Mocăniță

The Wassertalbahn is a narrow-gauge forest railway in the north of Romania, from Viseu de Sus (German Oberwischau, Maramureş County ) leads to the Carpathians. It is the last regularly driven forest railway in Romania and is provided as a Romanian cultural heritage since 2010 under protection.

History and operation

The Wassertalbahn was completed in 1932 and operated by the state CFF. The train runs on tracks with a track width of 760 millimeters - the so-called Bosnian gauge - through the valley of Vaser the border area with Ukraine. It is the property since 2003, the largest employer of the town Viseu de Sus, the sawmill RG Wood Company S.R.L..

The production trains for the transport of timber drive Monday to Saturday several times a day in the forests of the Carpathians into it to bring several loading points, the precipitated wood downhill to the sawmill. The railway also serves well as the transport of forest workers to their places of work. Typically, these continue Monday in the forests up and back again on Saturday. Road vehicles and heavy equipment for the forestry operation shall, unless forest roads - as well as cattle - also transported by rail. The operation of trains is carried out in the rule of nine employees: two train drivers, a train conductor, a technician and five brakemen.

1952 a side line from the track triangle Novat Delta to Izvorul Boului was built in Novat Valley. 2008, the operation of the now shortened to Betîgi distance set. In spring 2011 thefts were detected on the tracks, so that the RG Wood decided as the operator to dismount the roadbed at Betîgi. Thus, the route ends today in Poiana Novat.

The superstructure is not comparable to the modern public railways and consists of light, directly nailed to wooden sleepers rail sections with bolted rail joints. Because of the track position and obstacles such as falling rocks or fallen trees, it is relatively common that cars derailed. Due to the poor track conditions, the slopes and to carry loads, the trains are usually only at speeds of an average of 10 km / h on the road. The nearly 30 km long journey from Faina until the sawmill therefore takes about three hours.

Tourism / Passenger

By the end of 2006, the trains of the forest railway were regularly pulled by steam locomotives, but now come mainly diesel locomotives are used. The Swiss organization " Help for Wassertalbahn ", however, managed to secure a continuation of steam operation - albeit primarily for tourism purposes. From May to June and mid- September to late October the tourist train runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In July, August and the first half of September, the tourist trains run daily.

The departure point is at the CFF Viseu de Sus Station (signposted " Mocăniţa " ), located on the site of the sawmill north of the city, where additional tourist facilities were created. The tourist train, also called Mocăniţa, transits about half the distance to the Paltin station in the canyon of Vaser where a picnic area and a grill station for passengers were erected. Photo weeks sometimes offered and railway enthusiasts where a week can be riding on various steam hauled trains long production against appropriate fee.

Vehicle inventory

For use are various locomotives, including steam locomotives Romanian as German production, several Romanian diesel locomotives of the type FAUR L45H, verschiedentliche to Handcars converted road vehicles and a motor coach of Russian origin.

As rolling stock for transportation of logs serve bogie wagons which are pairwise coupled only by the overlying tribes. Four-axle passenger coaches to transport the workers there (including one from 1900 ), for operational freight transport are several freight cars available. The forest track is not equipped with an automatic braking system on the turntables are come with brakeman that bring the car with the hand brake to a stop. The tourist traffic is handled with original forest railway passenger cars, three former coach Wengernalpbahn and several open summer car.

Stock of steam locomotives:

• 764.408R " Cozia - 1": operative only for special trains
• 764 421 " elvetia ": operational
• 764 211 " Mariuta " (manufacturer: Orenstein & Koppel ): operational
• 763 193 " Krauss ": operational
• 764 449 " Moldoviţa ": off
• 764 469: off

Accidents, weather

Around the year 2001, the exact date is not known, it came at the Wassertalbahn in a serious accident. During the return trip to Viseu de Sus, several tree trunks broke from their moorings and hurled one of the brakeman against a rock wall. He was run over by the tribes and was found dead.

End of July 2008 damaged strong storm in the Carpathian Mountains, the range of Wassertalbahn difficult: Bridges were swept away and washed out tracks. After the repair work, the route is continuous traffic again.

Media response

The railway arrived in recent years through television documentaries (among others a 2004 broadcast by ARTE Reportage named " The forest path of the Carpathians" ), a large reportage magazine GEO and a broadcast of the series railway romance under the title " Forest Railway in Transylvania " (SWR 2008) achieved international acclaim.

Gallery

In Valea Scradei

The tourist

Production train with forest workers