The CFR Calatori 601 036-2 seen at Ramnicu Valcea Nord stop Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 06:35:21 Tags: CFR 60 60 1036 dízelmozdony Románia Sulzer magaslatról nyílt vonal város hegyek napkelte CFR

Unlike my previous practices I have to create a travelogue from one of the days of a longer photo trip because of a sad occasion. Last autumn, on our way to Bulgaria , we stopped by the CFI Lonea 790-mm-gauge industrial, narrow-gauge railway next to Petrosani and took photos of the Faur L45H locomotive hauling coal trains and it gave us the idea to visit all other freight carrying narrow-gauge railways in Romania for photographing as soon as possible. We managed to do that this summer, we have been to the CFU Fieni and the CFI Govora as well and this way we got photos of both, currently operated industrial narrow-gauge railway of Romania. And of one, that unfortunately, does not carry anything now. The Bistrita-Govora quarry railway worked the 15th September, 2019 for the last time. Of the three lines, we would have thought that this one was the one blessed with the best survival chances, soon you will see why. Life has, yet again, written a different story for the heroes.

The CFR Calatori 77 0901-7 seen between Bujoreni-Valcea and Ramnicu Valcea Nord Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 06:46:04 Tags: Malaxa (CFR 77) 77 0901 Románia motorkocsi napos nyílt vonal magaslatról tó víz napkelte hegyek különleges fények CFR hangulat

Since the photo could not be saved maintaining a realist style I decided to go with impressionism, leveling the tones and brightness in the different parts of the image. Though unearthly, it serves the Olt river reservoir and the orthodox wood church under construction very well. Atleast the almost hundred-year-old Malaxa railcars are still driving today.

The CFR Calatori 77 0901-7 seen between Govora and Tătărani Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 07:21:01 Tags: Malaxa (CFR 77) 77 0901 Románia motorkocsi napos nyílt vonal hegyek szántóföld CFR

We followed the little railcar South from Ramnicu Valcea before we started photographing the narrow-gauge trains. But where are we geographically? Ramnicu Valcea is in Souther Romania, just South of the Carpathian Mountains and along the Olt river that originates from Transylvania and breaks out from the Carpathian Basin and historical Hungary through the Turnu Rusu gorge. At the Souther side of Ramnicu Valcea is the industrialized suburb of Govora where a soda factory operates (producing Sodium Carbonate). The Solvay Process uses ammonium chloride as a catalysator and uses limestone as its raw material. This cheap ingredient can be mined in massive quantities and allows the making of detergents, the production of glass and bricks to be cheap. This limestone is mined at Bistrita village and the narrow-gauge train takes it to the factory.

The CFI Govora / Ciech Soda Romania 087 0052-3 seen at Tomsani station Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 08:53:05 Tags: CFF diesel 087 0052 Románia kisvasút L45H dízelmozdony napos tehervonat Kárpát-medencei kisvasút

The Bistrita-Govora railway has a complicated history, as it had been a forestry railway and has had different terminuses over time. Currently the track is 44 km long with larger stations like Tomsani and small, two-track passing loops. The trains operated 24 h a day with usually 3 consists out on the network with a full turn being 5 hours long including loading and unloading. There used to be a normal set of railwaymen at the stations but in the last days the train crew could set the switches and use radio coordination to find the best passing opportunities.

The CFI Govora 087 0052-3 seen between Tomsani and Foleștii de Sus Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 09:18:02 Tags: CFF diesel 087 0052 Románia kisvasút L45H dízelmozdony napos nyílt vonal tehervonat teleobjektív Kárpát-medencei kisvasút

Though the passing loops had been removed earlier, possibly the decline in the speed of the track made it necessary to at least partially rebuild them. Folestii can be used through the valley-side point only, meaning the train heading to the mine that had to clear the main way had to push back down before it could continue its journey. Apart from this, many things are in great condition: after an engine replacement to a Western type at Szombathely, Hungary, the locomotives also visited Remarul in Cluj Napoca for an overhaul where they probably have received the blue-green livery. The Polish owner has also invested in reconstructing and insulating the watchmen's houses at the barriers along the line.

The CFI Govora 087 0052-3 seen at Genuneni station Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 10:03:01 Tags: CFF diesel 087 0052 Románia kisvasút L45H dízelmozdony napos tehervonat nyár Kárpát-medencei kisvasút

Route map

The CFI Govora 087 0051-5 seen at Genuneni station Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 12:33:15 Tags: CFF diesel 087 0051 Románia kisvasút L45H elmúlt legjobb magaslatról dízelmozdony napos tehervonat Kárpát-medencei kisvasút

Additional photos of the railway can be found at kisvasut.hu by Szilárd Markója.

The DB Schenker 651 005-6 seen between Slăvitești and Ionești Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2019:08:13 13:29:56 Tags: Magándízel 651 005 Románia magánvasút tehervonat nyílt vonal napos DB konténervonat dízelmozdony

This container train had been loaded inside the Govora factory is well. Maybe this is over too.

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