Bulgaria Narrow Guage Railway

[Train jaune]

On holiday in Bulgaria's Rhodopi mountains and took the train from Velingrad to Avramovo, the highest station in the Balkans. Trundling up the inclines, tunnels and I think a couple of spirals. Great views of the forests and alpine meadows covered with wild flowers. All with the still snow covered peaks in the distance. A great trip out and one that I'd recommend. All for £2.50 return. Had 80 minutes at Avramovo before our return journey. It's an isolated station with nothing else in view so a short forest walk and visit to a roadside stand selling honey and home made wines.

 

[AdamWW]

On holiday in Bulgaria's Rhodopi mountains and took the train from Velingrad to Avramovo, the highest station in the Balkans. Trundling up the inclines, tunnels and I think a couple of spirals. Great views of the forests and alpine meadows covered with wild flowers. All with the still snow covered peaks in the distance. A great trip out and one that I'd recommend. All for £2.50 return. Had 80 minutes at Avramovo before our return journey. It's an isolated station with nothing else in view so a short forest walk and visit to a roadside stand selling honey and home made wines.

Yes it's an impressive journey and - as shown in your photo - run with proper loco hauled trains in miniature.
I did the whole line some time ago and the coaches had open gangways and were steam heated.
I don't know if that's still the case but they looked very much like the train in your photo.

There can't be many diesel hauled 760 mm gauge long distance trains left these days.

 

[Calthrop]

Most interesting information -- my thanks. Had not known whether this line in the Rhodopi Mountains (full length 124 km. from Septemvri to Dobriniste -- @Train jaune's journey was over a part of it) was still running (have been largely out of touch about such matters, since the much-regretted demise of the quarterly Continental Railway Journal ten years ago). Bulgaria was never in the first place, a very great country for narrow gauge: as at the last decades of the 20th century there remained there just two public n/g lines, both 760mm gauge: the one as per OP; and a highly-contrasting one, at the other end of the country, in low-lying scenery, running 102 km. from s/g junction at Cerven Brjag, to its terminus at Orjahovo on the Danube. This latter line closed in 2002; though diesel in its final years, I believe that it remained steam-worked until relatively late on (way after the Rhodopi line had gone diesel) -- "bucking the general trend" of Bulgaria, which largely eliminated steam quite early by Eastern Bloc standards.

 

[delt1c]

Did the journey from Razlog to Velingrad last year was a fantasy journey through the mountains and forest. Yes it is still
Steam Heat and one service has a buffet on it. Definitely recommend a visit.

 

[AdamWW]

Did the journey from Razlog to Velingrad last year was a fantasy journey through the mountains and forest. Yes it is still
Steam Heat and one service has a buffet on it. Definitely recommend a visit.

A buffet sounds good. I wasn't aware of that being the case when I travelled on the line.

The last time I looked the number of trains had improved (by one train a day, but making day trips possible from the southern end that wouldn't have worked out when I was there).

 

[Train jaune]

As well as my rhodopi mountain adventure I took the day train from Bucharest to Sofia. 9 hours slowly trundling along through pretty boring scenery till you got to the Iskar Gorge. That was really impressive, towering cliffs on both sides and various hydroelectric installations on the river.

 

[railfan99]

Yes it's an impressive journey and - as shown in your photo - run with proper loco hauled trains in miniature.
I did the whole line some time ago and the coaches had open gangways and were steam heated.
I don't know if that's still the case but they looked very much like the train in your photo.

There can't be many diesel hauled 760 mm gauge long distance trains left these days.

Yes, I did it years ago during winter.

It is a terrific line. I connected from Istanbul. 100 per cent worth doing.

 

[dutchflyer]

Train passes Bansko, where I stayed a year or 2 ago to catch it and which appeared to be a place quite favored by the British.
Only such line-on narrow gauge, in the whole of Bulgaria.
At its northern end terminus is close by Plovdiv, also a town worth visiting.