Rhodope Railway
| Septemwri – Dobrinishte and Varvara – Pazardzhik |
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 Train of the Rhodope Railway
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| Route number : | 16 and 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 125.025 km | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 760 mm ( Bosnian gauge ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 30 ‰ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 60 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed: | 60 km / h | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coordinates: 42 ° 12 ′ 13.1 ″ N , 24 ° 7 ′ 52.1 ″ E
The Rhodope Railway is the last operating narrow-gauge line ( gauge 760 mm) of the Bulgarian state railway BDŽ . It runs from Septemwri on the main Sofia - Plovdiv route via Velingrad and Bansko to Dobrinishte . The route runs in a south-westerly direction between the Rhodope and Rila mountains and ends east of the Pirin mountains .
history
The railway was opened in several sections between 1922 and 1945. The total length of the Rhodope Railway was 125 km; The travel time is about five hours. A 16.6 km long branch from Pazardzhik to Varvara was decommissioned and dismantled in 2002.
Avramowo, the highest railway station in the Balkans, is located on the route at an altitude of 1267 m . 35 tunnels were built along the route, a total of 2858 m long. The longest tunnel (number 32) measures 314 m. There are four loops between Sweta Petka and Tscherna Mesta .
Traction vehicles
Due to its route through the mountains, the Rhodope Railway itself is compared with railways in the Alps . In contrast to these, however, the Rhodope Railway is not electrified and is operated exclusively with diesel locomotives . They belong to the series 75 and 76/77, the former were built in 1965–1966 as type DHG 1100 BB at Henschel in Kassel . The total of 25 similar machines of the 76/77 series were built under license in Bucharest . In 2007, numerous locomotives were already defective or scrapped or sold to Argentina.
In order to rationalize operations, diesel multiple units were procured relatively early . With the 82-01, built by Ganz-MÁVAG in 1952 , only one example remained. A steam locomotive is also available for tour groups with the 609.76 locomotive . The five-way coupled 615.76 stands as a monument in Sofia .
Diesel locomotive 75 004 of the type DHG 1100 BB built by Henschel in Germany
Henschel diesel locomotive 75 006 in Beliza , 2010
License built 77 005, 2006
Monument locomotive 615.76 at the Sofia Railway College
The steam locomotive 609.76 is operational, it is used in front of tourist trains
Railway company car on the Rhodope Railway, 1950s
literature
- Paul Engelbert: Narrow gauge through Bulgaria , Stenvalls Verlag, Malmö 2002, ISBN 91-7266-155-0
- Rudolf Heym: 125 kilometers on a narrow track , Lok Magazin 4/2008, ISSN 0458-1822
Web links
- The Rhodope Railway - Facebook , pictures and current information in German about timetable, prices and news
- A picture journey from Septemvri to Dobrinište , gallery on bahndokumente.de
- SŽD series ТУ7 (81-00 БДЖ)
- Eisenbahn-Romantik Episode 813 Balkan Nostalgie-Express Part 1 , broadcast on March 21, 2014 on SWR.de.
- Unknown Bulgaria - Through the wild mountains on the edge of Europe , "Countries - People - Adventure" broadcast on June 29, 2017 on NDR
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Last narrow-gauge railway in Bulgaria in: Lok Magazin 10/2007, p. 30.
- ↑ eisenbahnen-der-welt.de Rhodopenbahn Retrieved on June 20, 2012
- ↑ Information brochure on bahntouristik.de ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 20, 2012
- ↑ route section at openstreetmap.org. Accessed on June 20, 2012
- ↑ The Rhodope Railway Septemvri – Dobrinishte at 760net.heimat.eu, accessed on October 21, 2019
