Forestry Railway Viseu de Sus, Maramures, Romania
Pictures by Bob Turner, Canada, and a few by Bernd Seiler, Germany
My first visit to Romania was at a time when the country still had 21 forestry lines, all 760 mm, all steam operated. My last visit was in 1999. Three systems survived at that time. I closed a chapter of my steam photography, and thought it won’t be rewarding to visit Romania anymore, just for steam operated forestry lines. Romania will soon become a full member of the European Union, so the country went even more out of my focus. Anyhow, after a long abstinence I decided to offer a tour to the last survivor of the once fantastic forestry lines in Romania. Honestly, I wasn’t really excited about this tour because the wagons have been painted yellow with a red stripe, the locos got name plates on the smoke boxes, crowds of mobile phone-photographers and tourists flocked to the railway, the telegraphic poles have been removed and so on. There were strangers on the locomotive list as well: formerly Moldovita owned 763 193 and 764 449, four diesels and the once Berzasca-owned O&K 764 211 gave the impression to me that any authentic shot would have been impossible. Obviously that the line lost its charm.
As we entered Romania from Hungary,every prejudice seemed to come true: Coca Cola machines everywhere, illuminated streets, highway markings, the European Union seemed to get their grip around Romania. The hotel Gabriela in Viseu offered modern rooms, 24 hours hot water, clean bath rooms and a 24-hour restaurant. So nothing typical Romanian left ... Really? Things changed totally as we went to the forestry line next morning. Yes, things have been changed, but the charm, the character, the exciting beauty of the forestry line, the last one in Romania, is still there. Once you leave the main road of Viseu de Sus (and there are still the potholes you have seen a decade ago) the unpaved road is as bumpy as ever. Then the gate to the saw mill will be opened for you. Besides some fresh colours on the one or the other building, some almost not serviceable diesels, strange colours on a few of the wagons, and the absence of the telegraphic poles it is still gorgeous!
The day starts with the usual morning confusion, delays, repairs at the last moment, long discussions about train compositions, fuel allocations for the diesels and not in time prepared firewood for the steam locos. Little railcars blocking the main line, locos without any illumination, broken axle boxes, missing windows and steps at the entrance to passenger coach made me feel like 20 years ago. But the best of all: listening to the steam exhaust in the lonely deep forest, watching sunrays in the steam which is disappearing in the leaves of colourful trees, breathing the clear, chilly morning air while the sun is creeping down to the bottom of the narrow valley. It’s still alive, the magnificent beauty of a steam operated narrow gauge forestry line!
After the company Viseu Forest SA was bought by RG Holz Co. the rolling stock was merged and now consists of following locomotives:
Diesel
Steam
The club “Hilfe für die Wassertalbahn” owns two locomotives:
The condition of the locomotives is quite different. While the small diesels seem to work properly, the serviceable bigger one caused several problems. The steam locomotives belonging to the club “Hilfe für die Wassertalbahn” are in ex-works condition. The RG Holz-owned locomotives are hard used (as always) but not cared for by anyone. 764 408 (R) has some leaking pipes and broken stays, and the lubrication system is not working properly, but the loco is strong enough to do its job. Anyhow, for the long line in the Water valley (to Comanu) they are not using this loco as long as a diesel is available. 764 469 would make it with short trains into the Novat valley as well, but it would be a challenge for the crew and the locomotive. 763 193 is almost ok while all the other RG Holz owned steam locomotives need repair.
764 313, a Budapest-built unique survivor, needs a new cylinder set. The locomotive is almost complete. The last heavy overhaul was 15 years ago, but there is still a small chance to bring this loco back to life. If RG Holz would sell the locomotive to the club they would start with the repair. The price offer for new, welded cylinders from the workshop in Cluj-Napoca is some 40,000 Euro – quite a lot under Romanian circumstances. A usual standard overhaul of a Resita locomotive (7643-4) would cost about the same amount – if it would be done in Reghin.
764 355 has been scrapped as well as the two locomotives which came (in complete and good condition) from Borsa.
The operation is changing from day to day. In general Monday starts with a big mess. Before everything is sorted out and the first train leaves the depot it might be after 9.30 am. From Tuesday to Friday you may expect one train on the main line in the direction to Comanu departing early in the morning (usually scheduled at 6 am and leaving between 6 and 7 am), followed by a train into the Novat valley an hour later. When there is a demand they’ll send another train on the main line around 9 am to the lower loading points. This train may not leave before 11 am. On Saturdays they have a limited operation to bring down the lumber jacks from their workplaces. There are some loaded wagons to brought down as well. On Sundays there is no wood traffic. The trains in the direction to Comanu are dedicated diesel trains while the train up the Novat valley is a steam candidate. In October 2006 they had three serviceable diesel locomotives. As they used L18H 001 for shunting, the third train (if there was a third train) needs to be steam hauled.
In general you can say there may be weeks without any steam train while other weeks see a few week or even a daily steam train. If you’re really lucky there will be even two steam-hauled trains a day. On the other hand, if you’re unlucky there will be diesel only or – even worse – no traffic at all. The line condition is, although overhauled and partly rebuilt after the big flood in 2001, bad, derailments are common. If the line is blocked by a derailed train or affected by weather conditions there might be no traffic at all.
The future of the line seems to be safe for the next few years. Plans for building a road up the valley have been withdrawn due to high estimated expenses. The big unknown factor is the battle between the wood companies. The wood barons (others call them wood Mafia) may insist on open access to the forests as they did in Moldovita before. To realise open access it is much easier to exploit the forest by roads than by rail. Anyhow, there have been already two companies using the railway, Viseu Forest and RG Holz. In addition you should not underestimate the influence of the club “Hilfe für die Wassertalbahn”. They are trying to take over the railway and offer normal logging train operation as well as charter and tourist trains.
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During the summer, say from May to September, there is a daily, steam hauled train from Viseu de Sus to Faina, departing around 8.30 hrs. In the peak season some 150 to 200 tourists visits the line daily (including Sundays). This train may be nice for riding on, but it’s nothing for the photographer or video film maker who wants to see something authentic. It’s a pure tourist operation, the rolling stock usually comprises open wagons in yellow livery and the still yellow painted passenger coach. Anyhow, these tourists give the team from “Hilfe für die Wassertalbahn” the background to overhaul locomotives, operating a tourist office and pay the staff which serves the tourists.
Conclusion 1: Go there. It’s a nice place and an exciting operation. It didn’t lose its atmosphere, its still a place to go to for working steam.
No-no, I’ll not telling a story about the striptease bar of Viseu. Under pressure of the church it has been closed recently. I’d like to tell a tale about a day on, or better beside, the tracks of Viseu the Sus.
The blackboard stated the train to Lostun (above Faina) was diesel operated. Late in the evening we changed this operation to steam. On request they left the scheduled steam train to Poiana Novat as it was and didn’t change it to diesel. So we looked forward to two steam hauled trains the next day.
Morning came, calm, chilly, sunny – just perfect. The 6 am diesel train was already on the line as we arrived. The 7 am scheduled Poiana Novat train left the yard with a minor delay – at 8.30. The 9 am departure seemed to be delayed for a long time, so we went on our chartered railcar and followed “Cozia 1” with its train into the Novat valley. Sunlight reached the tracks at the new water stop at km post 11,4. We made a line shot shot beyond the water stop, our railcar picked us up and we followed the train. In Novat, now a siding only as they dismantled the station building, the railcar got in front of the train. We parked the railcar in Delta and made a good shot of the departure from Novat in the perfect morning light.
The train disappeared in the gorge of the Novat valley and we decided to focus on the train to Lostun which should have departed an hour ago already. From the wireless we got the information that the train still hadn’t left the yard in Viseu. So our railcar dropped us at a nice position between Novat and Valea Scradey and went down to the small siding in Valea Scradei. We climbed up a hill and awaited the steam train. Long shadows in the valley became shorter, the sun reached the meadow as we have been waiting for it to do, tractors and horse carts went by – but no train came in sight. The time was already 11am, and no sign of a train. Not even a single little railcar passed by. A squirrel in an apple tree was the most entertaining sight in this peaceful valley. The sun reached the last parts of the line as the clock went on 12 noon. Finally – well after midday – the train approached our position. It was, by then, too warm for steam exhaust, but smoke from the stack marked the way of the train through the valley. A nice shot, in indeed. Our railcar followed the train and picked us up. We caught it again at the water stop and went in front for a departure shot in Novat again.
The train was fighting to make up time. Sometimes the steam train followed the railcar very closely and the railcar was not able to make up more speed than the train. It was a really nice sight to see a steam train storming ahead from the rear window of the railcar!
We made several additional pictures of the steam train until the sunlight disappeared from the ground and shadows crept up the valley.
This was in Shuligu. The water stop before took some 15 minutes and we had to change our position twice to get the last sunlight on the train. We arranged that the railcar should let the steam train passing by in Shuligu and return to pick us up. We got information that the train in the Novat valley was still waiting for some trucks to be loaded before it could come down. So we could meet it again. We planned to take a last shot of the Lostun train and then head down to Novat to get a shot of the loaded train from Poiana Novat to Viseu de Sus. The steam train passed by and we waited for the railcar. Although Shuligu was just 300 metres above our position, the railcar didn’t appear. We waited for 15 minutes as a train noise broke the silence. The diesel logging train came! It passed by with a long rake of loaded trucks. Where was our railcar? I went up to Shuligu as our railcar just arrived. Bu it wasn’t alone. The chief of the railway ordered the railcar up to Faina to pick up a broken little railcar! Now we had to follow the diesel train. In Botizu we met the diesel train again, still blocking the point. We parked behind the train and went to the station. The wooden station building, half of it unused, is in a very sad shape, the roof seems to be a candidate for crashing down this next winter … As we walked along the train we found the mishap: a truck on each of two loaded logs wagons have been derailed. It took them almost an hour before the wagons were been back on the tracks. They coupled the train together and moved on – as the next wagon derailed at the rail connection the others had derailed on before. Another time they brought the re-railing frogs and jacks, and started to re-rail the train. The diesel brought the wagons in front of the derailed one to the siding. While pushing the loaded wagons in the siding, another truck of a loaded wagon derailed at the switch! Fortunately with some careful movement back over the points, the wheels found their way back onto the rails. After the other derailed wagon had been moved back onto the rails, a worker pushed the sleeper under the sagging rail joint that caused the derailment. After some beats with the hammer the rail seems to be in the correct position and it was fixed with two “second hand” nails, hammered into the sleeper.
For the extra shunting the diesel needs more diesel fuel than expected. By wireless they asked the railway chief in Viseu whether they would be allowed to take 40 litres out of 100 which have been parked at the station for use in the tractor. He agreed to an allowance of 20 litres. With a large funnel the loco driver went up on the top of the hood of the diesel while another one took a bucket. The diesel was poured into the bucket and handed over to the driver the roof. Filling the diesel this way is also common in the depot of Viseu!
The whole action took almost two hours. Meanwhile the steam loco from the train to Lostun arrived as light engine as well and parked behind our railcar plus the broken little one. A short talk with the train chief of the logging train gave us chance to be allowed to pass it in Botizu. As the logging train had 15 loaded wagons plus one platform wagon, or flatcar, and one passenger coach, it was too long to fit in the siding. But Romanian forest railroaders always find a solution. They took three wagons with the diesel and went into the tunnel. This gave us sufficient space to loop around the logging train and park in front of the loaded wagons. Now the diesel pushed its wagons back into the siding. The line in front of us was clear and we left the station.
Back on the road, there was no chance to catch the loaded train from Poiana Novat anymore as we ambled downgrade. During the waiting time in Botizu our railcar driver accommodated two locals in his cab. As thanks they shared a bottle of local plum liquor with our driver. He was not really disappointed about the delay and then enjoyed it immensely to speed down the light track. As the railcar can’t be turned on the line, his cab was at the back of the car. The handbrake handle (there is no other braking system) is in the middle of the cab, making it impossible to look out of the window to see what’s happen on the line and use the brake at the same time. Going blind backwards down the valley, with a drunken driver, the stove in the passenger compartment radiating heat, the old wooden vehicle groaning and moaning with each angular curve – we were flying home ...
We passed Delta well after sunset. The sky got darker as we passed Novat. I calculated that we could have dinner at 20:00 hrs. At that moment a rumbling came from below the leading boogie of our railcar. After a few metres and just in front of a small bridge we came to a halt. We jumped off and saw the disaster: derailment!
As this would take the railwaymen maybe 15 minutes only, nobody got worried. But the reason for the derailment was different: locals are used to steeling wood. Someone cut a log into pieces for firewood and then rolled the chunks down from the forest up on the hillside into the valley where he probably wanted to pick up them after total darkness. One of these pieces stuck in the track – and was now between the two axles of the railcar boogie! They tried the usual things. Putting some special sheet metal rerailment plates in front of the derailed boogie and starting the engine of the railcar. But the railcar didn’t have sufficient power to move itself back onto the track. After a while the steam loco arrived behind us. We asked for help. They coupled them together but – the broken small railcar had no proper buffer beam. The buffer beam and the coupling of this little railcar was broken and was just fixed with a rope. So the steam loco could not pull us. They put the re-railing frogs on the other side ...
... and tried to push the railcar back on the track. But this made it even worse, and we came closer to the bridge.
It got dark, really dark. Above us, billions of stars.
Someone lighted a camp fire. Screw jacks were brought to the railcar. Using blue, tiny little light diode torches to illuminate the scene, the railwaymen tried to lift the boogie up to remove the log. It took them more than a hour. They were only able to bring the wheels of one axle back on the rails.
The re-railing in the usual way had to be restarted again. But for a second time, the railcar was not strong enough to make it. As there was no way to pull it in the right direction they tried to push it with the help of the steam loco again. The re-railing sheet metal frogs slid along the track, and needed to be fixed in place to prevent them sliding on the rails. Some small rocks were found; they tried again. But now the pin holding the leaf spring over the alxe box had been lost, so the axle box developed a life of its own as they tried to re-rail the boogie. A splint was needed. They found the old pin – broken. Nevertheless they hammered it straight on the rail and reused the rest of it to connect the spring.
A new attempt started. The steam loco pushed the railcar over the fixed re-railing frogs, but then the first axle derailed again and the second was still not back on the rail. But now the metal frogs were between the two axles of the derailed boogie! Disaster ...
We arranged road transport back to the hotel. To reach the car a night walk of about 500 metres along the track, crossing over the river on a wobbling suspension bridge with round slippery boards for decking, and another 300 metres walk over a muddy roadway was necessary. The car could only take four people, so we needed at least two more taxies to get everyone back to the hotel ... Five people had already started walking back an hour earlier.
After three hours the diesel hauled logging train arrived and stopped behind the steam loco. Seventeen railwaymen have been captured behind our railcar!
Meanwhile the help of a diesel loco was ordered from Viseu. It eventually appeared after an hour. They coupled it on to the railcar and pulled backwards and the re-railing frogs could be rescued. The other result was that the axlebox jumped out of the frame and the axle lost its bearing. Now it was a real mishap! The chances to rescue the railcar this night sank to zero.
The car driver needed 45 minutes to reach the hotel. But no taxi driver wanted to go on this bumpy, muddy way during the night. We had no choice than to walk down to a position that our bus could reach. Anyhow, it was a really nice night walk: the moonlight reflecting on the water of the river, mist rising out of the forest and the stars and the Milky Way spread across the black night sky. The last group of us reached the hotel well after 1am – and were served with a hot five course dinner and beer!
The next day at ten ‘o clock: all trains were still on the line. The good news was that the railcar could be fixed and it was to arrive soon. Half an hour later it arrived – on its own power, on its own wheels! Everything was fixed and seemed to be in the same state as before. Twenty minutes later the steam loco arrived, pulling the diesel train. The diesel ran out of fuel during the night and so the crew was really happy to had the steam loco available we had chartered for the train to Lostun the day before. Once back in the depot, the crew of the diesel loco got another loco and had to return into the forest immediately because their next scheduled train had been delayed for hours already. After a night in the forest they got some 20 minutes rest and had to go again. And for just 350 Euros salary a month they did. This is Romania in 2006, just a few months before they will join the European Union.
This was the real forestry line experience that reminded me so much of the situation 20 years ago, and with so little changed. It is really worth a visit before a European Union high commissioner finds out that they have no automatic door blocking system for rolling trains which needs to be fixed by the ultimate closure of the line or the notification prohibiting all non-employees from using the trains. From the narrow viewpoint of his big armchair in Brussels his regulations need to be pushed through, even though they don’t make much sense on a logging railway that is barely surviving. For at least a dozen times the salary that a loco driver earns in the river valley in Viseu de Sus, it is almost certain that some official will draft new regulations a dozen times over ... It needs to be done because unemployed railway workers will not be insured in a railway accident. Welcome European Union!
A little story from a country which is already member of the European Union: Hungary. We booked a hotel in Mateszalka, the city where our morning train to Budapest was to depart from. After a sumptuous dinner we arrived in the late evening. I had ordered and prepaid the hotel via bank transfer far in advance.
The good thing first: the lady at the reception spoke a very good English (which is not common in Hungary). She told us that another group extended their stay in the hotel and so they had only two double rooms left. But – no problem (for them) – they had arranged rooms in a pension nearby (just 50 m around the corner). Bad news – only one double and one single room. The rest of the group had go to another pension further away. The receptionist arranged a small private car which would need two trips she said. How to get ten people plus driver and luggage in a normal car on two turns? I convinced her that it would be impossible. As she said the car needs ten minutes (plus return = 20 minutes), the last people would need to wait until well after midnight before they’d see their beds. So I ordered taxies. But there weren’t been taxis available. Finally we found another private car who made it. For the next morning I ordered four cars (all private as no taxi was available) to bring the people to the station. They all cancelled the breakfast – except the seven who got the chance to get rooms in the hotel resp. the pension nearby. They did not want to have two transfers.
The result was that only one got breakfast as the lady at the reception misunderstood the order. Fortunately all cars have been in place at the ordered time next morning.
The hotel paid for the car transport but had the fortune of the paid and not served breakfast. The six who didn’t get the ordered breakfast could have one on the train (which I have fully paid in advance of course).
Conclusion 2: It makes me feel strange how they could accommodate a group which extended their stay with short notice in advance and let us early bookers but later arrivals and early morning leavers spread over three locations. I wonder how they could think to make transfer with only one car. I wonder how they never thought about a refund. I experienced welcoming hospitality in Hungary years ago, but all these experiences are shadowed by this unbelievable experience we had in Mateszalka.
Do not book the Szatmar hotel in Mateszalka! Full address:
Hotel Szatmár
Mátészalka
Hősök tere 8.
Tel:00-36-44-310-428
Manager: Zoltan Szabolcsi
Email: bastya2@t-online.hu
Another hotel is operated under the same management:
Bástya Wellness Hotel www.hotels.hu/bastya_nyirbator
No recommendation as well!
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