Techniquest
Veteran Member
I never knew there was an all-night bus from Prague airport, potentially useful to know. Slovakia remains a country I'm curious about so I'll be reading keenly.
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Shreds European Trips, Volume 2.
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shredder1
Established Member
Cheers Tech, yes Im free on the the all nighters and trams of course, I think two all nighters operate from Prague airport , one goes a long way round and takes an hour though, the trouble is the AE bus finishes around 22.00, the airport rail link seems to be taking forever, it was advertised in my maps for 2011?? Slovakia is an amazing country, I prefer it to Czech actually, In fact with this trip Ive just about been on every line. They have a bear problem at the moment though, 3 attacks last week alone, from being on the verge of extinction in the country in the 1980s, lots of preservation orders and protection laws were put in place, 800, individuals would be a sustainable population, based on the environment and amount of people in the country, but they have proliferated in recent years and now exceed 3,000 individuals.
shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 2). Saturday 8th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
After catch up with some sleep in Hotel Slovakia, I was still up the following morning at 04.00 in time for the 05.05, the only direct service through to Banska Bystrica, with a change for Brezno and then a bus out to Cierny Balog, the Hron forest narrow gauge 760 mm, with sections of the former forest railway preserved. I had visited the railway for the first-time last year, but in May when all the lines were not operating so I only got to travel on the line to Vyrovo-Konecna, my intention was to travel on the two other lines, Sanske and Dobroc the latter being the line that runs through the football ground, between the stands and the field, sadly however the Dobroc line is presently mothballed as the new owner does not want trains running across his line.
I arrived at the railway just before 10.00 and intime for the first train out to Sanke and we were behind steam, a 5 km line to the east. Returning to Cierny Balog to check out the start of the Dobroc line, but it was overgrown and fenced off with a few old coaches left rotting in the sidings. I then took the train up to Vyrovo-Konecna. An event was on celebrating nature and the forest environment with lots of stalls and exhibitions plus a large stage with live acts on, so I spent the rest of the day at this woodland event. I must admit I enjoyed it, with plenty of traditional Slovakian dancers taking to the stage. I also tried some thick woodland soup, which everyone was eating, a traditional woodman’s soup made from wild boar and deer, it was lovely.
Late afternoon and I returned by bus to Brezno where Id booked an hotel in the town square for the night and I went out in the evening to enjoy some local hospitality and try some more traditional foods, it had been a good day.
Čierny Hron Forestry Railway (chz.sk)
The Čierny Hron Forest Railway - Slovakia.travel
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
After catch up with some sleep in Hotel Slovakia, I was still up the following morning at 04.00 in time for the 05.05, the only direct service through to Banska Bystrica, with a change for Brezno and then a bus out to Cierny Balog, the Hron forest narrow gauge 760 mm, with sections of the former forest railway preserved. I had visited the railway for the first-time last year, but in May when all the lines were not operating so I only got to travel on the line to Vyrovo-Konecna, my intention was to travel on the two other lines, Sanske and Dobroc the latter being the line that runs through the football ground, between the stands and the field, sadly however the Dobroc line is presently mothballed as the new owner does not want trains running across his line.
I arrived at the railway just before 10.00 and intime for the first train out to Sanke and we were behind steam, a 5 km line to the east. Returning to Cierny Balog to check out the start of the Dobroc line, but it was overgrown and fenced off with a few old coaches left rotting in the sidings. I then took the train up to Vyrovo-Konecna. An event was on celebrating nature and the forest environment with lots of stalls and exhibitions plus a large stage with live acts on, so I spent the rest of the day at this woodland event. I must admit I enjoyed it, with plenty of traditional Slovakian dancers taking to the stage. I also tried some thick woodland soup, which everyone was eating, a traditional woodman’s soup made from wild boar and deer, it was lovely.
Late afternoon and I returned by bus to Brezno where Id booked an hotel in the town square for the night and I went out in the evening to enjoy some local hospitality and try some more traditional foods, it had been a good day.
Čierny Hron Forestry Railway (chz.sk)
The Čierny Hron Forest Railway - Slovakia.travel
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
Until you mentioned it I'd forgot there was supposed to be an extension of the Metro to Prague airport. Maybe one day it will happen, probably not in my lifetime though!
A nice day in Slovakia there, although the imminent threat of bear attacks would certainly put me off doing that line!
A nice day in Slovakia there, although the imminent threat of bear attacks would certainly put me off doing that line!
shredder1
Established Member
Yes it is taking some time to complete it, but yes the bear are becoming an issue over there.
shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 3). Sunday 9th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
I slept well after a lovely night on the town in Brezno, it was a nice hotel right in the town square, but a 20 minute walk from the railway station, so another early start for me on Monday morning. Catch a diesel multiple unit from Brezno on a secondary line with a spiral loop, into the main line connection at Margecany, and then a main line train to Spisska Nova Ves for the locomotive depot, and home to the Cargo twin units the mighty class 131s. The allowed me around the depot and I had a great visit, even finding one of the broad-gauge class 125 in for work. I later took a train directly to Kosice and hit my second depot of the day, Kosice.
The depot at Kosice is only a few minutes’ walk to the east of the railway station, the station is still a bit of a building site at the moment, although two new platforms have been constructed along with a new underpass with lifts in, but they weren’t working at the time of my visit. Again, I asked the Strojmistr and was allowed around the depot.
On returning to the railway station, I set about the task of hitting the lines to the north east of Slovakia, all new track to me, I initially boarded a train to Humenne, where I had a little wait until my train to the end of the branch at Stakcin, and my last train of the day. where I had booked my hotel for the night. It was a nice hotel, built on only two levels and it included a pub, designed like a Swiss Chalet, I was the only guest booked in for the night, and after a lovely evening meal at the hotel, I had a very restful night and with another great day in the bag.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
I slept well after a lovely night on the town in Brezno, it was a nice hotel right in the town square, but a 20 minute walk from the railway station, so another early start for me on Monday morning. Catch a diesel multiple unit from Brezno on a secondary line with a spiral loop, into the main line connection at Margecany, and then a main line train to Spisska Nova Ves for the locomotive depot, and home to the Cargo twin units the mighty class 131s. The allowed me around the depot and I had a great visit, even finding one of the broad-gauge class 125 in for work. I later took a train directly to Kosice and hit my second depot of the day, Kosice.
The depot at Kosice is only a few minutes’ walk to the east of the railway station, the station is still a bit of a building site at the moment, although two new platforms have been constructed along with a new underpass with lifts in, but they weren’t working at the time of my visit. Again, I asked the Strojmistr and was allowed around the depot.
On returning to the railway station, I set about the task of hitting the lines to the north east of Slovakia, all new track to me, I initially boarded a train to Humenne, where I had a little wait until my train to the end of the branch at Stakcin, and my last train of the day. where I had booked my hotel for the night. It was a nice hotel, built on only two levels and it included a pub, designed like a Swiss Chalet, I was the only guest booked in for the night, and after a lovely evening meal at the hotel, I had a very restful night and with another great day in the bag.
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 4). Monday 10th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
I was up for an early breakfast at the Hotel Armails, Stakcin and on the first train back down the branch line to Humenne with a change to a train up the other branch to Medzilaborce, it would have been nice to cross into Poland to Lupkow, but the line was only operating on a limited Sunday summer service, so Ill must return at some point.
I returned on the same train back to Humenne for a change of train to the junction of Kapusany pri Presove, I had over an hour to wait for my next branch line up to Bardejov, and there was nothing at Kapusany pri Presove, no shops, café nothing apart from a proliferation of nesting House Martins under the eaves of the station building, so I spent some time photographing those. The scene was later enhanced by the arriving of a class 752, a Slovakian Grumpy with a log train, which was doing some shunting.
My late running train to Bardejov arrived and I had a pleasant ride up the line, returning directly to Presov, with a quick change for a train back down to Kosice, so I had completed the lines northeast of Slovakia. That evening, I managed to book a Penzion room, some five minutes’ walk away from Kosice railway station, the Dobre Casy. It had been an easy day just riding branch lines with no shed bashing, so I treated myself to a cool beer at an outside bar and had a relaxing night before hitting to the pillow.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
I was up for an early breakfast at the Hotel Armails, Stakcin and on the first train back down the branch line to Humenne with a change to a train up the other branch to Medzilaborce, it would have been nice to cross into Poland to Lupkow, but the line was only operating on a limited Sunday summer service, so Ill must return at some point.
I returned on the same train back to Humenne for a change of train to the junction of Kapusany pri Presove, I had over an hour to wait for my next branch line up to Bardejov, and there was nothing at Kapusany pri Presove, no shops, café nothing apart from a proliferation of nesting House Martins under the eaves of the station building, so I spent some time photographing those. The scene was later enhanced by the arriving of a class 752, a Slovakian Grumpy with a log train, which was doing some shunting.
My late running train to Bardejov arrived and I had a pleasant ride up the line, returning directly to Presov, with a quick change for a train back down to Kosice, so I had completed the lines northeast of Slovakia. That evening, I managed to book a Penzion room, some five minutes’ walk away from Kosice railway station, the Dobre Casy. It had been an easy day just riding branch lines with no shed bashing, so I treated myself to a cool beer at an outside bar and had a relaxing night before hitting to the pillow.
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 5). Tuesday 11th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
A slightly later start from the Dobre Casy Penzion, Kosice, I was again line bashing, catching a train from Kosice direct to Lipany, the line continues to Plavec, but again it’s a limited summer, weekend service, with another service operating from Plavec to Poprad Tatra along the southern Polish border route. Plavec is also a junction for another border crossing into southern Poland from Circ to Leluchow, which appears to operate another limited service.
I had a quick turnaround at Lipany, as a train returning to Kosice was ready to leave. I caught this train down to the junction of the main line at Kysak for a change of train to Poprad Tatra. From Poprad Tatra, I was heading in the opposite direction towards Plavec, but midweek trains only ran as far as Stara L`ubovna and again I had another fast turnaround from Stara L`ubovna, to get me back into Poprad Tatra, so at some point in time I’m going to have to complete the section of line between Stara L`ubovna and Lipany via Plavec, probably one for next year now.
It was time for a well-deserved lunch at Poprad Tatra, before catching a stopper to Liptovsky Mikulas for a train into Zilina, where I was staying for the night. My go to Hotel Slovakia had put their prices up an extra £5, so I found a Penzion Par for an extra few quid and it was only 5 minutes from the railway station, so I booked in there instead, dropped off my rucksack and walked down to the locomotive depot for a quick shed bash before the sun went down. The day was finished with a traditional Slovakian meal and pint of local beer, before retiring to my Penzion for the night. Another great day with a bit more new track mileage under the old belt.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
A slightly later start from the Dobre Casy Penzion, Kosice, I was again line bashing, catching a train from Kosice direct to Lipany, the line continues to Plavec, but again it’s a limited summer, weekend service, with another service operating from Plavec to Poprad Tatra along the southern Polish border route. Plavec is also a junction for another border crossing into southern Poland from Circ to Leluchow, which appears to operate another limited service.
I had a quick turnaround at Lipany, as a train returning to Kosice was ready to leave. I caught this train down to the junction of the main line at Kysak for a change of train to Poprad Tatra. From Poprad Tatra, I was heading in the opposite direction towards Plavec, but midweek trains only ran as far as Stara L`ubovna and again I had another fast turnaround from Stara L`ubovna, to get me back into Poprad Tatra, so at some point in time I’m going to have to complete the section of line between Stara L`ubovna and Lipany via Plavec, probably one for next year now.
It was time for a well-deserved lunch at Poprad Tatra, before catching a stopper to Liptovsky Mikulas for a train into Zilina, where I was staying for the night. My go to Hotel Slovakia had put their prices up an extra £5, so I found a Penzion Par for an extra few quid and it was only 5 minutes from the railway station, so I booked in there instead, dropped off my rucksack and walked down to the locomotive depot for a quick shed bash before the sun went down. The day was finished with a traditional Slovakian meal and pint of local beer, before retiring to my Penzion for the night. Another great day with a bit more new track mileage under the old belt.
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 6). Wednesday 12th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
An early start from the Penzion Par and I was on the 05.05 direct loco-hauled class 754 (Goggle) service from Zilina to Zvolen, a magnificent railway line full of bridges loops and tunnels, but sadly I slept through most of it. I was heading for some of the smaller lines south of Zilina, but on arrival found time to have breakfast in a local café, a local Slovakian Omelette, it was gorgeous, I then had a walk around to the locomotive depot and had an excellent visit, with plenty of locos on shed.
Returning to Zvolen osobna stanica for the 11.35 service, a class 810 down the line to Cata via a reversal at Sahy (13.18), a beautiful line passing through some lovely villages. I shared part of the journey with a lady of my age, we couldn’t speak each other’s language, but she insisted on showing me pictures of her grandchildren on her smart phone and giving me biscuits, a lovely lady though, she even stood on the platform waving to me after she got off the train at her village, it’s surprising how friendly some fellow travellers are, despite any language barriers.
At Cata, I changed trains for another class 810 into Sturovo to catch a train at 14.34 to Bratislava for 16.03, and just in time for a connection to a local service to Bratislava Raca as I had booked a hostel which was located between Bratislava Vychod Cargo locomotive depot and the railway museum, the Uninova Hostel. I had stayed there last year, so no struggle to find it this time, and I managed to jump a bus from Raca crossing to the hostel which saved me a 20 minute walk.
I had forgotten about my visit last year, despite my booking through Booking.Com, they didn’t have a card machine, and I didn’t have cash, no problem they said, there is a cash machine over the road, at first the machine wouldn’t accept my card and then it snatched my second card, so I had to catch a bus for a 3-mile journey to the nearest Tesco to get some cash. Eventually returning to the hostel, I dumped my rucksack in the room, and made off to bunk the depot. It doesn’t seem as busy as it used to be, but it still had a few good locos on shed and with no one around either. I returned to the hostel, got showered, and jumped into bed, another good day and a good night’s sleep.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
An early start from the Penzion Par and I was on the 05.05 direct loco-hauled class 754 (Goggle) service from Zilina to Zvolen, a magnificent railway line full of bridges loops and tunnels, but sadly I slept through most of it. I was heading for some of the smaller lines south of Zilina, but on arrival found time to have breakfast in a local café, a local Slovakian Omelette, it was gorgeous, I then had a walk around to the locomotive depot and had an excellent visit, with plenty of locos on shed.
Returning to Zvolen osobna stanica for the 11.35 service, a class 810 down the line to Cata via a reversal at Sahy (13.18), a beautiful line passing through some lovely villages. I shared part of the journey with a lady of my age, we couldn’t speak each other’s language, but she insisted on showing me pictures of her grandchildren on her smart phone and giving me biscuits, a lovely lady though, she even stood on the platform waving to me after she got off the train at her village, it’s surprising how friendly some fellow travellers are, despite any language barriers.
At Cata, I changed trains for another class 810 into Sturovo to catch a train at 14.34 to Bratislava for 16.03, and just in time for a connection to a local service to Bratislava Raca as I had booked a hostel which was located between Bratislava Vychod Cargo locomotive depot and the railway museum, the Uninova Hostel. I had stayed there last year, so no struggle to find it this time, and I managed to jump a bus from Raca crossing to the hostel which saved me a 20 minute walk.
I had forgotten about my visit last year, despite my booking through Booking.Com, they didn’t have a card machine, and I didn’t have cash, no problem they said, there is a cash machine over the road, at first the machine wouldn’t accept my card and then it snatched my second card, so I had to catch a bus for a 3-mile journey to the nearest Tesco to get some cash. Eventually returning to the hostel, I dumped my rucksack in the room, and made off to bunk the depot. It doesn’t seem as busy as it used to be, but it still had a few good locos on shed and with no one around either. I returned to the hostel, got showered, and jumped into bed, another good day and a good night’s sleep.
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
That cash machine sounds incredibly dodgy! Same for the hostel, I'm glad it wasn't me!
shredder1
Established Member
I cancelled the card it snatched right away, the hostel wasnt too bad, but right next to all the loco yards, so very convenient.
shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 7). Thursday 13th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
A wet start from the Uninova Hostel, I left around 07.00 and into the first rain of the trip, although to be fair it was light rain. I caught a bus outside the hostel to Raca crossing and caught the first train down to Bratislava Hlavni Stanica for breakfast and a pleasant hour on the platforms. I was again branch line bashing and my first train took me to Surany with a change of train for the line to Zlate Moravice. A few minor lines show on my map to Topolcianky, Kozarovce to the east and west towards Luzianky, but I’m not sure if these lines are still open, I couldn’t find anything on the timetable.
From Zlate Moravice, I returned on the next train to Surany and caught another service east to Levice. From Levice I was able to catch a train via Cata to Sturovo to complete the section of track from Levice to Cata. From Sturovo I caught a fast train to Nove Zamky and then picked up a local service to Galanta, where my plan was to catch a local service to Trnava, but a rail replacement bus service was operating from Galanta to Sered, not that I was to bothered as I have travelled the line before, but I still needed the line out from Trnava to Jablonika, which was a rail replacement bus last year when I tried to travel the line. However, by the time the rail replacement bus had arrived into Sered to join the next train, and the train got into Trvava it was 18.25 and the light was going, so I decided to get an hotel in Trvana for the night and do the line to Jablonika the next morning.
I had a 15-minute walk out to the hotel from the railway station and 5 minutes in and it began to rain heavily, I was like a drowned rat when I arrived at the hotel reception. I stayed at the Hotel Spectrum, a posh one, and after drying out, I had tea in the town and enjoyed a peaceful evening. I slept well that night.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
A wet start from the Uninova Hostel, I left around 07.00 and into the first rain of the trip, although to be fair it was light rain. I caught a bus outside the hostel to Raca crossing and caught the first train down to Bratislava Hlavni Stanica for breakfast and a pleasant hour on the platforms. I was again branch line bashing and my first train took me to Surany with a change of train for the line to Zlate Moravice. A few minor lines show on my map to Topolcianky, Kozarovce to the east and west towards Luzianky, but I’m not sure if these lines are still open, I couldn’t find anything on the timetable.
From Zlate Moravice, I returned on the next train to Surany and caught another service east to Levice. From Levice I was able to catch a train via Cata to Sturovo to complete the section of track from Levice to Cata. From Sturovo I caught a fast train to Nove Zamky and then picked up a local service to Galanta, where my plan was to catch a local service to Trnava, but a rail replacement bus service was operating from Galanta to Sered, not that I was to bothered as I have travelled the line before, but I still needed the line out from Trnava to Jablonika, which was a rail replacement bus last year when I tried to travel the line. However, by the time the rail replacement bus had arrived into Sered to join the next train, and the train got into Trvava it was 18.25 and the light was going, so I decided to get an hotel in Trvana for the night and do the line to Jablonika the next morning.
I had a 15-minute walk out to the hotel from the railway station and 5 minutes in and it began to rain heavily, I was like a drowned rat when I arrived at the hotel reception. I stayed at the Hotel Spectrum, a posh one, and after drying out, I had tea in the town and enjoyed a peaceful evening. I slept well that night.
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 8). Friday 14th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
A brisk walk across the city from the Hotel Spectrum in Trnava to catch the 07.38 to Jablonica and thus completing a section of line that was operating a rail replacement bus when I tried to travel on the line last year. Jablonica was a junction station for the line to Brezova pod Bradiom but sadly that line closed some time ago. I returned from Jablonica to Trnava for 08.30 and spent some time at the station, taking breakfast in a station café.
From Trnava I was heading into the Czech Republic, through the mountains, via Nove Mesto nad Vahom and then on a class 913 2 car railcar to Myjava, with a change for another railcar, a two-car class 813 to the Czech border at Vrovce, where I changed for a Czech CD class 814 which took me to Veseli nad Moravou, where I took another train to Star Mesto Uherskeho Hradiste to catch a direct service to Ostrava hlavní nádraží, so plenty of train changes. The line across the mountains between Nove Mesto nad Vahom and Star Mesto Uherskeho Hradiste is a very scenic line and I was told by my Cargo driving Czech friend, that this route was a main freight artery in the past.
I had booked an hotel for the next 3 nights in the fascinanting City of Ostrava, the Hotel Rada, which was clean and basic, but also close to the railway station, I was meeting up with my Czech driver friend the next morning, (Vita), so was looking forward to catching up again. I slept well that night in the hotel.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
A brisk walk across the city from the Hotel Spectrum in Trnava to catch the 07.38 to Jablonica and thus completing a section of line that was operating a rail replacement bus when I tried to travel on the line last year. Jablonica was a junction station for the line to Brezova pod Bradiom but sadly that line closed some time ago. I returned from Jablonica to Trnava for 08.30 and spent some time at the station, taking breakfast in a station café.
From Trnava I was heading into the Czech Republic, through the mountains, via Nove Mesto nad Vahom and then on a class 913 2 car railcar to Myjava, with a change for another railcar, a two-car class 813 to the Czech border at Vrovce, where I changed for a Czech CD class 814 which took me to Veseli nad Moravou, where I took another train to Star Mesto Uherskeho Hradiste to catch a direct service to Ostrava hlavní nádraží, so plenty of train changes. The line across the mountains between Nove Mesto nad Vahom and Star Mesto Uherskeho Hradiste is a very scenic line and I was told by my Cargo driving Czech friend, that this route was a main freight artery in the past.
I had booked an hotel for the next 3 nights in the fascinanting City of Ostrava, the Hotel Rada, which was clean and basic, but also close to the railway station, I was meeting up with my Czech driver friend the next morning, (Vita), so was looking forward to catching up again. I slept well that night in the hotel.
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 9). Saturday 15th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
I was up for 06.30 at the Hotel Rada, my Czech friend “Vita” was picking me up in his car and taking me track walking in Slovakia. “Vita,” (Vitezslav), is a Cargo locomotive driver at Ostrava, and although we mainly communicate through Google Translate, My Czech is non-existent, and Vita`s English is only slightly better, but we largely understand each other and are both deeply interested in railways of course.
We were concentrating on the line between Horna Stubna to Banska Bystrica, in Slovakia, a mountain railway with some 22 tunnels on the route, some nearly spiralling in places and climbing through through the Great Fatra Mountains at the border with the Low Tatras and Kremnické vrchy, an amazing feat of engineering, and although Id travelled the line a few times in the past, you can’t fully appreciate it until you are ground level and walking some of the tunnels, which is exactly what we did, to access some fantastic photographic locations.
We walked around 10 kilometres in total and it was in blazing heat, I think we walked through 5 tunnels in all, some long ones and some short ones, the last one was partly spiralled and inclined. We were also in bear country and saw numerous sign posts warning of bear sightings. In the 1980`s the European Brown Bear population in Slovakia was very low in numbers, so the Slovakian Government pushed through new protection legislation to restrict bear hunting, and numbers began to steadily increase. I was speaking to a journalist in Bratislava who has been writing some feature on the Brown Bear in Slovakia, and his information from ecologists suggest that with the size of the human population and the size of a bears home range, 800 individual animals would be a sustainable figure, the bears however have other ideas, and its estimated that over 3,000 individuals now inhabit the Slovakian forests and they have been moving into areas of human habitation and causing problems, in fact 3 bear attacks took place in the week, one against a dog walker and two hiker attacks, so it has become an issue. I do hope they don`t start culling them, they are such magnificent animals, but I expect they will have to put some measures in place. Romania, a much larger country, presently supports over 6,000 European Brown Bear individuals.
However, I digress, back to the railways, “Vita” had word about a freight train that was making its way towards us, it had 4 locos on in total, 3 at the front and 1 at the rear pushing a heavy tanker train. We waited for it at Harmanec Jaskyna, but the station master told us it was delayed, so we continued to walk the tunnels. When it did pass, we saw it from between two tunnel portals, so couldn’t get a clear shot of all 4 locos, although I think I captured them individually.
After we cleared the tunnels we went for lunch in a woodland café, it was excellent. Vita then took me to the disused tunnel at Kralovany at 401 meters long it was on the Kosice to Bohumin railway the section between Zilina and Poprad. A fascinating piece of engineering part brick and part natural rock, see the link below for more details below.
We made our way back into the Czech Republic and my friend Vita dropped me back off at the hotel, we had had a fantastic day out exploring areas I never get chance to see. Thanks for a marvellous day out, Vita, Ill see you next year mate.
magazine.empire-tours.cz
www.kamnavylet.sk
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
I was up for 06.30 at the Hotel Rada, my Czech friend “Vita” was picking me up in his car and taking me track walking in Slovakia. “Vita,” (Vitezslav), is a Cargo locomotive driver at Ostrava, and although we mainly communicate through Google Translate, My Czech is non-existent, and Vita`s English is only slightly better, but we largely understand each other and are both deeply interested in railways of course.
We were concentrating on the line between Horna Stubna to Banska Bystrica, in Slovakia, a mountain railway with some 22 tunnels on the route, some nearly spiralling in places and climbing through through the Great Fatra Mountains at the border with the Low Tatras and Kremnické vrchy, an amazing feat of engineering, and although Id travelled the line a few times in the past, you can’t fully appreciate it until you are ground level and walking some of the tunnels, which is exactly what we did, to access some fantastic photographic locations.
We walked around 10 kilometres in total and it was in blazing heat, I think we walked through 5 tunnels in all, some long ones and some short ones, the last one was partly spiralled and inclined. We were also in bear country and saw numerous sign posts warning of bear sightings. In the 1980`s the European Brown Bear population in Slovakia was very low in numbers, so the Slovakian Government pushed through new protection legislation to restrict bear hunting, and numbers began to steadily increase. I was speaking to a journalist in Bratislava who has been writing some feature on the Brown Bear in Slovakia, and his information from ecologists suggest that with the size of the human population and the size of a bears home range, 800 individual animals would be a sustainable figure, the bears however have other ideas, and its estimated that over 3,000 individuals now inhabit the Slovakian forests and they have been moving into areas of human habitation and causing problems, in fact 3 bear attacks took place in the week, one against a dog walker and two hiker attacks, so it has become an issue. I do hope they don`t start culling them, they are such magnificent animals, but I expect they will have to put some measures in place. Romania, a much larger country, presently supports over 6,000 European Brown Bear individuals.
However, I digress, back to the railways, “Vita” had word about a freight train that was making its way towards us, it had 4 locos on in total, 3 at the front and 1 at the rear pushing a heavy tanker train. We waited for it at Harmanec Jaskyna, but the station master told us it was delayed, so we continued to walk the tunnels. When it did pass, we saw it from between two tunnel portals, so couldn’t get a clear shot of all 4 locos, although I think I captured them individually.
After we cleared the tunnels we went for lunch in a woodland café, it was excellent. Vita then took me to the disused tunnel at Kralovany at 401 meters long it was on the Kosice to Bohumin railway the section between Zilina and Poprad. A fascinating piece of engineering part brick and part natural rock, see the link below for more details below.
We made our way back into the Czech Republic and my friend Vita dropped me back off at the hotel, we had had a fantastic day out exploring areas I never get chance to see. Thanks for a marvellous day out, Vita, Ill see you next year mate.
22 tunnels from Banská Bystrica to Horná Štubňa – Magazine from Empire Tours, ltd
magazine.empire-tours.cz
Old Tunnel of Kraľovany | Technical monuments Kraľovany | KamNaVylet.sk
An interesting technical work under the Sokol massif is the Old Tunnel of Kraľovany, which was built in 1871 on the Košice - Bohumín railway in the section Žilina - Popra...
www.kamnavylet.sk
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 10). Sunday 16th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
After my walk through the tunnels with “Vita” the day before, I had a bit of a lie in at the Hotel Rada and didn’t leave until 07.00 and I was across the road and going around the amazing Ostrava locomotive depot, the Strojmistre gave me permission and it being a Sunday, it was heaving, locomotives everywhere and of course I photographed everything, it took me nearly an hour to get around.
Returning to the station, I was aiming to do my last branch line on that side of the Czech Republic, so I jumped a Regiojet to discover, that despite riding them a few times while I’d been there, one gripper decided that my ticket wasn’t valid on them, so I alighted at Ostrava Svinov and waited for a Railjet down to Hranice na Morave, with a change for a train to Puchov, forgetting Id crossed the border again into Slovakia. From Puchov I returned to Vsetin and then onto my last eastern Czech branch line to Velke Karlovice. The line from Vsetin to Velke Karlovice was however run by Arriva and my summer ticket wasn’t valid on this service either, also the guard didn’t have a chip and pin machine and I don’t have a contactless card, (I think I need to order one), fortunately I did have a few Korunas by chance, which just about paid for the return fare from Vsetin. It was however a nice ride up the branch line, but in a modern unit.
From Vsetin I caught the next train back to Hranice na Morave and changed for a Railjet up to Bohumin and bunked the shed. Not as busy as Ostrava, but you do get Polish cross border locos working in, so its always worth a visit. I later return to Ostrava Hl n and had a meal at a restaurant I use a lot when I’m in Ostrava, the Restaurace Ostravar, before returning to my hotel after a day largely shed bashing. I slept well that night.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
After my walk through the tunnels with “Vita” the day before, I had a bit of a lie in at the Hotel Rada and didn’t leave until 07.00 and I was across the road and going around the amazing Ostrava locomotive depot, the Strojmistre gave me permission and it being a Sunday, it was heaving, locomotives everywhere and of course I photographed everything, it took me nearly an hour to get around.
Returning to the station, I was aiming to do my last branch line on that side of the Czech Republic, so I jumped a Regiojet to discover, that despite riding them a few times while I’d been there, one gripper decided that my ticket wasn’t valid on them, so I alighted at Ostrava Svinov and waited for a Railjet down to Hranice na Morave, with a change for a train to Puchov, forgetting Id crossed the border again into Slovakia. From Puchov I returned to Vsetin and then onto my last eastern Czech branch line to Velke Karlovice. The line from Vsetin to Velke Karlovice was however run by Arriva and my summer ticket wasn’t valid on this service either, also the guard didn’t have a chip and pin machine and I don’t have a contactless card, (I think I need to order one), fortunately I did have a few Korunas by chance, which just about paid for the return fare from Vsetin. It was however a nice ride up the branch line, but in a modern unit.
From Vsetin I caught the next train back to Hranice na Morave and changed for a Railjet up to Bohumin and bunked the shed. Not as busy as Ostrava, but you do get Polish cross border locos working in, so its always worth a visit. I later return to Ostrava Hl n and had a meal at a restaurant I use a lot when I’m in Ostrava, the Restaurace Ostravar, before returning to my hotel after a day largely shed bashing. I slept well that night.
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shredder1
Established Member
Czech Republic and Slovakia, (Day 11). Monday 17th July 2023.
The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
My last morning in the Hotel Rada and my last day in the country. I have a leisurely breakfast in the town with a lovely pumpkin soup and then made my way around to Ostrava Hl n for a train back to Prague where I started my trip 11 days ago. A nice run back on a Railjet and after a few hours my train was soon arriving back into Prague Hvlani Nadrazi.
I had a full day in Prague as my flight wasn’t until 21.30, I dropped my rucksack off in the left luggage and my first move was to catch a train under the tunnels to Prague Vrsovice and the short walk around to the depot. I was given permission to go around by the lovely Strojmistr, and had a great visit, with plenty of locos on shed and some moving around and using the turntables.
Returning to Prague Hvlani Nadrazi from Prague Vrsovice and then a tram out to the old city and the Hard Rock Café for lunch and to check out the exhibition and celebrity guitars on the walls. Later taking another tram to Hostivař, and then a train back into Prague hvlani nadrazi for a final look around.
After teatime, I caught a bus to the airport and prepared for my flight home, I was due to arrive back into Manchester just after midnight, but the flight was delayed for over an hour, which was fine as I would have missed the last train into the city anyway.
I caught an all-night bus from the airport into Manchester, got something to eat in an all-night Burger King in Piccadilly Gardens and then caught the first morning bus back to North Manchester arriving home for around 06.30 and falling on the bed, I was asleep in seconds, dreaming about my next holiday, thanks for reading guys.
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The purpose of this trip was essentially to finish off the Cierny Balog forest lines and concentrate on several lines in the north east of Slovakia and the south west of the country, with the usual shed bashing forays, and a few depots and lines around eastern Czech.
My last morning in the Hotel Rada and my last day in the country. I have a leisurely breakfast in the town with a lovely pumpkin soup and then made my way around to Ostrava Hl n for a train back to Prague where I started my trip 11 days ago. A nice run back on a Railjet and after a few hours my train was soon arriving back into Prague Hvlani Nadrazi.
I had a full day in Prague as my flight wasn’t until 21.30, I dropped my rucksack off in the left luggage and my first move was to catch a train under the tunnels to Prague Vrsovice and the short walk around to the depot. I was given permission to go around by the lovely Strojmistr, and had a great visit, with plenty of locos on shed and some moving around and using the turntables.
Returning to Prague Hvlani Nadrazi from Prague Vrsovice and then a tram out to the old city and the Hard Rock Café for lunch and to check out the exhibition and celebrity guitars on the walls. Later taking another tram to Hostivař, and then a train back into Prague hvlani nadrazi for a final look around.
After teatime, I caught a bus to the airport and prepared for my flight home, I was due to arrive back into Manchester just after midnight, but the flight was delayed for over an hour, which was fine as I would have missed the last train into the city anyway.
I caught an all-night bus from the airport into Manchester, got something to eat in an all-night Burger King in Piccadilly Gardens and then caught the first morning bus back to North Manchester arriving home for around 06.30 and falling on the bed, I was asleep in seconds, dreaming about my next holiday, thanks for reading guys.
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Looks like the Cierny Balog-Dobroc branch is open again. You'll just have to go back 
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...5x11nUVKXxs12vq5NhjMhaouel&id=100064767874107
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...5x11nUVKXxs12vq5NhjMhaouel&id=100064767874107
shredder1
Established Member
Oh thanks for that, yes Ill have to go back again next year now, so glad that wasnt the end of it, thank you so much for letting me know.Looks like the Cierny Balog-Dobroc branch is open again. You'll just have to go back
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...5x11nUVKXxs12vq5NhjMhaouel&id=100064767874107
shredder1
Established Member
Nordic Regions. (Day 1). Wednesday 27th September 2023.
I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Artic Circle this year. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world.
The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
I had a late flight out of Manchester and it was also my 72nd Birthday, so a nice way to start my year. I touched down in to Copenhagen Airport for around 21.30 Danish time. Copenhagen Airport must have one of the longest walks from the plane to passport control. However, a modern Metro system, complete with platform end doors, and one line change, takes you directly to Copenhagen Central railway station, so I was on the platforms before midnight.
This was my fourth visit to this amazing city, on this occasion though, I was simply passing through and making my way to Sweden and the Arctic Express up to Narvik, needless to say I was very excited, and my first service train took me under the water to Malmo, Sweden, arriving just after midnight.
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I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Artic Circle this year. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world.
The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
I had a late flight out of Manchester and it was also my 72nd Birthday, so a nice way to start my year. I touched down in to Copenhagen Airport for around 21.30 Danish time. Copenhagen Airport must have one of the longest walks from the plane to passport control. However, a modern Metro system, complete with platform end doors, and one line change, takes you directly to Copenhagen Central railway station, so I was on the platforms before midnight.
This was my fourth visit to this amazing city, on this occasion though, I was simply passing through and making my way to Sweden and the Arctic Express up to Narvik, needless to say I was very excited, and my first service train took me under the water to Malmo, Sweden, arriving just after midnight.
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
Wow that sounds like it will have been an epic trip, looking forward to reading more when it's up
shredder1
Established Member
Thank you very much Tech, at least I managed to cross into the Arctic Circle this timeWow that sounds like it will have been an epic trip, looking forward to reading more when it's up
shredder1
Established Member
Nordic Regions. (Day 2). Thursday 28th September 2023.
I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Arctic Circle. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world. The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
Just before midnight I boarded a DSB Oresund IR4 Inter-regional emu under and over the Oresund Bridge and into Malmo. The curse of my life, yes it was a rail replacement bus to carry on between Malmo and Lund C, so I waited for around 30 minutes outside Malmo railway station for the bus which took me to Lund Central and there I had a few hours wait for a SJ X2000 high speed train to Stockholm at 04.20. Fortunately, some work was being done in the station with former DSB Danish Nohab built, MZ Class number 1407 now employed in the engineering department of the Swedish Railways. So that passed away a few hours in the darkness.
I arrived into Stockholm Central just after 09.30, I couldn’t book a reservation, as the SJ App doesn’t recognise Interrail tickets, and the main SJ website was being a pain, so I just asked the guard and jumped on, and since I had been travelling all night, I was soon nodding off in my seat and caught up with a few hours shut-eye.
It was nice to return to Stockholm, it is an interesting station with no shortage of shops and even a shower. My first mission was to go underground and catch a train out to Tomteboda Yard, Solna to view the large depot and yard. Its always full of locos, so well worth a visit, and you can also see quite a lot from public areas, as roads run around the site.
I spent most of the day around Stockholm and even had lunch in Stockholm’s Hard Rock Café, I always search these out in cities that have them, its nice to see what rare guitars they have on the walls.
I was waiting for the Narvik train to take me overnight over the Arctic Circle, due to time restraints last year, I only manage to photograph it arriving and leaving Stockholm, but this time I was going on it, so I had 18 plus hours of train travel in front of me. I didn’t book a sleeper as I much prefer the cushions, its more sociable, you can visit the restaurant car easier and chat to fellow passengers, plus see things through the night sometimes, especially when you pull into railway stations in the darkness, its all-exciting stuff. In a bunk you fall asleep in one place and wake up in another, I guess I’m lucky in that I can sleep anywhere. Stay tuned for the next thrilling instalment.
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I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Arctic Circle. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world. The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
Just before midnight I boarded a DSB Oresund IR4 Inter-regional emu under and over the Oresund Bridge and into Malmo. The curse of my life, yes it was a rail replacement bus to carry on between Malmo and Lund C, so I waited for around 30 minutes outside Malmo railway station for the bus which took me to Lund Central and there I had a few hours wait for a SJ X2000 high speed train to Stockholm at 04.20. Fortunately, some work was being done in the station with former DSB Danish Nohab built, MZ Class number 1407 now employed in the engineering department of the Swedish Railways. So that passed away a few hours in the darkness.
I arrived into Stockholm Central just after 09.30, I couldn’t book a reservation, as the SJ App doesn’t recognise Interrail tickets, and the main SJ website was being a pain, so I just asked the guard and jumped on, and since I had been travelling all night, I was soon nodding off in my seat and caught up with a few hours shut-eye.
It was nice to return to Stockholm, it is an interesting station with no shortage of shops and even a shower. My first mission was to go underground and catch a train out to Tomteboda Yard, Solna to view the large depot and yard. Its always full of locos, so well worth a visit, and you can also see quite a lot from public areas, as roads run around the site.
I spent most of the day around Stockholm and even had lunch in Stockholm’s Hard Rock Café, I always search these out in cities that have them, its nice to see what rare guitars they have on the walls.
I was waiting for the Narvik train to take me overnight over the Arctic Circle, due to time restraints last year, I only manage to photograph it arriving and leaving Stockholm, but this time I was going on it, so I had 18 plus hours of train travel in front of me. I didn’t book a sleeper as I much prefer the cushions, its more sociable, you can visit the restaurant car easier and chat to fellow passengers, plus see things through the night sometimes, especially when you pull into railway stations in the darkness, its all-exciting stuff. In a bunk you fall asleep in one place and wake up in another, I guess I’m lucky in that I can sleep anywhere. Stay tuned for the next thrilling instalment.
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
You are indeed lucky if you can sleep easily on moving vehicles, I can't and that's really not good on long-haul flights! You know, I think that's one reason why I've not done New Zealand yet. I haven't even booked the time off!
I haven't done Stockholm since 2014, I really must go back and see it with a fresh mindset!
I haven't done Stockholm since 2014, I really must go back and see it with a fresh mindset!
shredder1
Established Member
It could be old age with me sleeping anywhere, I like a sleep in the afternoons these days, but they moan about it at work
New Zealand`s a little too far for me these days, Europe`s giving me plenty to go at now.
shredder1
Established Member
Nordic Regions. (Day 3). Friday 29th September 2023.
I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Arctic Circle. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world. The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
I had booked a reservation from Stockholm Central to Narvik on the 18.10, on the Thursday evening, a journey of over 18 hours. I was on the cushions, I prefer those to booking a sleeper cabin because you can socialise with fellow travellers, you tend to see more, even at night, you can wonder down to the buffet car, which was open until 11.00pm and opened again at 05.00 the next morning, and you can sleep, I’m lucky in that I can sleep in a chair, or railway seat as the case was. It was an interesting run up through Sweden and across into northern Norway and I arrived the next day by around lunch time.
I was also interested in seeing the 10,000-ton Klab Iron Ore trains that operate on the Ofoten line, from the mines at Malmberget and Svappavaar to the ports of Narvik and Lulea and I was lucky in seeing a number of these giant trains operating. In fact, they appeared to run every 30 minutes.
I was surprised to see very little snow as we crossed into Swedish Lapland over the Arctic Circle. I glimpsed on passing the depots at Boden, Gallivare, where the old roundhouse was in the process of being developed, and also the large depot at Kiruna which maintains the LKAB twin bodied electric locomotives. I managed to take a few photographs from the train window.
I only had three and a half hours in Narvik before my next 18 hour plus train journey back to Stockholm. My original plan was to catch a bus from Narvik to the rail head at Bodo, but time restraints were a little tight, so I decided to do an Oslo to Bodo trip next year. The weather at Narvik was surprisingly warm, for saying I was over the Arctic Circle, light rain, and mist throughout my stay, in fact I only had a T shirt on under a thin Gortex coat and was sweating at times, but I was pleased Id made the journey up there, and would like to return some day and spend more time photographing the ore trains.
On the journey up there, the coach I was on, car 16, sounded like it had a flat on one of the wheels, on the way back however they decided to change it at Boden and putting an identical coach in, in its place, the shunter allowed me to ride on the back coach while they re-shunted the train around. I also got chatting to two American girls for a few hours, but I eventually fell asleep, it was great on the Arctic Express and I really enjoyed the trip up there.
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I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Arctic Circle. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world. The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
I had booked a reservation from Stockholm Central to Narvik on the 18.10, on the Thursday evening, a journey of over 18 hours. I was on the cushions, I prefer those to booking a sleeper cabin because you can socialise with fellow travellers, you tend to see more, even at night, you can wonder down to the buffet car, which was open until 11.00pm and opened again at 05.00 the next morning, and you can sleep, I’m lucky in that I can sleep in a chair, or railway seat as the case was. It was an interesting run up through Sweden and across into northern Norway and I arrived the next day by around lunch time.
I was also interested in seeing the 10,000-ton Klab Iron Ore trains that operate on the Ofoten line, from the mines at Malmberget and Svappavaar to the ports of Narvik and Lulea and I was lucky in seeing a number of these giant trains operating. In fact, they appeared to run every 30 minutes.
I was surprised to see very little snow as we crossed into Swedish Lapland over the Arctic Circle. I glimpsed on passing the depots at Boden, Gallivare, where the old roundhouse was in the process of being developed, and also the large depot at Kiruna which maintains the LKAB twin bodied electric locomotives. I managed to take a few photographs from the train window.
I only had three and a half hours in Narvik before my next 18 hour plus train journey back to Stockholm. My original plan was to catch a bus from Narvik to the rail head at Bodo, but time restraints were a little tight, so I decided to do an Oslo to Bodo trip next year. The weather at Narvik was surprisingly warm, for saying I was over the Arctic Circle, light rain, and mist throughout my stay, in fact I only had a T shirt on under a thin Gortex coat and was sweating at times, but I was pleased Id made the journey up there, and would like to return some day and spend more time photographing the ore trains.
On the journey up there, the coach I was on, car 16, sounded like it had a flat on one of the wheels, on the way back however they decided to change it at Boden and putting an identical coach in, in its place, the shunter allowed me to ride on the back coach while they re-shunted the train around. I also got chatting to two American girls for a few hours, but I eventually fell asleep, it was great on the Arctic Express and I really enjoyed the trip up there.
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
It sure sounds like an epic time on that train It was one I was going to do in years gone by, but I'd not have the patience for it now.
It was one I was going to do in years gone by, but I'd not have the patience for it now.
shredder1
Established Member
Its funny really, but I didnt get bored and enjoyed every bit of it, it went so fast really.It sure sounds like an epic time on that train
shredder1
Established Member
Nordic Regions. (Day 4). Saturday 30th September 2023.
I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Artic Circle. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world. The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
After a fantastic ride back through Sweden on the Arctic Express, I arrived back into Stockholm Central just after 09.30, it had taken 3 days to get to Narvik and back to Stockholm and well worth the trip up there, I enjoyed the train ride immensely.
I next wanted to catch a train out to Hallsberg to visit the loco sheds, Id visited it last year and it was full of freight locos, Green Cargo. I opted for a local train which went via Orebro, but there was an issue on the line and we were transferred to a bus at the latter station, which took me right into Hallsberg.
Hallsberg depot had a good head of locomotives on, and you can see most of the stock from public areas, a large road bridge crosses the bottom end of the loco yard, so photography is reasonably accessible. I walked back to Hallsberg railway station and didn’t really fancy catching a rail replacement bus back. A direct train was due, but it was a Flex Train, not covered by my interrail ticket, I asked the guard though and he let me travel, so I arrived back into Stockholm Central with plenty of time spare before a late train down to Malmo.
As chance has it, I got chatting to another English crank and we knew of each other from the WNXX website. He was catching a direct service to Berlin and I photographed it arriving and leaving Stockholm. I later caught my regional service train to Lund C and made the change for the rail replacement bus back to Malmo. On reaching the main platforms at Malmo, I was surprised to see the Berlin train on the platforms with a change of loco on the front, I watched it leave Malmo and continue its journey. I returned to the low-level platforms and caught a DSB Oresund IR4 Inter-regional service back under and over the river and into Copenhagen Central, and to my surprise the Berlin train was sat in the platforms, so quite a lengthy night service. I intended spending the rest of my trip line bashing in Denmark, so searched the timetable to find me a late train to take me as far as I could get, across Denmark, in the night.
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I was back in the Nordic Regions again, continuing were I left last year. I was however determined to get up to Narvik in Norway, across the Artic Circle. Narvik is the furthers Northerly standard gauge railway line in the world. The other part of my trip was to concentrate on the lines of Denmark.
After a fantastic ride back through Sweden on the Arctic Express, I arrived back into Stockholm Central just after 09.30, it had taken 3 days to get to Narvik and back to Stockholm and well worth the trip up there, I enjoyed the train ride immensely.
I next wanted to catch a train out to Hallsberg to visit the loco sheds, Id visited it last year and it was full of freight locos, Green Cargo. I opted for a local train which went via Orebro, but there was an issue on the line and we were transferred to a bus at the latter station, which took me right into Hallsberg.
Hallsberg depot had a good head of locomotives on, and you can see most of the stock from public areas, a large road bridge crosses the bottom end of the loco yard, so photography is reasonably accessible. I walked back to Hallsberg railway station and didn’t really fancy catching a rail replacement bus back. A direct train was due, but it was a Flex Train, not covered by my interrail ticket, I asked the guard though and he let me travel, so I arrived back into Stockholm Central with plenty of time spare before a late train down to Malmo.
As chance has it, I got chatting to another English crank and we knew of each other from the WNXX website. He was catching a direct service to Berlin and I photographed it arriving and leaving Stockholm. I later caught my regional service train to Lund C and made the change for the rail replacement bus back to Malmo. On reaching the main platforms at Malmo, I was surprised to see the Berlin train on the platforms with a change of loco on the front, I watched it leave Malmo and continue its journey. I returned to the low-level platforms and caught a DSB Oresund IR4 Inter-regional service back under and over the river and into Copenhagen Central, and to my surprise the Berlin train was sat in the platforms, so quite a lengthy night service. I intended spending the rest of my trip line bashing in Denmark, so searched the timetable to find me a late train to take me as far as I could get, across Denmark, in the night.
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
It certainly sounds like a nice trip, save for the replacement bus services. I want to revisit Denmark, primarily because when I went in January 2019 I was of a completely different mindset and now I'd more enjoy the exploring. I'm rather gutted I wasn't on Strava at the time though, I'd have had my walk from the city centre to the airport logged!
shredder1
Established Member
Its certainly worth a return visit, I managed to do most of the lines in Denmark, just a few now to finish off, another week should do it..