ronik24
Proud Earthling
Hi,
To the previous part of the series:
Regional Rail Express - 65: Transilvania VIII (50 p.)
railroadforums.com
Let's divert from the regular route for a summer holiday double special:
August 18 2023
I had reached Rogotin the previous day by bus from Split (more in a future part of the series). This romantic village is located on Lake Vlaška connected to the Adriatic Sea by a 300 ft wide channel at the port of Ploče. I started climbing 375 ft high Veliki Trovro hill at 5:40 a.m. A cross and a wind organ can be found at the top.
I was rewarded by the sun rising above the mountains at 6:17... only a train was missing...
A freight train towards Bosnia actually departed at 7:30 a.m. This freight seemed to reliably leave Ploče between 7:30 - 8:00 every day - also on weekends. We will get to know it more closely in the second part of the report.
However, this was not the train I had come for - even if you have to be thankful for any daytime movement on this line. I had not found any reports online - so, I still was unsure whether the "white whale" actually existed...
...
At its scheduled arrival time of 10:36 a.m.: nothing...
...
For the first and only time a group of tourists came by before noon.
I already planned in my mind how long I was willing to wait... at least the cross provided some shade.
...
Suddenly, a long white snake appeared along Neretva River at 11:43 a.m. - led by lovely blue HŽ 1141-302 - which by the way was in charge of ALL trains sighted on this line!
It passed by Banja halt - I was going to walk there the following day.
It was B 1391 Sarajevo (7:15) - Ploče (10:36) running just on summer weekends Fr-Su, the only international train of Bosnia-Herzegovina and first one after quite a few years.
Komin village in the background.
The longer wait provided some sunlight from this side on the straight to Rogotin station. The 18-part double Talgo composition with blue engine is my favorite loco-hauled express train in Europe at the moment.
Small Lake Jezerina in the foreground.
I had dubbed it "Heart Lake". Both panoramic images together provide a 360° view over Rogotin, Ploče and the Neretva Delta with its lagoons and reed-lined canals to the Pelješac Peninsula in the Adriatic Sea.
B 1391 passed by the waterpolo field in the meantime.
Lake Vlaška is one of five remaining lakes of the Neretva Delta and one of Croatia's last reed-covered areas:
https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaška_(jezero)
View of Ploče port with containers and coal across the canal to the lake. The train passed by the freight yard, then turned about 70 degrees to the right to reach the terminal station with round roof.
July 27 2006
Let's travel back into an era when several passenger trains were frequenting this terminal - first and foremost the "Bosnian Mix" consisting of one HŽ, ŽRS and ŽFBH car each, B 396 Ploče (6:40 a.m.) - Mostar - Sarajevo - Banja Luka - Zagreb (7:47 p.m.).
In my childhood, this had been a frequent transfer point between Sarajevo and our usual beach holiday stay at Tučepi. During the 1980s, Ploče was called Kardeljevo, and it always was an experience. My dad had once been witness to a fistfight breaking out due to the chaos in front of the ticket counter. He asked a policeman standing by if he was about to do anything about it. He answered: "No, only when they really hurt themselves"...
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
We took the express to Sarajevo. Already at 6:01 a.m., international Pu 5900 had departed across the border to Čapljina - one of four pairs of local trains at the time.
July 29 2006
We have arrived for a brake check to my second home city - Sarajevo.
"Bosnian Mix" B 397 Zagreb - Ploče departed at 6:43 p.m., 25 minutes late. The ŽRS former East German DR car already was wearing its current livery.
September 25 2003
After arrival from Zagreb by B 397 on my first Bosnian post-war trip. ŽFBH 441-122 was wearing a livery which soon afterwards was abandoned.
September 30 2003
View towards classic DR cars before departure by B 396.
July 28 2006
The station building had already been renovated in 2001 with Saudi Arabian funding.
June 13 2024
This year, I returned to Sarajevo for the first time since 2019 to attend my grandmother's funeral. She already had died in 2021 in New Zealand at the age of 101.
In this report I had visited the Partisan hospital Petrova Gora where she had served as a medic during WWII. Later she worked as head doctor with the rank of colonel at a Sarajevo military hospital:
Regional Rail Express - 47: Split I (50 p.)
railroadforums.com
Due to bureaucratic hurdles and other circumstances, only now my relatives living across the world managed to come together for this occasion. The meeting was lovely, and I could additionally enjoy the city a little bit.
A few impressions from Sarajevo can be seen here - a lot from my archives has not been published yet:
Little Roni in Sarajevo 1986, Super-8 film with trams and trolleybuses:
Trams in 2019:
Regional Rail Express - 15: Adria, Istria I, Bosnia & Herzegovina (50 p.)
railroadforums.com
Visit of the tram deport in 2010 before touring coal mines with steam (in German, please use autotranslate):
Steam in Bosnia 2010 - 1: Arrival (50 p.)
Tram traffic has sadly become quite dull. Sixteen GT 8 units originally from Cologne and later brought to Sarajevo from Konya in 2015 currently were the most numerous type spotted (in German):
de.wikipedia.org
The symbol on some lantern masts had been designed for the Winter Olympic Games exactly 40 years ago.
Locally fitting ad: "As long as the Miljacka River is flowing, people keep snacking Plazma".
June 15 2024
Along Titova street near our apartment - the first time I could not stay with relatives.
Unit 560 originated from Cologne as 3677/3777 later Konya 156 (DÜWAG #912 / built in 1965):
GT 8 575 at Skenderija stop in the evening. My grandmother's apartment had been situated in a high-rise in the same street across the river. The still standing event center once offered world class Yugoslav basketball league games and surreal shows for kids (e.g. Smurf-themed).
June 13 2024
The first newly acquired trams in 40 years are now being delivered replacing almost all older types. Stadler Tango NF3 have been developed especially for this city.
September 26 2003 / July 27 2006
To the left: Original Tatra K2YU units from Sarajevo could be recognized by pantographs at the rear and corrugated sides. Later, the pantographs were moved to the front. At Baščaršija terminal in front of Muslihudin Čekrekčija Mosque from 1526 on line 1 to the railroad station.
To the right: An original Tatra in front of the well-known town hall.
July 28 2006
Early morning.
In the evening, we visited the pedestrian bridge at Fojnička street and enjoyed homemade Bureks. Former "Olimpik Ekspres"-EMUs now were used for local services to Zenica (as an express again in 2019, see report linked above).
From more glorious days in 1984:
The "Bosnian Mix" approached one hour delayed at 7:02 p.m. from Zagreb, hauled by 441-902 - former 441-103 in TCDD-colors after an overhaul in Turkey.
A lightning-fast engine change to now newly painted 441-122 in classic livery (see above) later, B 397 already continued to Ploče at 7:15 p.m.
June 15 2024
I managed to visit a part of the line I had not taken pictures of yet: the viaducts around Tarčin. Saturday morning presented itself cloudless in Sarajevo. A nice cab driver we had met the previous day waited for me at 6 a.m. It became foggier und foggier along the windy road into the Zujevina Valley to Tarčin. We met a freight train. The taxi took me to Vrbanja from where I walked to Smucka. The viaducts could only be seen from close proximity through the fog at 6:50. However, the sun already shone through - so, there was hope...
A soccer fan had built his house back in the valley... somehow most Ćevapi places in the city are being run by footballers... ;-)
"Željezničar" means "railroader".
en.wikipedia.org
Five large bridges are crossed near Tarčin, four of those can be seen in one view. The fog on the second bridge looked like this at 7:37 a.m., when the train approached at 7:47 it had completely cleared. I tried a virtual edit with both pictures.
It should have been seasonal express B 1391 Sarajevo - Ploče - however, its start of the season had been postponed a couple of weeks. So, this is actually B 723 Sarajevo - Čapljina. If you don't know it, there is no visual difference.
The double-Talgo on the third of five large viaducts.
Slightly virtually extended on the fourth and fifth viaducts.
Above: Foggy mood panoramic view.
Below: Single-Talgo B 720 Čapljina - Sarajevo showed up at 8:17 a.m. A Bosnian army cemetery in the foreground, a highway toll plaza next to it.
The roasted chicken places along the road were not open yet. I walked into Tarčin to the "Orijent" coffeeshop and procured a load of Tulumbe for which the town is known.
Below the first viaduct in the center on the main highway you can still find the old narrow-gauge station building. My relatives once had sat in a train across Ivan Pass which ran away... (in German):
de.wikipedia.org
de.wikipedia.org
The cab driver picked me up from the gas station. A few moments before, a freight train passed by but sadly out of view.
June 28 2006
We boarded local train 2401 Sarajevo - Konjic at 7:18 a.m. Brđani pod Ivanom presented itself decorated like this; in Serbian it says "Pleševac".
We went to Ovčari on the Herzegovina side of the Ivan Pass. "Bosnian Mix" B 396 Ploče - Zagreb approached at 9:38 a.m through Trešanica Valley linked to the Neretva Valley nearby.
That is why you come here - where once narrow-gauge rack railroad sections dominated, now standard gauge loops prevail:
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
The complete Ovčari panorama in morning light. Sadly, you could not get here from Sarajevo and back in the evening, and the express trains were running quite late.
There was much less freight traffic than nowadays - but in former Yugoslavia you can always rely on that one maintenance vehicle...
... and of course track walkers. We returned to the station.
Our local train consisting of a classic green car and a former Swedish car approached.
Hauled by ŽFBH 441-904 (former 441-117).
Next time, we will explore the lagoon further...
To the previous part of the series:
Regional Rail Express - 65: Transilvania VIII (50 p.)
Regional Rail Express - 65: Transilvania VIII (50 p.)
Hi, To the previous part of the series: Regional Rail Express - 64: Transylvania Puszta Special (50 p. + 1 v.) https://railroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/regional-rail-express-64-transilvania-puszta-special-50-p-1-v.22332 August 5 2018 From the summer regional rail express tour...
Let's divert from the regular route for a summer holiday double special:
August 18 2023
I had reached Rogotin the previous day by bus from Split (more in a future part of the series). This romantic village is located on Lake Vlaška connected to the Adriatic Sea by a 300 ft wide channel at the port of Ploče. I started climbing 375 ft high Veliki Trovro hill at 5:40 a.m. A cross and a wind organ can be found at the top.
I was rewarded by the sun rising above the mountains at 6:17... only a train was missing...
A freight train towards Bosnia actually departed at 7:30 a.m. This freight seemed to reliably leave Ploče between 7:30 - 8:00 every day - also on weekends. We will get to know it more closely in the second part of the report.
However, this was not the train I had come for - even if you have to be thankful for any daytime movement on this line. I had not found any reports online - so, I still was unsure whether the "white whale" actually existed...
...
At its scheduled arrival time of 10:36 a.m.: nothing...
...
For the first and only time a group of tourists came by before noon.
I already planned in my mind how long I was willing to wait... at least the cross provided some shade.
...
Suddenly, a long white snake appeared along Neretva River at 11:43 a.m. - led by lovely blue HŽ 1141-302 - which by the way was in charge of ALL trains sighted on this line!
It passed by Banja halt - I was going to walk there the following day.
It was B 1391 Sarajevo (7:15) - Ploče (10:36) running just on summer weekends Fr-Su, the only international train of Bosnia-Herzegovina and first one after quite a few years.
Komin village in the background.
The longer wait provided some sunlight from this side on the straight to Rogotin station. The 18-part double Talgo composition with blue engine is my favorite loco-hauled express train in Europe at the moment.
Small Lake Jezerina in the foreground.
I had dubbed it "Heart Lake". Both panoramic images together provide a 360° view over Rogotin, Ploče and the Neretva Delta with its lagoons and reed-lined canals to the Pelješac Peninsula in the Adriatic Sea.
B 1391 passed by the waterpolo field in the meantime.
Lake Vlaška is one of five remaining lakes of the Neretva Delta and one of Croatia's last reed-covered areas:
https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaška_(jezero)
View of Ploče port with containers and coal across the canal to the lake. The train passed by the freight yard, then turned about 70 degrees to the right to reach the terminal station with round roof.
July 27 2006
Let's travel back into an era when several passenger trains were frequenting this terminal - first and foremost the "Bosnian Mix" consisting of one HŽ, ŽRS and ŽFBH car each, B 396 Ploče (6:40 a.m.) - Mostar - Sarajevo - Banja Luka - Zagreb (7:47 p.m.).
In my childhood, this had been a frequent transfer point between Sarajevo and our usual beach holiday stay at Tučepi. During the 1980s, Ploče was called Kardeljevo, and it always was an experience. My dad had once been witness to a fistfight breaking out due to the chaos in front of the ticket counter. He asked a policeman standing by if he was about to do anything about it. He answered: "No, only when they really hurt themselves"...
Ploče - Wikipedia
Edvard Kardelj - Wikipedia
We took the express to Sarajevo. Already at 6:01 a.m., international Pu 5900 had departed across the border to Čapljina - one of four pairs of local trains at the time.
July 29 2006
We have arrived for a brake check to my second home city - Sarajevo.
"Bosnian Mix" B 397 Zagreb - Ploče departed at 6:43 p.m., 25 minutes late. The ŽRS former East German DR car already was wearing its current livery.
September 25 2003
After arrival from Zagreb by B 397 on my first Bosnian post-war trip. ŽFBH 441-122 was wearing a livery which soon afterwards was abandoned.
September 30 2003
View towards classic DR cars before departure by B 396.
July 28 2006
The station building had already been renovated in 2001 with Saudi Arabian funding.
June 13 2024
This year, I returned to Sarajevo for the first time since 2019 to attend my grandmother's funeral. She already had died in 2021 in New Zealand at the age of 101.
In this report I had visited the Partisan hospital Petrova Gora where she had served as a medic during WWII. Later she worked as head doctor with the rank of colonel at a Sarajevo military hospital:
Regional Rail Express - 47: Split I (50 p.)
Regional Rail Express - 47: Split I (50 p.)
Hi, To the previous part of the series: Regional Rail Express - 46: Jože Plečnik (50 p.) https://railroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/regional-rail-express-46-jo%C5%BEe-ple%C4%8Dnik-50-p.18534 August 27 2021 We start this year's seasonal express train summer after a heavy rain...
Due to bureaucratic hurdles and other circumstances, only now my relatives living across the world managed to come together for this occasion. The meeting was lovely, and I could additionally enjoy the city a little bit.
A few impressions from Sarajevo can be seen here - a lot from my archives has not been published yet:
Little Roni in Sarajevo 1986, Super-8 film with trams and trolleybuses:
Trams in 2019:
Regional Rail Express - 15: Adria, Istria I, Bosnia & Herzegovina (50 p.)
Regional Rail Express - 15: Adria, Istria I, Bosnia & Herzegovina (50 p.)
Hi, Link to the video (please select high resolution): Preview video screenshots: To the previous part of the series: Regional Rail Express - 14: Suceava (50 p.) http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/regional-rail-express-14-suceava-50-p.14401 August 10 2019...
Visit of the tram deport in 2010 before touring coal mines with steam (in German, please use autotranslate):
Steam in Bosnia 2010 - 1: Arrival (50 p.)
Dampf in Bosnien 2010 - 1: Ankunft (50 B.)
Dampf in Bosnien 2010 - 1: Ankunft (50 B.)
www.mstsforum.info
Tram traffic has sadly become quite dull. Sixteen GT 8 units originally from Cologne and later brought to Sarajevo from Konya in 2015 currently were the most numerous type spotted (in German):
Straßenbahn Sarajevo – Wikipedia
The symbol on some lantern masts had been designed for the Winter Olympic Games exactly 40 years ago.
Locally fitting ad: "As long as the Miljacka River is flowing, people keep snacking Plazma".
June 15 2024
Along Titova street near our apartment - the first time I could not stay with relatives.
Unit 560 originated from Cologne as 3677/3777 later Konya 156 (DÜWAG #912 / built in 1965):
GT 8 575 at Skenderija stop in the evening. My grandmother's apartment had been situated in a high-rise in the same street across the river. The still standing event center once offered world class Yugoslav basketball league games and surreal shows for kids (e.g. Smurf-themed).
June 13 2024
The first newly acquired trams in 40 years are now being delivered replacing almost all older types. Stadler Tango NF3 have been developed especially for this city.
September 26 2003 / July 27 2006
To the left: Original Tatra K2YU units from Sarajevo could be recognized by pantographs at the rear and corrugated sides. Later, the pantographs were moved to the front. At Baščaršija terminal in front of Muslihudin Čekrekčija Mosque from 1526 on line 1 to the railroad station.
To the right: An original Tatra in front of the well-known town hall.
July 28 2006
Early morning.
In the evening, we visited the pedestrian bridge at Fojnička street and enjoyed homemade Bureks. Former "Olimpik Ekspres"-EMUs now were used for local services to Zenica (as an express again in 2019, see report linked above).
From more glorious days in 1984:
The "Bosnian Mix" approached one hour delayed at 7:02 p.m. from Zagreb, hauled by 441-902 - former 441-103 in TCDD-colors after an overhaul in Turkey.
A lightning-fast engine change to now newly painted 441-122 in classic livery (see above) later, B 397 already continued to Ploče at 7:15 p.m.
June 15 2024
I managed to visit a part of the line I had not taken pictures of yet: the viaducts around Tarčin. Saturday morning presented itself cloudless in Sarajevo. A nice cab driver we had met the previous day waited for me at 6 a.m. It became foggier und foggier along the windy road into the Zujevina Valley to Tarčin. We met a freight train. The taxi took me to Vrbanja from where I walked to Smucka. The viaducts could only be seen from close proximity through the fog at 6:50. However, the sun already shone through - so, there was hope...
A soccer fan had built his house back in the valley... somehow most Ćevapi places in the city are being run by footballers... ;-)
"Željezničar" means "railroader".
FK Željezničar Sarajevo - Wikipedia
Five large bridges are crossed near Tarčin, four of those can be seen in one view. The fog on the second bridge looked like this at 7:37 a.m., when the train approached at 7:47 it had completely cleared. I tried a virtual edit with both pictures.
It should have been seasonal express B 1391 Sarajevo - Ploče - however, its start of the season had been postponed a couple of weeks. So, this is actually B 723 Sarajevo - Čapljina. If you don't know it, there is no visual difference.
The double-Talgo on the third of five large viaducts.
Slightly virtually extended on the fourth and fifth viaducts.
Above: Foggy mood panoramic view.
Below: Single-Talgo B 720 Čapljina - Sarajevo showed up at 8:17 a.m. A Bosnian army cemetery in the foreground, a highway toll plaza next to it.
The roasted chicken places along the road were not open yet. I walked into Tarčin to the "Orijent" coffeeshop and procured a load of Tulumbe for which the town is known.
Below the first viaduct in the center on the main highway you can still find the old narrow-gauge station building. My relatives once had sat in a train across Ivan Pass which ran away... (in German):
Narentabahn – Wikipedia
Narentabahn – Wikipedia
The cab driver picked me up from the gas station. A few moments before, a freight train passed by but sadly out of view.
June 28 2006
We boarded local train 2401 Sarajevo - Konjic at 7:18 a.m. Brđani pod Ivanom presented itself decorated like this; in Serbian it says "Pleševac".
We went to Ovčari on the Herzegovina side of the Ivan Pass. "Bosnian Mix" B 396 Ploče - Zagreb approached at 9:38 a.m through Trešanica Valley linked to the Neretva Valley nearby.
That is why you come here - where once narrow-gauge rack railroad sections dominated, now standard gauge loops prevail:
Sarajevo–Ploče railway - Wikipedia
Ivan planina - Wikipedia
The complete Ovčari panorama in morning light. Sadly, you could not get here from Sarajevo and back in the evening, and the express trains were running quite late.
There was much less freight traffic than nowadays - but in former Yugoslavia you can always rely on that one maintenance vehicle...
... and of course track walkers. We returned to the station.
Our local train consisting of a classic green car and a former Swedish car approached.
Hauled by ŽFBH 441-904 (former 441-117).
Next time, we will explore the lagoon further...
