Narrow-gauge and offbeat railways
Narrow-gauge and offbeat railways
Addressing ITN subscribers, we previously printed this information request from Jack and Elizabeth Kaufman of Lake Quivira, Kansas: “We would be interested in travelers’ suggestions for scenic or unusual railroad trips.
“Traveling by rail on narrow-gauge tracks or offbeat routes can provide fascinating insights into rural communities, not to mention incredible vistas. Some tourist spots can only be reached in this way. Whether it’s a route used primarily by locals for daily transportation or something that all visitors do, we would like to hear about any offbeat train trip that offers a special experience of some type.”
We asked you to write about any recent offbeat rail experience outside of the US, describing the train and telling us where your trip took place and what was memorable about it. We also asked you to tell us approximately when (month/year) the trip took place and to provide any contact info or instructions on finding the location.
A number of responses came in, a few of which appear below. More will be printed in the next two issues. If you have an experience to share, email editor@intltravelnews.com or write to Offbeat Railways, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818. Include the address at which you receive ITN. Photos are welcome; please include captions.
In 2003 I was living in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the UNITED KINGDOM. My work took me to the town of Llanberis in northern Wales. This beautiful part of Wales is called Snowdonia, and Llanberis is at the base of Mount Snowdon. I had the joy of riding the Snowdon Mountain Railway cogwheel steam train to the top of Mount Snowdon.
The railway operates diesel and steam-powered locomotives that push vintage viewing cars on a one-hour trip, with a 30-minute stop at the top of Mount Snowdon. The view from the top is spectacular!
The trains operate March to October. The current round-trip fare is £29 (near $36). You also can take the train to the top and then hike down on a trail.
The Snowdon Mountain Railway celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2016.
A trip to this quaint and beautiful area is well worth the diversion from the eastern Midlands of England for the culture and scenery.
David Collins
Newbury Park, CA
When I decided to visit Wales, in the UK, in 2006, I discovered a website for The Great Little Trains of Wales (www.greatlittletrainsofwales.co.uk). I volunteer on a tourist railroad in the US, and this looked interesting.
At that time, on the website, you could buy a “passport” to ride all nine railways listed.* At the cost of the passport, you would break even after riding only three trains.
The problem was that not every train ran every day, so I made up a spreadsheet with all the timetables and laid out a map of Wales on the table like in a military campaign. I finally worked out how I could ride two trains a day in four days, but I had to eliminate the ninth one, which involved a 1½-hour drive each way for a 30-minute train ride.
On a few of the trains, I was allowed to ride on the footplate (floor) in the engine. That was really a thrill for me.
Steve Goch, Santa Paula, CA
*This “passport” is no longer available. However, a card offering a 20% discount on round-trip fares on all of the (now) 11 railways partnered with the website can be purchased online for £10 (near $12.50).
The most recent narrow-gauge-rail ride that my wife, Joy, and I took was on the Lößnitzgrundbahn steam railway near Dresden, GERMANY, in March 2014.
During the cruise-tour “Essence of the Elbe: Berlin to Prague” with Grand Circle Cruise Line (800/221-2610, www.gct.com), we had a half day free in Meissen. Our ship was moored not far from the riverside Radebeul Ost Bahnhof, home station for the old steam railway.
The round trip runs four times a day, about every 2½ hours, and takes riders from river level up a long valley to the highland village of Radeburg, ascending through lush vegetation past whistle-stop stations, vineyards, backyards and gardens populated by friendly wavers. Above the valley, the track runs along lakes, wetlands, farms and forest.
It is all quite picturesque, and, along the way, locals board the train with bicycles, walking sticks and picnic baskets on their way to enjoy the outdoors.
The vintage rolling stock is kept in fine condition, and the steam engines are impressive, to say the least.
In Radeburg we had a little time for a walk around. At the station there, there is a Saxon IV K 176 locomotive on display. However, at the Radebeul terminus, we missed the new narrow-gauge museum (which may not have been completed then).
Round-trip Lößnitzgrundbahn (Radebeul-Radeburg railway) fares are reasonable: €14.30 (near $15) for adults and €7.20 for kids. The train runs year-round, and schedules and information can be found at www.loessnitzgrundbahn.de/fahrplan-tarif (in German only).
The Radebeul Ost base station is easy to get to from either Meissen or Dresden, with a short ride on the S-bahn commuter train. (There is a narrow-gauge museum in Dresden that sounds like it’s worth a visit, too.)
The outing was memorable, for sure, but the best part for us was just doing it. We had done our usual pre-trip research at home and found this opportunity for the unscheduled afternoon in Meissen.
We pumped our tour leader for logistical help, then, after a quick lunch on board, we watched her begin fretting as we hurried down the gangway and called back, “Bye! See you at dinner… or tomorrow in Dresden if we miss the boat.” A tour leader’s nightmare in the making!
Ron Carlson, Lakeland, MN
After taking a lovely, 8-mile country walk from Germany to the Czech Republic in September 2016, I took a pleasant, 11-minute train journey back. The remarkable thing about it was that I traveled through three countries for only $1.20! When traveling from Hrádek nad Nisou, CZECH REPUBLIC, to Zittau, GERMANY, the train travels through POLAND (without stopping) along the way.
While in Zittau, I also rode on the narrow-gauge steam railway that travels to Kurort Oybin and Jonsdorf, Germany. Taking 42 minutes, the train travels uphill for most of the way, with lots of steam and noise from the engine.
The twisting route allows you to see the other end of the train on the bends. There’s even a totally open carriage. For information, visit www.soeg-zittau.de (in German only).
Also, for riders over age 60, there’s an unlimited ticket valid for one month for all trains and buses in the Zittau-Hrádek area (south of Berlin), covering approximately 100 square miles. It’s called the Monatskarte Senioren and it costs €42 (near $45).
While traveling on the Neukirch West-Bischofswerda (from Berlin via Dresden), I bought my Monatskarte Senioren ticket from the guard on the train for the rest of my journey to Zittau.
You can buy this ticket on any of the trains on which it is valid, which is just as well, as most stations are unstaffed and the automatic ticket machines have been removed.
You can also purchase it at “entry” stations to the valid areas at Zittau, Bischofswerda (for Dresden) and Weißwasser (for Berlin and Cottbus), though the open hours for these stations are restricted.
Spencer Lane, Dorchester, Dorset, England
On the “Balkan Mosaic” tour operated by Bestway Tours & Safaris (Burnaby, BC, Canada; 800/663-0844, www.bestway.com) in September 2012, we were privileged to ride the Šarganska Osmica narrow-gauge steam train between the villages of Mokra and Šargan in SERBIA.
This was part of the old route between Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Belgrade, Serbia, but it had been closed for several years. Fortunately, the Serbian government funded its revival, and it is now a wonderful tourist attraction. The Mokra station even contains a hotel and restaurant.
On the ride, we passed through about 20 tunnels, crossed over about 10 bridges and traveled through several scenic mountain recesses.
Bill S. Ashley, Washington, DC
Even knowing that the Eastern European trains were perhaps not quite the “caliber” of those in Western Europe, I still decided to take the train from Zagreb, CROATIA, to Belgrade, SERBIA, as I wanted an interesting ride. Interesting it was.
On the morning of our planned departure, my husband and I walked to the railway station to buy our tickets. There were no choices to make, as there was only one departure per day (leaving at 10:55 a.m. and arriving at 5:30 p.m.) and only one class of service, with no car assignments or seat assignments.
It was just a matter of paying for two tickets, with the cost in today’s dollars being about $70 total. We also were forewarned that there was no food or beverage service of any kind, so we stocked up on drinks and snacks at the underground mall.
Everyone I had asked assured me that this was not a busy route. Wrong! The platform was mobbed with people trying to get on the train and get seats.
Also, only certain cars went all the way to Belgrade. Knowing we were at the right track, we kept asking “Beograd?” as we approached a car. The people boarding just looked at us, shook their heads and pointed us farther down the track. We kept this up until they nodded their heads ‘Yes.’
We were really pleased to be on our way with air-conditioning, but then they turned the air off and it got really warm. Then they turned the air back on and it was comfortable, then they turned it off. . . and so it went all the way to Belgrade.
Also, just to keep it interesting, the train would slow down or stop for no apparent reason, then speed up or start again.
The stops, almost always, were very brief. There was just enough time for people to hop on and off the train.
And, yet, despite its being an older train with no services and with on-and-off A/C, when we crossed the border into Serbia, the police checked our passports with the latest technology. They slid our passports through a reader and then stamped them, all without a single word.
Yes, we could have driven in half the time, and the landscape was mostly flat agricultural land (so somewhat monotonous), but we never would have had the glimpses of local life as we briefly stopped in every (or so it seemed) small town along the way!
Donna Suddeth, Naples, FL