to their games, so I may as well keep their "San Marino national football team results" Wikipedia article in order. It's the least I can do. And maybe, just maybe, I get to add a win some day.
@@renerpho That will have to be against Andorra, Liechtenstein or Monaco (alphabetical order).
@@apveening Well, they're not playing against any of those any time soon. Next matches are against Northern Ireland and Denmark in October; then Kazakhstan and Finland in November.
San Marino has not scored at all since November 2022. Avoiding a full year without netting in a single ball should be a reasonable goal (no pun intended).
@@apveening I wouldn't fancy their chances against Monaco! Not that they're ever going to play a club side from Ligue 1.
I couldn't stop smiling. This was brilliant! And Peter turns out to be an actual good photographer! What have I been watching? 🤣
“My den could not get much dobrýer” at 5:35 had me cracking up so badly! Hilarious! 😅
This is absolutely peak Tim Traveller (ie a very modest rise in the ground in a very flat place).
Tim is the best. I love that he is visiting also more and more fantastic places in Central Europe.
What a magnificent video. 2:30 The white van booting the insert graphic out of the frame is something of a Tim Traveller speciality.
I don't care about football at all, but this video hooked me from start to finish! It was just genuinely very enjoyable to watch. Camerawork, scenery, commentary, music,... all were top-notch! Keep up the great work.
On another note: I highly recommend going on a trip with the "Wälderbähnle", a now very old museum railway that leads through the Austrian valley "Bregenzerwald" from Bezau to Schwarzenberg. The tours in winter around St. Nicolas day are particularly interesting!
Loved it! As a half 'Čierny Balog'-an, I know this place well and never have I thought that it could become such a worldwide sensation :) Thank you Tim for showing my region to the world, there is so much fun stuff to do and see here, just come visit everybody.
I love the camera booth propped up on tree stumps.
Thank you for that comment about the interrupting toot and Andrew’s bottom. 4:03 Instant reminder of my dad and his interruptions, and I collapsed giggling. The whole thing was a lot of fun, though. One of your best videos, Tim.
That piano cover of Crazy Train is sick!
*IF ALL FOOTBALL WAS LIKE THIS* I would be interested in it and even go watch it...!!!
This was Tim's best use of appropriate music yet. Starts with the Match Of The Day theme and ends with Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Makes me want to visit this stadium and ride on the train.
Oh man poor Ellis 😂😂 I'm so glad you shouted out his video.
The Crazy Train and MotD tunes are dynamite!!
The joy in your voice is wonderful to hear.
(You often enthuse and express joy in your videos, but I think this has the most delight per minute of any of them.)
So you've finally made it to Slovakia! Glad you liked Čierny Balog. I was there on a school trip a few decades ago and I really liked it as a kid. Although I remember I was a bit disappointed that we got a diesel locomotive on our ride and not a steam one. 🙂 And good job with your Slovak pronunciation by the way, I'm impressed!
My question - does the train have to buy a ticket to enter the stadium during a match? 😁
Your storytelling is amazing and super funny. It always takes me twice the time to watch a video, because I'm often rewinding scenes I enjoyed.
Like Peter Gabriel said, "You could have a steam train, if you just lay down your tracks", though he didn't say you could put them on the sidelines of a sports venue.
I'm American, and the closest we have to a stadium with a train in it is Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, home to Major League Baseball's 2022 champion Astros.
Funny thing about that, though, is the stadium actually sits on what used to be Houston's Union Station, an important Texas railroad hub in the early 20th century.
I hope you will talk about the Čiernohronskej elektrickej železnice in your "Railway-video"! They have the old rolling stock of the Waldenburgerbahn near Basel and apparently they will now become battery powered.
Pure joy! Excellently written and presented as always. One to bring a smile to your face. Great background music once again!
When watching Tim's videos I always pay special attention to the accompanying audio - and this one doesn't disappoint with "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osborne in some weird piano rendition during the intro part!
Match of the Day + Slovensko Železnice station tone is great too.
Aside from the great research, dry humour in your copy (as usual) and amazing use of supporting actors Andrew and Peter (considering the small town's football team and the train / railway are the protagonists), you haven't looked more handsome than in this video!
There is another stadium which kind of had a railway track going through their ground. The demolished Lawnsdowne Road Stadium in Dublin had trains passing underneath a stand as you can see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansdowne_Road_railway_station P.S.: Great video, Tim!
The long since demolished Baker Bowl baseball stadium in Philadelphia also had a rail tunnel underneath part of the outfield, which caused a ridge that outfielders had to watch out for. When maintenance of the stadium was severely cut back during the Depression, the Baker Bowl became known as "the dump by the hump".
In a similar vein the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham was built over the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton railway line, extending the original tunnel by quite a few meters!
Dublin has a bit of a thing for running railway tracks underneath grandstands - the same thing still happens at Croke Park
5:43 "my den could not get much dobryer" - I lost it at that point. Thank you, brilliant work, and I particularly liked your piano version of the FIFA anthem.
I’m so glad I found this channel. It’s so fun and positive.
This is the most Tim video I can imagine, just about the only thing missing is a facade hiding a powerstation or something along those lines.
To my surprise, I don't think it upsets the stadium, even during a match. A lovely novelty.
AI-generated Tim Traveller title
Haha :D
I genuinely don't know where I go after this
@@TheTimTravellerAsk ChatGPT for suggestions?
Jokes aside, tho, could make a fun video if you're sick or there's another lockdown or something: getting a list of cool places you might not yet know about and a couple of AI generated ones and see if you can guess which is fake.
@@TheTimTraveller since you were in Slovakia, maybe a train-looping tunnel and/or a train tracks going directly through the middle of a dam lake is a target? It is the same train, btw, between stops Dedinky and Telgárt (Margecany - Červena skala is the whole linespan).
For more touristic and non touristic targets I strongly recommend checking
- Slovenký raj (Slovak paradise) with places like Prielom Hornádu, Tomášovský výhlad, Velký Sokol waterfall etc
- Tatranská lomnica rack-railway
- Brno (CZ) with huge underground water reservoirs (now empty and turned into visitable places)
- Caolinum cathedral-like mines in Nevřeň, CZ
- Neratov church with glassy ceiling in Neratov, CZ
for more tips just ask bellow :)
@@TheTimTraveller Travel on a train... on a ferry to Sicily. Before they build the coveted bridge (unlikely).
@@TheTimTravellerit is very "Tom Scott", I must say, though the video has your unique charm and humour in it.
I love that for the special match train they got out both of their steam engines and put both of them on one train.
I know, I have heard (seen) of this in the past years from within the Railway (Enthusiasts) community. Apparently it wasn't from you. And now I'm stuck here, wondering, how and where I first heard from that quirky stadium railway in Slovakia all those years ago...
However, I really enjoyed watching your video. And am especially happy, that you also actually rode on that train! (Wouldn't have been you, though, would it?) Looking forward to the extra little extra. :)
Your amazing use of Ozzy Osborne and Belinda Carlisle to accompany this amazing video did not go unnoticed. Bravo!
Tim's enthusiasm for obscure railways and obscure football matches is unrivaled and infectious. And this is the mother lode!
This is amazing, random local guide, offers of a bonus video, community spirit, beautiful views, and genuinely the magic of football, explained perfectly.
This has EVERYTHING! Tim, I hope you haven’t peaked.
There was a Swedish airforce base not far from me that had a railway cross the runway. Sadly the line has since been closed and the Swedish airforce has since abandoned the base...
Where in Sweden ?
@@darraghmckenna9127 IT was F15 in Söderhamn. 😊
There was a similar situation on Northern Ireland where during WW2, the runway was extended across the railway. The airbase is since closed but the railway remains.
@@explorer914 thank you :)
It's not QUITE the same, but you should check out Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh sometime, there's a train line that runs JUST beyond the far sideline on the other side of a tall fence....it's always fun to see when a train happens by during a game!
Detroit City's Keyworth Stadium has this too!
Houston has a steam train.
As soon as you showed the Away Team Bus I said "Aww, they should have come by train." I and whoever is running this match are apparently thinking along the same track (see what I did there)
Also, the Crazy Train opening was very nice.
2:53 - I love the nice little touch of nostalgia with the old school Thomas theme in the background.
Think the Hyde Road situation was a tunnel, will have to consult archives.
Lansdowne Road (now known as the Aviva Stadium) here in Ireland still sees the odd steam train passing beneath its stands. You can't actually see the pitch, but it's nice to imagine you're upstaging the referee's whistling
Nope, with Hyde Road it was a line that ran across one of the corners between pitch and one of the stands, but it was removed after only a handful of years, I have a friend who is disparately looking for an image of it as he is writing a book on the area, that whole area has a odd amount of fascinating history... Ironically mentioning Lansdowne Road, it is strongly believed that the fire that lead to the closure in the 1920s was a result of an IRA operation in Manchester.
@@mjc8281 Yes, you're right. It served a boiler works called Galloways, and was connected to the London and North Western Railway via Bennetts Sidings. It shows up on OS maps from the period in much more detail than in the picture in the video.
You've outdone yourself, Tim. I knew we were in for a treat based on the title and the opening rendition of "Crazy Train" and (as usual) you didn't disappoint.
When are you going back to San Marino???
I think that's pretty cool! The train is as much something to look forward to as the game itself. It must've been exciting to watch the game and wait for a train to come but it makes me wonder if the people riding the train are also excited to pass by a football field while a game is ongoing. Both sound like a good experience! I can't wait for the train video.
haha Peter seems to be a fine lad !
Cool videos as always, and especially cool place !
This brought me a lot of joy! So much fun all around, wonderful.
Another awesome adventure. Thank you for sharing it with us!!!
This is now the 3rd football related video I've watched on your channel, and I'm disappointed with myself to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, for the niche and railway related content.
I love the vibe of “yo these guys ain’t from around here but they seem cool so ima hang with them instead of just chillin” I had a similar but inverse experience waiting for a Lightrail in Portland I met some people who invited me to join them at a rave in an alley next to the trainyard
It never fails to crack me up when the Thomas theme starts up in your videos
😂🤣😂 Have never been into soccer but this video was absolutely brilliant all round. Excellent job Tim and thanks so much for sharing. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Another great video. I always click on your vids first, you present in such a fun and easygoing style. Plus, y'know, quirky, mountains, and trains!
I would enjoy football a lot more if every football pitch and stadium has a railway running through it
It's looking like Tim has just discovered his new summer home!!! 🤠👍
If this field was on top of Slovakia's tallest mountain, this would be the most iconic Tim Traveler video
I remember seeing the viral video of this but your version of it was epic! Really enjoyed watching this video, Thanks Tim
I visited this railway two months ago and wanted to ride through the stadium too. Sadly there were still disputes about the land where the railway stands and they couldn't send any trains on this track. So we used the steam train in the other direction and there's also line uphill to the forest with small open air museum.
5:07 The FIFA anthem! Love your musical touches, Tim! 👍
Tim's videos always have the best music! And I completely agree that this seems like heaven on earth; it is rare that a site can offer such a confluence of interests. Thanks for this awesome video, Tim Traveller!!
It seems Tim has discovered Slovakia
This is legitimately one of the best videos you've done, helps that the subject is perfect but still, I was smiling a lot throughout this.
Great video as been going to Slovakia (Presov) since 1998 and such a beautiful country of mountains and castles. I will be making a visit in the future for footie and steam trains !
As if my Dobrys wasn´t already den enough, this comes along!
Love the use of the ITV Euro '92 theme 'You are the Number One', well done!
really enjoying "my den could not get much dobryer" as a piece of scriptwriting
The narrow gauge Čierny Hron Railway was originally built as a forestry railway for logging operations, and in its restored state is 17 km long.
SUCH a fun channel! Thank you, Tim and friends! Also, OOOH a cheeky bonus video! I am from the Southwestern USA and have loved trains my entire life, so this channel is such fun.
Woo, the other day I was thinking hard whether there's something worthy of your video in our country. Great pick and as always, very nice video!
They should make a feature where the stand beside the track can be a platform that passengers can get off at only on matchdays, making the scenery, atmosphere and convenience parts of the journey much better.
That was an absolute delight. Thank you.
A dream ground that I’ll likely never get to.
"If this is the team bus shouldn't there be some footballers on it? Where have they gone??" - I was having food and realising what was about to happen I almost choked laughing with how dramatic and epic this moment was. The production, editing and storytelling are brilliant, if there's ever an oscar for TH-cam videos this channel deserves one.