We have included all the information given in the 2003 report as well as our most recent trip to give you an almost complete survey of the current steam situation to the end of 2005. All pictures © Bernd Seiler, 2005.
The munitions factory at Lucani "Milan Blagovic" was built in 1948/1949 and connected to the narrow gauge state railway (760 mm). The freight wagons for the munitions factory came in by state railway locos. Inside the factory's compound an eight kilometres long narrow gauge system (760 mm) was established which was served by battery locos. All main parts of the factory are underground in caves, so the factory covers a large area and needs this long railway. For the transport of workers they introduced a passenger service. The connection from the state railway station to the factory is about three kilometres long.
In 1976 the state railway was re-gauged from 760 to 1435 mm and electrified about three years later. The munitions factory also converted their line to standard gauge. They ordered an explosion-protected diesel locomotive from a domestic loco factory. The narrow gauge battery locos were used for another three years before all traffic went over to the standard gauge. As the reliability of the diesel loco was too poor the management decided to buy a fireless loco. Yugoslavia had only a very few fireless locos. Six locomotives of class 62 where delivered as fireless locos, but none of them was for sale. The workshop of Zrenjanin converted a locomotive from the sugar factory into a fireless loco in 1987. The fireless LBV 001 fulfilled all requirements and replaced the diesel loco. So in 1987 there was a railway line in Europe, which was converted from diesel to steam! This solution lasted until 2005.
In January 2005 Lucani Munitions Factory bought a used diesel locomotive from the Czech Republic. The fireless LBV 001 (LBV = Locomotiva Bes Vatre = fireless locomotive), the former 62 678 of the Zrenjanin sugar factory, is only the spare locomotive since the diesel has arrived. After about nine years without overhaul the loco is leaking steam and can shunt only less than half the time that it could in freshly overhauled condition. However, we did not have a special train; we used a regular one. They had to transport four empties to the state railway station and a loaded, 60-ton heavy tank wagon of acid back to the factory. This seems to be the maximum the locomotive can handle at the moment. It went back with just enough steam to go to the steam filling station. Train running is irregular and it’s very hard to give the frequency of the service. In September 2005 they had no trains at all, while in mid-October they already had four pairs of trains in a single day besides trains on other days.
Milan Stamatovic was a railway employee who saved several locomotives from the scrap yard. After he collected four narrow gauge locomotives the railway supported Mr. Stamatovic and donated some money to establish a museum in Pozega. The collection in Pozega is not complete but gives an impressive overview of the variety of narrow gauge locomotives used on the huge network of the Yugoslavian Railways. Beside many interesting wagons and smaller exhibits, we found:
The locos are covered by sheds, but they are open on the sides so photography is still possible. Beside the exhibition we found the dumped 1121-19 from the forestry railway Forca. Chrzanów built this loco in 1948; the boilerplate says Babcock-Zieleniewski-Sasnowiec 11969/1948 and Sarajevo 981.
The 1923-built Henschel loco 61 023 of the Cacak paper mill was dumped due to boiler problems in 2001. Because the factory has no money for repairing the locomotive the rail service ceased. The loco was for rent to other companies several times a year before.
Kostolac, to the east of Belgrade, was re-gauged from 600 mm to 900 mm during the World War II. Once they owned an extensive network serving different mines. Now only about 4 km to the open cast mine at Klenovik remains. Between 1945 and 1965 Kostolac was home to about 50 locomotives of which 17 were UNRRA locomotives. Ten of these were original American-built locos and seven were built by Duro Dakovic.
All together the mining area of Kostolac consists of three open cast mines these days. The smallest mine of these three is Klenovik.
This steam-served mine is only working during the winter season (October - March) when power demands are high. The 2005/2006 season started on October 16th, 2005 and will probably be very long, likely until the end of June 2006.
When Klenovik is working, there are three shifts: 07.00 to 15.00, 15.00 to 23.00 and 23.00 to 07.00 hrs. Each shift has five to nine round trips to the open cast mine and back. Each train consists of four self-unloading wagons with 25 tons coal each. The monthly output of the mine is in between 30,000 and 36,000 tons of coal. All trains are banked. The loco always faces the wagons as it pushes the train. Normally they have three serviceable locomotives, one for handling the traffic, one for spare and one for producing steam in the depot. Usually there is only one locomotive under steam and it handles all the traffic. A second loco is used in the shed to deliver steam to a huge boiler in which the rubber from the rolls of the conveyer belt system can be removed for overhaul. For this purpose they always use the loco which has to go to the workshop for overhaul next. In October 2005 they started the mining season with nos. 9, 13 and 14 serviceable, no. 12 serviceable but in use for the steam delivery for the “rubber-removing boiler” in the shed, and no. 10 awaiting the transfer to the Zrenjanin workshop. On the day before the season starts they had two locomotives under steam (13 and 14). On a test run to the mine, no. 13 failed due to slippery rails and needed assistance of no. 14. So a double-banked train climbed up the gradient. Even with two locomotives at the rear end of the four self-discharging wagons, the train stalled two times. Sanding the rails helped to manage the gradient. It was a great sound! No. 13 was further used for a works train to remove vegetation along and on the track.
According to the Serbian law, a steam locomotive needs an overhaul every three years. After three years the boiler gets a water pressure test and if it is in good condition, it may get a certificate for another year. After four years of use they have to send the locomotive to the workshop. Depending on the variety of things to do and to replace, the price for an overhaul is between 50,000 and 100,000 Euros.
The future of the steam locomotives seems to be safe until 2008. There are already negotiations started with a private investor started to take over the mine and the equipment. The new owner apparently plans to continue running the present (staff extensive) system.
The second largest mine of the three remaining open cast mines in the Kostolac area is Cirikovac. It is situated very close to the Klenovik mine. The annual output of the mine is about 3.2 million tons of coal (with no summer break). Similar to Klenovik, they have three shifts. The coal is transported by a separate 900 mm railway to the power plant at Kostolac. This line is some 5 km long and electrified. All together they own six electric locos of which one is dumped, and also one diesel loco. Per shift they run eight to nine pairs of trains, each with ten self-discharging wagons. Each wagon can carry 50 tons of coal.
| Number | Manuafacturer | Builders number |
| Diesel loco | Duro Dakovic | 1965 Bdm |
| El 1 | LEW Hennigsdorf | 14861/1975 |
| El 2 | LEW Hennigsdorf | 14860/1975 |
| El 3 | LEW Hennigsdorf | 16432/1978 |
| El 4 | LEW Hennigsdorf | |
| El 5 | LEW Hennigsdorf | |
| El 6 | LEW Hennigsdorf | 1959 |
The third open cast mine was opened up together with a new power plant in Drmno in 1982. It is the largest mine with an annual production of 9 million tons of coal. It is connected to the new power plant via a conveyor belt system and has no railway. All three mines and the two power plants (Kostolac and Drmno produce a total electric output of 1,000 MW) have about 3,600 to 3,700 employees.
The cable factory at Jagodina was established in 1954. The line to the state railway is 4.8 km long. The railway owns one diesel; three steam locomotives and 17 two-axle passenger cars. They had six pairs of passenger trains for changing the shifts. The night shift was stopped in 2002, so they suspended the night trains. Beside the six pairs of passengers there are another six pairs of freight trains in the schedule. These trains have not run for a long time. Only in the winter months from October until March do they run some freight wagons for transporting coal for heating the factory. Normally they run mixed trains if they have to transport coal. Only two pairs of pure freight trains per month remained.
In their best times they had to use all 17 passenger cars for the passenger trains, these days the trains for changing the shift consist of one to six coaches only. From 7,000 employees in their best times they are down to only about 1,000 employees.
There was a plan to dieselise the line at the beginning of the '80s. But the first diesel they bought wasn't reliable, so they never bought a second and today they have no money to spend on another locomotive. The passenger service is only for employees and it's free of charge. So this railway is only a cost factor in the eyes of the management. After the diesel loco came back from its overhaul it took over all the traffic. Steam is only retained as standby power. The reliability of the diesel loco got better after its last overhaul. So there is only a small chance to enjoy steam service in Jagodina.
In 2005 they used their overhauled diesel locomotive. In November 2003 the situation was:
The Vreoci coal mines belong to the state-owned Kolubara group which was established in the mid-1950s. The coal mines at Vreoci and the power plant are served by four different companies, which are connected with railways. There are four open cast mines: B, D, Tannav and Istokzabad. They have two power plants. The Verikicrljeni power plant is connected to the mines by an electric 900 mm gauge line. The power plant in Obremovac is connected by an electrified standard gauge line that is served by so called “Sweden locos”.
The total output of all mines is about 25 million tons of coal per year. Of this amount, 21.5 million tons is for the two power plants, and the rest is for sale to other consumers.
All the 900 mm railway lines to the mines are electrified. In use are about 20 electric locos.
| Number | Manufacturer | Builders number | Remark |
| 1 | BBC | 5601/1952 | in service 2003 |
| 2 | Haine St. Pierre/BBC | HSP: 2072/1953, BBC: 5602/1952 (BBC 401 0105 B2) | in service 2005 |
| 3 | Haine St. Pierre/BBC | HSP: 2073/1953, BBC: 5603/1952 (BBC 401 0105 B1) | in service 2005 |
| 4 | Haine St. Pierre/BBC | HSP: 2074/1953, BBC: 5604/1952 | spare 2005 |
| 6 | Haine St. Pierre/BBC | HSP: 2076/1953, BBC: 5606/1952 | in service 2005 |
| 5 | Haine St. Pierre/BBC | HSP : 2075/1953 | in service 2005 |
| 7 | BBC | 53-55/1942 | in service 2005 |
| 9 | LEW | scrap | |
| 11 | LEW | 8618/1959 | in service 2005 |
| 12 | LEW | 11476/1966 | in service 2005 |
| 13 | LEW | 11477/1969 | in service 2005 |
| 14 | LEW | in service 2005 | |
| 15 | LEW | 12476/1971 | in service 2005 |
| 16 | LEW | 12479/1971 | in service 2005 |
| 17 | LEW | 16431/1978 | in service 2003 |
| 18 | LEW | in service 2005 | |
| 23 | BBC | (401 0105 B4) | in service 2005 |
The electric loco no. 7 is the oldest working electric in Serbia. The BBC locos came to Vreoci as second hand locos from the copper mine in Bor when Bor was converted to standard gauge. The maximum speed of all electric locomotives is 30 km/h. The trains consist of 17 self-discharging wagons. The train weight of a loaded train is 800 tons of which 500 tons are coal. The loco weight is 70 tons.
They have three different depots. Vreoci hosts nine LEW electric locos. Radovci is the site where six BBC locos and the class 53 steam locos are based. For the new power plant there are three LEW-built locos and one BBC-built electrics based in Verikicrljeni. We could not find out where the rest of the BBC locos are based.
Every year in summer there is a period of two to three weeks for repairing the overhead electric wires. For doing this work they have two vehicles. One is a special railcar with a platform, built by Masinska Industria Nis in 1992. The other is a two-axle wagon with a work platform. Unfortunately, the latter one is not used any more. Until 2003, this wagon was used and needs an engine for moving. For this purpose the Radovci depot kept two Decauville 0-6-0-tank steam locos of class 53 serviceable. Thirty units of this class were built, which were donated to Yugoslavia after World War II. 20 locos of this type came to Vreoci. Beside these they had some other Belgium engines. Of the 20 class 53 locos, five still remain, with four complete and one (53 023) in parts, with many pieces missing. This loco was involved in a heavy accident with an electric locomotive. The remaining locomotives are:
The manufacturer’s numbers were indicated on a small plate on the frame and do not fit the numbers given by other authors.
As there is no need for the steam locos any more they didn’t take care as they refurbished the track near the depot of Radovci. Due to the short wheelbase and the long overhang of the frames, the locos are nolonger able to move further than about 300 meters from the depot. At the first level crossing the frame will ground in the trackbed. So even if they wanted, they cannot leave the depot area any more. As the boss of the depot is a lover of steam he will keep one 53 alive until his retirement. So we may have twelve years of seeing a 53 under steam. Anyhow, more than pulling the locomotive out of the house is no longer possible, unless somebody repairs the track properly.
Beside the narrow gauge system, Vreoci has a non-electrified connection to the state railway. There are standard gauge tracks in the coal washery, which are served by class 62 0-6-0T locomotives. The workshop for these locomotives belongs to another private company, which is not issuing permits to foreign visitors. On the other hand it is possible to enter the mine and the two loco sheds in Vreoci and Rudovci with an official permit, which will be issued by the local coal mine authorities.
In service on the standard gauge we found:
Vares, near Sarajevo, is one of the oldest steelworks in the whole region. Shortly after they opened up several open cast ore mines near Vares the first blast furnace was erected in the narrow valley in 1891. From the beginning the mines were connected by different narrow gauge lines with the steelworks. The first was a 550 mm gauge line 4 km in length with a 670 metre long incline at the mine. As early in 1908 it was served by two petrol-fuelled locomotives. Another mine had a 2.5 km long railway link to the steelworks which grew continuously. In 1899 the production of the steelworks exceeded 50,000 tons per year. At this time the steelworks was adding another blast furnace, a very modern one for that time, and the railway connection from Sarajevo reached Vares. Before World War I they added a Siemens-Martin blast furnace. After World War I the development slowed down and the production methods remained almost unchanged until 1991. The production was some 10,000 tons of iron a year per blast furnace. As they only got from their mines around about 20,000 tons of iron ore a year, they also used high quality ore from India to process it in their steelworks. The trains from Breza were often hauled by one of their class 62 locomotives instead of state railway diesel locos. Until 1964 a steam operated 900 mm line connected the ore loading and separating instalment near the mines with the steelworks. As the output of the ore mines went down, trucks took over. In 1990 or 1991, shortly before the civil war broke out, the steelworks had to stop the production in the two blast furnaces and only one of the two small Cupol smelters remained in use. At that time they had some 2,500 employees. In 1997 they started to demolish the blast furnaces and the whole area looks like a ruin now. Only one of the two Cupol smelters is in use at a time. The employees took over the rest of the steelworks. The output in 2004 was about 1,000 to 1,100 tons of raw iron per month. In the foundry they produce covers for canals and brake shoes for the railways. Only 95 employees are left.
They owned three class 62 steam locomotives of which two where in daily use until the blast furnaces were shut down. One was scrapped some years ago, one was in use for several years until finally they stopped using any steam locos by the end of the 1990s. These days a tractor is used to pull a lonely wagon from the scrap loading area to the smelter several times a day. One 62 is still serviceable and in much better condition than the whole steelworks. You can hire this loco for some shunting in the factory. The price is somewhat near 1,000 Euros. A view inside the current production works was permitted as well. It is highly recommended to take a look inside the foundry. Many things are unchanged from several decades past. A living museum! The future of the steelworks is uncertain.
locomotives:
Another locomotive is inventory number Br. 1613 from the Vares ore mine and is a Jung (Junenthal, Germany) built 0-4-0, manufacture’s number 11989/1953. This 900 mm gauge loco belonged to “Rudniki I Zelezara Vares” (Mine and steelworks Vares). The loco is almost complete. It is parked near the former shed of the 900 mm railway line near the old ore loading facilities. You need to make an appointment if you want to go there. Of course, it is a trial passing through the fenced and guarded area, but it would take much more time to enter unauthorised instead of spending about 20 minutes to report your arrival to the guards. Besides this way, no one is going to get upset by your presence.
This company operates one power plant supplied at the moment by two coal mines: Harjinici und Vrtliste. The latter one is also known as Karaula. The total output was some 2 Million tons from three mines each year before the civil war started. The output of coal these days is said to be a secret. They had some 4,000 employees before the civil war. In 2005 only 2,500 employees remained. 80 % of the production goes to the power plant Kakanj, the rest is to be sold to the public and small industries.
This is a new open cast mine, opened up in 2005. It's a Japanese investment. They built about a two kilometres long railway link to the state railway station. Although it is uncertain, they may use steam to this new mine at least in the first months. The railway link is already finished but not in use. The production of the mine is still very limited, so they’re using trucks at the moment.
This mine is connected to the washery by a 600 mm railway of about 7 km in length. Before the war it was probably a ring line with a length of 15 km. This line was electrified until somebody stole the overhead electric wires during the civil war. All electric locos are parked in the shed now. We saw the following numbers: 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, all dumped in a very sad shape. No. 1 and 2 are scrapped already. After this war ended Italy donated three or four diesel locomotives to the mine. These locos are still in use and handle all the traffic. 85 % of the output of Harjinici is transported by railway, the rest moves by trucks. A loaded train normally consist of 15 hoppers, each one loaded with one ton of coal. Each day the railway carries 900 to 2,000 tons of coal. Empty trains can exceed 50 wagons.
We saw these diesel locomotives:
Railway enthusiasts know this place as Kakanj, which is slightly incorrect. Catici is the name for the coal washery and the site of the depot, which owns three steam locomotives:
A fourth locomotive, also a class 62, was scrapped some years ago.
62 031 was ready to send to Zrenjanin workshop in 1991 as the civil war broke out. Afterwards it was not possible for the mine to send this locomotive to Zrenjanin. There was a French person or society who wanted to buy this loco. It was planned to send the loco to Zrenjanin for overhaul. The costs for the repair were quoted to be 108.000 Euro. This was in 2003. As the locomotive is still in Catici and no contract has been signed yet, it seems the locomotive will remain in Bosnia after all.
62 020 was in use for shunting at the washery and for picking up wagons from the state railway station. Coal from Breza for the Kakanj power plant is sent over the state railway to Catici. This causes loaded trains from the state railway to the mine (about 1,5 km) to be hauled by steam. The loco has to work hard to pull up to eight loaded boogie wagons from the station up to the concrete bridge just before the yard of the washery starts.
The deep shaft coal mine in Breza was established in 1907. The mine is 475 meters deep. Coal has been found at depths of 270 metres and 470 metres. They have two deep mines of which one is working at the moment. Before the civil war they had 2,500 employees (of which 1,800 were working underground), now some 1,450 (650) remain. The monthly output is 16,000 tons of coal and could be 35,000 tons if both shafts were working. The second mine is in the next valley about 2 km from the main mine.
This coal mine still displays a sign beside the entrance stating that photography is prohibited. However, to shoot with a machine gun was obviously not prohibited, and you can clearly identify the results of the fights during the civil war.
The mine owns two class 62 locomotives:
62 672 was in use without any overhaul since the civil war started. They used it as long as possible. In autumn 2003 62 672 finally failed and Breza was without a serviceable loco. So they rented an ex DB class V100 (West German diesel loco, latest number 211/212 xxx) from the state railway depot at Sarajevo. As they had to rent the loco plus crew, the price was 140 Bosnian Marks per hour. This was by far too expensive for the coal mine. So they arranged to rent the original American-built engine, 62 020, from Kakanj (Catici). This loco was in use for more than a year before the management got the money to send their own locomotive for heavy overhaul. Renting a locomotive was too expensive. The coal to the Kakanj power plant in Catici is delivered by the state railway. The steam loco brings the coal to the state railway station. This normally happens around midnight.
The steelworks at Zenica is a shadow of its former self. The production is down to 5 % of the pre-war output; the number of employees went down from 25,000 to 2,800 plus another 1,200, who are on stand-by with minimum wages. The steelworks were founded in 1892 by Austrian companies (Austria annexed Serbia in 1878). This was the situation in 2003. In early 2005 the main part of the “BH Steel” steelworks was bought by the Indian enterprise “Mittal” (formerly “Ispat”). The situation now is slightly better. They had 3,100 employees in October 2005. The new electrical blast furnace went into service at the end of 2004. Unfortunately it is not connected to the rail network of the steelworks. The production level is called a secret. Products are steel profiles, wires and steel mats for concrete structures. Beside the steelworks in this industrial complex, there are two closed coke making plants, of which one is modern (built in 1982, with 65 units) and they are considering reopening it, a power and heating plant which was running all the time during the civil war and served the city with heat and electricity, a roller plant which is partly still in use and a foundry. The foundry was in use in 2003 but stopped production in 2004. Now it’s going to be scrapped. The Mittal group plans to establish a new foundry in a new building.
The steelworks had three blast furnaces from the 1950s and one more modern one from the 1980s. The latter one is still complete, but has not been in use since the civil war started. We were told that they stopped the last blast furnace in 1990.
Before the civil war started they had about 15 steam locomotives and 20 diesel locos in daily use. There were some blast furnace areas where diesel locomotives weren’t allowed to go through, so the future for the steam locomotives was safe at that time. Now they need only two steam locomotives and two or three diesels for the remaining tasks.
The railway network of the factory is about 80 km long. Now there are only 50 km usable, and less than 25 km of that is in use. For this extensive network they had their own passenger service. As steel workers can be very rough guys, they had wagons especially made for woman. The "woman's wagon" is in white and blue livery but is out of use. These are rebuilt freight wagons. Most of the wagons were built originally in the 1930s. The passenger service ceased in the 1990s, but was re-introduced recently. These passenger trains are running at the times of shift changing at 6.30, 15.00 and 23.00 hrs. These days a passenger train consists of five or six green coaches.
Photography in the steelworks was strictly prohibited in socialist times, and restrictions got even tougher since parts of the steelworks were sold to Mittal. However, we were able to get the permits for visiting and taking pictures in the steelworks. We were the first group of foreign visitors allowed in after Mittal took over. The most interesting service is the passenger train. It runs from a small station near the locomotive depot, passes the impressive backdrop of the remaining coke plant and the blast furnaces, passes beside the remains of the foundry plant, and reaches another small platform at the city end of the steelworks. Here the loco is run around the train and continues bunker first alongside the large freight yard of the state railway. The passenger service is sometimes diesel and sometimes steam. It is difficult to make any forecast when it will be steam hauled. So you need luck to experience this most interesting service (and the only remaining commercial steam passenger with 1930s-built wagons in Europe).
Although the new owner wants to get rid of steam by 2008 we saw a heavy overhaul underway in the small workshop of the steelworks. All serviceable locomotives carry a big white field with the blue inscription “Mittal” now. In October 2005 they had six serviceable class 62 locos plus one under heavy overhaul. They have four serviceable diesel locomotives of which three are normally in daily use, although sometimes only two of them are running.
The following steam locomotives were observed:
Diesel locomotives (all 2003 except stated otherwise):
The Zenica coal mine is in the city of Zenica near the steelworks. It is a very old mine which was opened in 1884. For some years the government wanted to close this mine, but they have obviously changed their mind now. The mine is giving work to some 1,600 employees (of which 1,100 are working in the deep mine), and the coal reserves can last at least another 20 years. The deep shaft is 275 metres deep while the mine itself goes down to 410 metres.
Before the civil war some 5,000 people were employed in the coal mine. The output was 1,5 to 2 million tons a year. However, in 2004 they produced only 350,000 tons of coal. There have not been any investments in the last ten years. Therefore the condition of the mine is very sad, but the wooden loading facilities are a nice backdrop for industrial style pictures.
They transport their coal once a day to the freight yard of the state railway. This train is, of course, steam hauled. The usual load is between 600 and 1,000 tons. As the 4.5 km long line runs through the steelworks and the freight yard it’s very hard to get any photos of it. There is no fixed times for this service, but it runs in the morning. The two 62 class locos are:
As there is an overproduction of coal at present, there is no need for the relatively small coal mine in Zenica to continue in operation. In addition, the quality of the coal is not very high. So if you would like to see one of the last coal mines of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a wooden coalbunker you shouldn't postpone you visit.
The Kreka Coal Mine administration operates only three coal mines now: Bukinje, Dubrave and Sikulje. Mramor was closed in 2004, Lukavac was closed in 2001, and there were other mines previously in operation.
Bukinje Coal Mine
The mine in Bukinje, which has been under reconstruction for years now, has started to produce some coal again. The output is irregular at the moment but should go up to 2,000 tons a day in the next few months. The mine was served by a 62 class locomotive instead of a class 33 which was in use here before the mine was closed for reconstruction. One train per day to the nearby power plant is sufficient. The loco is facing towards the power plant, so loaded trains are chimney first. The line descents towards the power plant. The locomotive starts the train in the station and than rolls down grade.
The open cast mine in Sikulje produces about 2,000 tons of coal each day. About 1,500 people are employed in this mine. The coal is transported by conveyor belts to a huge loading and coal washing facility in Sikulje. In October 2005 they had a class 33 for doing all the work including the transfers to the state railway station of Lukavac. A 62 class loco is the spare locomotives. There are two daily operations from the mine to the station of Lukavac. They have no fixed times for this service. If you ask at the mine for the next departure to the station you have to allow plus or minus an hour and a half not to miss the train. The station of Lukavac is equipped with semaphores, which are all out of use, but it forms a nice backdrop for the chimney first operated empty trains when they depart the station. The light is tricky as the chimney first departure is going to the north.
Dubrave is also using a class 33 Kriegslok 2-10-0. The output is 2,650 tons daily. This load requires two pairs of trains to the state railway station a day. The chimney first operation with the loaded trains runs most of the way downhill. It is tricky to find some good positions for this operation. The state railway station is a small station with one siding, which is covered by trees and difficult to access. The line passes the main road from to Tuzla.
The loco shed is situated in Bukinje. To visit the loco shed and the other mines you need a permit from the coal mine authorities in Tuzla. In addition, it's very wise to go along with the chief of the depot in Bukinje, Mr. Mustafa Saracevic. It's quite simple: it's only a question of some courtesies, a few cups of coffee and an entrance fee.
The depot of Bukinje is able to carry out heavy overhauls by itself. A heavy overhaul on a class 33 (German Kriegslok class 52) takes about one year. Mr. Mustafa is taking care of its steam locos and he knows that as soon as the mines are dieselised, the foreign visitors won’t come to visit his depot. Heavy overhauls of the class 33 locomotives will continue as long as he is the boss.
A visit to the depot produced the following observations (22.10.2005):
In service we found:
The Fabrika Sode Lukavac was founded in 1893 by an Austrian company. After the civil war production went down, and for more than a year it was even stopped completely. In autumn 2005 the factory was working at a low level. Anyhow, their steam locomotive was working again.
Locomotives seen October 22nd, 2005:
The first coal mining in this area started at the beginning of the last century. The present day coal mine of Banovici was opened in 1947. The group operates three open cast mines and one deep mine (400 metres). The latter one, situated in Omazici, was out of use after an accident at the loading facilities in Banovici. Seventy percent of the coal is sent to the power plant at Tuzla.
The mines at Grivice and Turija are responsible for the current output at the moment, and the open cast mine in Cubric will be out of coal soon. They transport the rest of this mine’s output by truck. Some of the coal from the open cast pit in Turija is transported by trucks as well. For the overburden they have a rope line from Oskova to the dump.
The washery is in Oskova, two kilometres east of Banovici where the terminus of the standard gauge line of the state railway is. The station itself is called Banovici. Above the standard gauge station the narrow gauge station can be found. The 760 mm gauge station is officially called Oskova, but the locals call it Brioni. From Brioni a double-tracked line goes uphill to Banovici, were the loco depot is situated. The depot for the diesels is in a separate building from the steam and wagon depot but is nearby. Both depots are clean and well managed. After another three kilometres the open cast mine of Grivice is reached. In mid-2004 they reopened a 2,500 metres long section to Turia, were an open cast mine that was closed in 1990 has been re-activated. The railway line has been rebuilt on an old trackbed. Between Oskova and Grivice the line is double tracked, hereafter single tracked. Although both tracks are in good condition, they only use the southern track for their trains. The second track is a spare. There are four daily return trips with 15 self-discharging wagons to Turija and another five daily return trips with 15 wagons in each train to Grivice.
In the beginning the railway used ten 0-6-0-tank locomotives, built by Skoda, and some second hand engines of Hungarian origin. In the mid-1970s they purchased five additional 0-8-2 class 83 locomotives from the state railway.
The following locomotives were observed (all in October 2005):
On the diesel front we found:
The class 720s were former 4-4 locos with two engines (something like a Fairlie). They were separated into 0-4-0 units because the original construction wasn't to the mine's satisfaction. These small locos are in use for shunting in the Grivice station. For Oskova they are not strong enough. So the last stand for the steam locos is the shunting duties in Oskova. Normally one steam loco is sufficient. They always have another steam locomotive as a spare in the depot. Beside the steam locomotives, one of the 720 class diesels is shunting in Oskova. In Grivice another class 720 is shunting at the loading facility. Two diesel locomotives are needed for the line service.
The class 83 is only for spare in case one or more diesels should fail. Usually a coal train consists of 15 wagons, but with a class 83 they have to shorten the train or add a second loco to pull it. In old pictures you can see a combination of class 83 and 25 in front of a normal train with 15 wagons. During the civil war they had a shortage of diesels. This caused the use of steam for both shunting and line works. The trains on the line were normally double headed. In addition they introduced a steam operated passenger service for the miners and the public between Brioni (Oskova) and Grivice. They used freight wagons (box cars) for it. On the standard gauge, a class Bukinje-based 33 locomotive handled the freight traffic to Tuzla while a class 62 was responsible for the passenger service to Tuzla.
They have about 140 freight wagons. Most of them are four axle self-unloading wagons. Besides these they have some wooden box cars and some flat wagons left for maintenance trains. You can hire these cars for a special train. As the line is scenic and for most of its length is far from any industrial looking sites, photographers can find a lot of opportunities for taking nice pictures. Empty trains have to work uphill on gradients up to 2 %. The price for such a special is above 1,500 Euro, so you normally need a group to go there. The manager of the depot told us that they want to replace the last narrow gauge steam locomotive by the end of 2006, while steam in the standard gauge section should remain until 2007. At the moment they are searching for second hand diesels in the Czech Republic and in Romania. They want to keep at least two serviceable steam locomotives in stock for special trains. In addition, there are many people in the area who fear that the civil war has only been halted temporarily. When the KFOR (now called EUFOR) eventually leaves the country, the situation might become unstable and diesel fuel for the locomotives could run out again.
On the standard gauge they have four locomotives:
There is at least one standard gauge loco in use every day. The three serviceable locos rotate every month, so every third month the Skoda locomotive is in use. For the shunting duties they normally use only one locomotive now.
In front of the standard gauge station of Oskova (Banovici) is a parking place. A friend of mine parked his car there for about half an hour. After he returned from taking some pictures of the station’s pilot he discovered that the car was broken into and a video camera stolen. So take care!
This mine was back to service! In Autumn 2005 the output of this 100-metre deep mine was around 500 tons daily. The Durdevik company also operates another mine in Visca. This is an open cast mine with no rail connection. This mine was working though, and has an average output of some 1,200 tons a day. All together about 1,200 miners are employed.
The class 62 locomotive at Durdevic, 62 111, was overhauled during the time the mine was closed. It is now operating a daily pair of trains to the state railway station of Zivinice. The operating pattern depends on the output of the mine. Roughly, you can expect a light engine bunker first running to the station in the morning, returning chimney first with empty stock. Some shunting in the mine will be done before a loaded train will roll down to the station of Zivinice bunker first in the late morning. The locomotive will return light engine to the mine and finish its job for the day. The line between Zivinice and Durdevik offers some very scenic spots but it is almost hopeless to try to chase a train over the five kilometre long spur.
This state owned enterprise was the largest employer of the city until the civil war reduced the output dramatically. Viscose is a natural polymer made from wood pulp and is used in making synthetics including rayon. In 1992 the factory employed 12,000 people. The annual incoming and outgoing number of wagons was above 20,000. On November 7th, 2005 they wanted to restart production at a low level with 2,000 employees. At the end of October some tan wagons with cleaning fluid to clear the pipes had arrived. Both fireless locomotives, built by Societe de la Meuse, Liege in 1956, are serviceable. They wanted to use these locomotives again beginning on November 7th, 2005. The numbers of the locomotives are their manufacturers numbers:
The Zrenjanin workshop operates two rebuilding facilities. The first workshop was founded in 1887. In this early facility, they overhaul steam locomotives, small diesels, trolley buses and trams from Belgrade, tank wagons, historical wagons, industrial boilers, etc. The overhaul of trolley buses and trams was stopped recently as the Belgrade public transport society had no money to pay for the work. We saw one bus and two trams in various states of overhaul in the workshop. Beside 25 026 from Slovenia there were also two historical wagons from Slovenia and they were almost finished.
The new part of Sinvoz was built in 1975. This part is responsible for electric locomotives and railcars as well as larger diesel locomotives and modern coaches. Before the revolution they had about 1,500 workers, now both parts of the works together have 868 employees.
In the workshop in November 2003 and October 2005:
Kosovo: The power plant in Obilic has a stock of four class 62 locomotives: 62 636, 670, 671 and 672. Of these, 62 671 has been at Zrenjanin for almost three years. The heavy overhaul was started but stopped later as the power plant ran out of money to pay for the repair. It is not certain that the loco ever will be overhauled.
In the town of Zrenjanin we found a plinthed 2-6-2 Hungarian tank loco, 51 037. In a freight station is 20 149 (2-6-0 ) still waiting for money for repair.
And if you fly by Alitalia, you may make a stop over in Milan and visit the wonderful trams:
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