Varannó – Kelcse light railway

Varannó – Kelcse light railway
Varannó – Kelcse light railway, 1916
Route length:	approx. 26 km
Gauge :	700 mm
Maximum slope :	55  ‰
Minimum radius :	30 m
Legend Borosnya Divisional Sanitary Institution Kelča (Kelcse) Refreshment station Vranov nad Topľou (Varannó) Trebišov – Vranov nad Topľou railway line

The Varannó – Kelcse light railway was laid and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Land Forces during the First World War , about 26 km long military light railway with 700 mm gauge between the Slovakian towns of Vranov nad Topľou (Varannó) and Kelča (Kelcse).

construction

The light railroad was built by the railroad troops assigned to the VII Corps to secure the wooded Carpathians between the Topľa (Tapoly) and Laborec (Laborcza) rivers . The well-trained military railroad workers laid kilometers of tracks in mountainous, impassable terrain within a few days, with stations, evasions and resting places for the horses. The track bays were 1.5 m long and had a track width of 700 mm. The distance could not rise more than 1 m to 18 m (55 ‰) and the radius of curvature could not be less than 30 m.

At the starting point from which the field railway started, a "starting station" and a "refreshment station" connected to it were built. On the current route, the field railway had a station almost every 5 km. A telephone line was laid along the entire route. The field railway also included the telephone system, tools and a repair shop.

business

Supplies and ammunition were transported to the front line by light rail and the wounded were transported away on the way back. With regard to their performance, the trains are divided into material, catering, ammunition, sick and empty trains. The so-called double car was intended as a normal vehicle. It consisted of a bogie with brakes and one without brakes, which were connected via a platform. By attaching side walls, the double car could be converted into a large panel van. In flat terrain there was a pair of horses in front of each double wagon, in mountainous terrain two pairs of horses were harnessed.

The field train column, which consisted of a maximum of 70 double cars, was usually commanded by a train lieutenant or train lieutenant. A non-commissioned officer supervised 15 to 20 cars at a time. Each car had a driver and, sitting next to him, a brakeman. The field train commander created the timetable, the so-called "Graphika".

Kelcse terminus of the field railway built by the railroad workers of VII Corps

The picture shows a column consisting of about 60 double cars after arriving at the terminus. The path led through the mountains and so four horses were harnessed to each carriage. The barracks were primarily used as resting places for the wounded and for storing moisture-sensitive war materials such as ammunition, hay, and flour. Over 100 Russian prisoners were ready to carry out the unloading work. Less than an hour was available for unloading, then the empty wagons were cleaned and pulled to the field hospital to pick up the wounded, who were transported to Varannó, the starting point of the field railway, for onward transport by regular train.

Large barracks were also erected at the terminus, which gave shelter to the field railway's horse population. About 700 to 800 horses stood in these improvised stables. After the arrival of the field train, the rested horses were harnessed for the return transport and the "off duty" ones were taken to the barracks to rest.

As a rule, one or two, rarely more, columns were in motion. From the terminus, the " train " carried the daily needs to the fighting troops. Food, fodder, rifle and cannon ammunition often piled up at the terminus during the day, so that the train had trouble loading everything and getting it to the front.

Borosnya divisional sanitary facility on the Varannó – Kelcse light railway

The emptied wagons returned as ambulances. A train of 60 double cars carried around 300 sick people. An ambulance convoy of their own carried them from the first aid station , the divisional medical facility in Borosnya , to the terminus of the light railroad. If the column missed the train going to Varannó according to the schedule, the wounded were temporarily taken to the emergency barracks, where they were again medically examined and possibly freshly bandaged. Doctors and paramedics accompany the ambulance. The train stopped on the way at the stations. Seriously wounded people could interrupt their journey there and rest in their own barracks until the next train arrived.

At the stations there were also sufficient stocks of feed for the horses and food for the light rail drivers and passengers. But normally each column of the light railroad carried a kitchen car in its long row.

The production of good and functional field railways required a lot of skill. During the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian railway troops showed that they possessed this skill to a high degree. A carefully designed construction program, according to which the field railroad commander distributed his workforce, was the basis for the construction of every field railroad. Precise reconnaissance of the route had to precede its construction. Under normal conditions, about 10 km of light railroad tracks could be laid daily, which, taking into account the many ancillary systems to be built, resulted in a working time of little more than two weeks for a 100 km light railroad. However, the soil and terrain conditions, the season and the weather influenced the effort and duration of the construction work to be carried out.

See also

• Narajow – Lany – Dunajow light railway
• Lokomotivfeldbahn Ozydow – Monasztyrek
• Tryńcza light railway

Web links

• Today's footpaths along the former route

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} K.uk Kriesgarchiv: Austria-Hungary in arms: Folder 1: In the Carpathians. Publishing house Austria-Hungary in arms. 1916. page 27.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} K.uk Kriesgarchiv: Austria-Hungary in arms: Wallet 1: In the Carpathians. Publishing house Austria-Hungary in arms. 1916. page 28.
3. ↑ Ku k. Kriesgarchiv: Austria-Hungary in arms: Folder 1: In the Carpathians. Publishing house Austria-Hungary in arms. 1916. page 29.

Coordinates: 48 ° 53 ′ 25.1 ″  N , 21 ° 40 ′ 26.5 ″  E