The UZ D1 563-3 seen between Батрадь and Велика Копаня Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:06 13:31:38 Tags: Rakasz megálló Батрадь Felsõveresmart Велика Копаня 321 Д1 D1 563 Ukrajna szélesnyomtáv motorvonat szovjet utódállamok határon túl ragadt vasútvonal

I'm publishing photos of a trip that happened more than eight years ago - somehow I never managed to upload them in the past. It was an interesting trip as we had a small bus with a dozen photographers running around in Ukraine with a busy programme and lots of fun together.

The UZ D1 768-1 seen between Білин and Квасы Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:06 17:15:18 Tags: Tiszaborkút Kvasi/Квасы Bilin Білин 323 Д1 D1 768 Ukrajna szélesnyomtáv motorvonat szovjet utódállamok határon túl ragadt vasútvonal

The last time I was here we didn't immediately come to the Tatar-pass, first we visited the Uzsok-pass, the Borzha-valley Narrow Gauge Railway and the lowlands of Transcarpathia . At this trip we only stopped for those two trains we came accross anyway then headed straight here so that we could take photos of the evening train departing from Rakhiv. If you are not familiar with the railways between mainland and Transcaprpathian Ukraine, I can brief you quickly: there are three lines, the main line leads from Mukachevo over Beskyd to Striy and Lviv, almost entirely double tracked, but the main tunnel is only just being replaced funded by the EU by a sturdy, new, double tracked tunnel (the original one by MÁV is single tracked and now in a very bad condition). Another electrified route, single tracked entirely runes North from Uzhhorod to Lviv over the so-called Transcarpathian Semmering, actually climbing the pass. The line where this photo has been taken is a lot different: the Southern side of it can be reached by train from Chop through Berehovo, Vinohradovo-Zakkarpatia and Khust, but only through a stretch of it lying in Romania between Sighetu Marmatiei and Valea Visului. There is no broad-gauge traffic on the Romanian section, UZ D1 trains go from Chop to Solotvino, a short branch line leading to the salt minig town just opposite of Sighet on the Ukrainian side of the Tisa river, and from Rakhiv over the Tatar-pass to Kolomiya and Ivano-Frankivsk; CFR runs trains from Sighet to Dej over a line built by Romania after the Trianon peace partly using an old MÁV line leading from Valea Visului over Viseu de Jos to Borsa. This line is mostly served by beautiful Sulzer diesel locomotives both on passenger and freight duty.

The UZ D1 563-3 seen between Yasinya and Lazeschina Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:06 17:54:49 Tags: Mezõhát З.П. ЛАЗЕЩИНА Kõrösmezõ Yasinya/Ясіня 323 Д1 D1 563 Ukrajna szélesnyomtáv motorvonat szovjet utódállamok határon túl ragadt vasútvonal

After Yasinya the railways leaves the Black Tisa valley and switches to the Lazeschina river, where after a horseshoe over this viaduct climbs among the hills towards the pass and reaches its summit in a short tunnel a little above 800 metres above sea level.

The UZ D1 745-3 seen between Квасы and Свидівець Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:07 07:07:55 Tags: Szvidoveci Свидівець Tiszaborkút Квасы 323 Д1 D1 745 Ukrajna szélesnyomtáv motorvonat szovjet utódállamok határon túl ragadt vasútvonal

Perhaps the most exquisite construction of the line is the viadukt at Kvasi, where the railway crosses the valley high above the water, not just as an ordinary bridge.

Kvasi viadukt in the Hungarian times - a class 324 steam locomotive is pulling a long passenger train across
Photo source: postcard from profila.hu (unknown URL)

The UZ 2M62U-0296 seen between Татарів and МИКУЛИЧИН Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:07 08:56:44 Tags: Mikulicsin Mykulychyn/МИКУЛИЧИН Tatariv Татарів 323 2M62 2M62U 0296 1/2-2M62 Ukrajna Szergej szélesnyomtáv kétszekciós mozdony tehervonat szovjet utódállamok felhos nyár hegyek folyó wedgie távírópózna hangulat legjobb nyílt vonal

After the passenger train we glimpsed a freight train waiting at Vorokhta station so we found a suitable place for it. The surprising thing though is that it was hauled by a section of a 2M62U locomotive, therefore...

The UZ 2M62U-0296 seen between Татарів and МИКУЛИЧИН Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:07 08:57:09 Tags: Mikulicsin Mykulychyn/МИКУЛИЧИН Tatariv Татарів 323 2M62 2M62U 0296 1/2-2M62 Ukrajna Szergej szélesnyomtáv kétszekciós mozdony tehervonat szovjet utódállamok felhos hangulat hátulról nyílt vonal

...it only had one cab! It had to be rotated at the terminus, but shunting with it is no bigger deal than with a standard M62 locomotive.

The UZ 2M62U 0296 seen at МИКУЛИЧИН station Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:07 09:07:20 Tags: Mikulicsin Mykulychyn/МИКУЛИЧИН 323 2M62 2M62U 0296 1/2-2M62 Ukrajna Szergej szélesnyomtáv kétszekciós mozdony tehervonat szovjet utódállamok felhos állomás hangulat Braz Ausztria felvételi épület tavasz hegyek

This beautiful Austrian State Railways station building is a close relative of the one standing at Braz station on the Arlbergbahn .

The UZ M62 1380 seen between Татарів and МИКУЛИЧИН Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:07 09:31:59 Tags: Mikulicsin Mykulychyn/МИКУЛИЧИН Tatariv Татарів 323 2M62 M62 1380 Ukrajna Szergej szélesnyomtáv szovjet utódállamok felhos nyílt vonal hegyek hegyi vasút folyó fenyofa tavasz

We met a locomotive-hauled consist replacing a missing D1 multiple unit in the Prut river valley - not a bad change I believe!

An unidentified UZ DPL1 seen between Kolomiya and Ivano-Frankivsk near Dibrová stop Photographed by: Takács Bence Captured at: 2010:05:07 14:46:10 Tags: Markovci Dibrová 323 2M62 DPL1 1/2-2M62 Ukrajna Szergej szélesnyomtáv szovjet utódállamok nyílt vonal magaslatról távírópózna

You will not be able to find this stop on Google Maps, but if you find Markivtsi near Ivano Frankivsk and look out for the gas tanks and their siding (which is visible in the background of this photo) you can locate where this picture was taken.

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