Slovenian Steam, March 2008

Clive Hepworth adds (27th May 2015):

The museum roundhouse contained the same locos as the 2008 list suggests with the addition of red primer painted 2-10-0 36-013 (Hens16584/1910) and the exceptions mentioned below.

The museum also rents another neighbouring building referred to as the "Depot" in which 4 locomotives are stored, 24-036, 25-005 (used for spares for working 25-026), 153-006 a 2-6-2T with no ID plates and 152-006.

Various loco are dumped in the yard around the museum, 06-016 2-8-2 Borsig 12205-1930 was being used for spares for 06-018. Wrecks 28-029, 33-253, 33-339, 62-121 were seen. 0-6-0T 150-003 is now under a protective shelter near the museum entrance, while the Bosnian 0-6-4 rack tender loco 97-028 is also outside.

Brian Leadley has since visited in October 2009 and found some extra steam locomotives in the museum area:

2-10-0 36-013, 2-8-2 06-016

(Elsewhere I have seen a reference to 36-013 as being under restoration here and there is a photo of an unidentified 2-10-0 JZ 36 here on http://www.railfaneurope.net too, it's a Prussian G12 type. There is a long list of locomotives allegedly on site here http://www.burger.si/MuzejiInGalerije/ZelezniskiMuzej/SeznamLokomotiv2.html. RD)

James Waite reports on a flying visit to Ljubljana, the pictures to go with the report are at the end.

The Slovenian Railway Museum, Ljubljana

The museum is located in an old half-roundhouse, about ten minutes’ walk to the northwest of Ljubljana station. It dates back to the early 1970’s when there was a good variety of steam locos still running in Slovenia and the majority of them are represented. Several older types which had been sold for industrial use throughout Yugoslavia have also been rescued – notably 0-8-0 133-005, one of two similar locos which ended their working lives at the Kreka mines in Tuzla, Bosnia and the extraordinary 0-4-2T 162-001 which returned from Serbia. Slovenia was a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1918. Many of the older locos are Austrian or Hungarian standard types or were supplied to the new Yugoslav state as reparations after the First World War. Between the wars western Slovenia formed a part of Italy and there’s one Italian loco in the collection as well as the inevitable Kriegsloks and a Đuro Đjacovic-built 62 class 0-6-0T. All the locos have Slovenian connections with the exception of  97-028, one of the remarkable 0-6-4 rack tender locos which worked over the Ivan pass on the 760mm gauge main line south of Sarajevo and the Komar pass west of Zenica until the last one was withdrawn in the mid 1970’s.

The museum also has responsibility for numerous other locos preserved throughout Slovenia. The whole collection consists of more than 60 locos, a most creditable achievement considering that Slovenia is a small country and the majority of them were rescued long before it achieved its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Slovenia maintains a small fleet of working locos and regular tourist trains are operated during the summer. The southern part of the roundhouse has always been a repair shop and the working locos are still maintained here.

There’s an extensive yard outside the museum and eight more locos, most of which are in as withdrawn condition, are dumped at various points around the yard. The Bosnian rack loco is also kept outside on with a short train of narrow gauge stock. In a separate building there’s a display of PW trolleys and signaling equipment.

There’s a small book and souvenir shop which stocks a guide to the country’s preserved locos, unfortunately only in Slovenian, by Tadej Brate who was instrumental in setting up the museum. It also stocks Mr. Brate’s book “The Last Steam Locomotives of Slovenia”, a bilingual Slovenian/English publication which contains a account of the history of steam traction in the country since the 1960’s and a detailed note about each type along with photos, mostly taken during the locos’ working days . The photos, nearly all taken by Mr. Brate, are superb. He’s evidently a skilled photographer and the book would be well worth having for the photos alone. It’s priced at 18.78 euros and I’d say it’s an excellent buy.

The locos present at the museum when I visited on 12th March 2008 were as follows:-

No’s 03-002 and 17-006 have been active in the past but I couldn’t find out if they’re still runners now. No. 71-012 has been restored within the last couple of years. Slovenia doesn’t have any working narrow gauge railway. Last year it visited the JHMD line in the Czech Republic. K3 was the first narrow gauge loco to run in the country, one of two which ran on a line operated by the Steiermärkische Landesbahnen as their no. 3 “Gonobitz”. It was one of four identical locos supplied to the company. Another of the four, no. 2 “Stainz”, is preserved by the Steiermärkische Landesbahnen in Austria in working order and is more or less in its original condition. K3, however, was extensively altered after it was sold into industrial service at the Jesenice Steelworks.

Ljubljana Power Station

I moved on from the museum to find the fireless loco LBV4 (ĐĐ 657/65) at Ljubljana Power Station at Moste in the eastern suburbs of the city. It’s a ride of 20 minutes or so on a no. 11 or no. 20 bus. I was politely but firmly refused permission to visit the power station site. However, the connecting branch from the SZ main line is used as the power station’s headshunt so the loco spends much of its time outside the power company’s premises and it can be seen there. There’s a dirt track running up to the railway from the first bus stop east of the main entrance to the power station which crosses over the branch and leads to an allotment site between the branch and the main line. The staff were very friendly and treated me to a footplate ride after explaining the method of operation to me. An SZ loco collects the empties round about 15.30 hours and returns with a full load about half an hour later during which time the fireless loco stands on a loop a short distance down the branch. It’s much more conventional in appearance than many fireless locos and a very attractive machine.

24-036 dumped outside the museum:

97-028:

17-006:

71-012:

K3 with 116-002 behind:

133-005, the loco from the Kreka mines at Tuzla, where Kriegsloks still operate!

29-010:

25-026 being retubed in the repair shop:

one of three locos of this class reserved to work Tito’s Blue Train, in the repair shop:

In the repair shop:

In the repair shop with no. 11-023 in the foreground:

The Ljubljana Power Station fireless at work: