11th April 2014 - Stolen track stops playFriday 11th April 2014 It was another dull and overcast start this morning but at least there was a 661 on the train this time though it was the same one as yesterday; perhaps it was left with the coaches in the carriage sidings overnight. Another visit to the depot at Rajlovac Teretna looked to be on the cards except this time we went north to Rajlovac station and propelled in from that end thus finishing off the short distance from the main line to where we stopped north of the depot yesterday. Going this way would also mean that the loco would not need to run round, except when we arrived at the depot a rake of wagons were parked blocking the foot crossing for the yard so the loco had to be taken off the train to shunt the wagons in order for us to get through! To make up for the delay, we were given an extra 10 minutes to look round but it would still be a tall order to get round in less than 40 minutes as there were two lots of dumped locos at either end of the depot and several sheds to look in. Between the two of us we think that we managed to get photos of everything in a suitable position but only by splitting up and working from opposite ends of the depot.
On returning to the train we were hoping for another new loco today but 661 323 was back on the train and it was understood that there were no other 661s available so it was ever onwards to Podlugovi, the junction for the 21.8km long line to Vareš where we had a short pause before heading off down the branch.
With a maxiumum speed of 30 kph (18 ½ mph) it was a bit of a totter but the line was quite scenic once we had passed the active colliery at Breza. Steam locos had been in use here until fairly recently though there was no sign of any, but it was hard to tell with any certainty as the colliery site was a little way from the “main line” and not easily visible. About half way along the line we stopped in the station of Dabravina and, after some hesitation, got out for what we thought was a photo stop. There was a long-disused loop here and some track workers were clustered round the north end points; was there a problem? Well, yes, but it wasn’t with the points per se – apparently the track at some point beyond here had been stolen so this was as far as we could go, thus explaining the presence of the p.way gang at this isolated loop who were trying to release the points that had been bolted out of use. They eventually accomplished this and the loco gingerly started to run round along the loop track which was rather rickety and looked as if it hadn’t been used in years, even the station “red cap” looked worried but the loco somehow made its way to the other end of the train without becoming derailed.
Whilst all this was going on we had attracted a small number of interested locals including a man who kept his cow in a shed at the station and appeared keen to show us the creature and pose for photos. One of the others who we think lived in the station building had produced some home-made Slivovitz (plum brandy), complete with the special glasses shaped like a small vase to drink it from, and was happily handing it around; it was certainly potent!
We left Dabravina about the time that we should have left Vareš and as we pulled away a yellow p.way trolley was seen creeping into the station behind our train. In view of the fact that the line appeared to be disused beyond Breza it was a good decision; especially in light of the missing track. As we were actually running early at this point, two photo stops were made on the way back to Podlugovi, one next to a disused semaphore signal on the approach to Breza station and one in the station itself. The opportunity was taken to have the “seminar” photo for the trip at the station as well much to the bemusement of the local children who were playing on the platform outside the disused station building.
A yellow and grey livery class 642 diesel was waiting at the exit from Breza colliery with a coal train so it looked as if steam might have finished at that location unless there were any locos retained just for shunting duties. As a bonus, it followed our train to Podlugovi so we managed to get a photograph of it whilst our loco was running round.
Our return to Doboj was by a different route from the outwards as there is a large steelworks and colliery at Zenica which are on the opposite site of the river on a separate route from the main line that we came south on. There was plenty of interest to see as we went past a large number of sidings, including a modern-looking shunting tractor which provided a complete contrast to the nearby 0-6-0T steam locomotive which was still very much active.
Though we were only 20 or so minutes late leaving Podlugovi, more time was lost and we arrived at Doboj some 45 minutes late where there was another loco change to a ŽRS one. This turned out to be 661 278 again, despite 661 302 being spotted lurking in the area but at least 278 was nice and clean. The next section of track was in much better condition to that further south which enabled 661 278 to demonstrate how loud it was, so we had an excellent run to Banja Luka for our final night in Bosnia. The sun had also decided to appear by now which was the icing on the cake during the couple of photo stops that we had whilst waiting to cross other trains.
It was no real surprise when we arrived at Banja Luka just under an hour late but as it was the earliest finish of the tour it meant that there should be some time to have a look round for a change. Even so things conspired against us as the city was some distance from the station and our coach had to take a circuitous route to the hotel due to road closures for a bike race that was taking place. This appeared to be round a circuit with the hotel right in the middle so we had to wait for several groups of cyclists to pass before being able to nip across the road on foot. The area here was noticeably more prosperous that many of the other places we had visited in Bosnia and we found a nice place to eat at a well-hidden restaurant (Kazamat) in the old castle. The food was excellent but extremely filling, the meat platter for two that we ordered could easily have fed four or more, however it was a nice change to finally have time to sit down in restaurant and dine without rushing.
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