Steam relics in Croatia and Bosnia 2022
Thomas Kautzor writes of his visit on April 8th/9th 2022:
The armoured train belonging to the Croatian Railway Museum has been stored at Split Predgrade for many years. It was built at the neighboring Brodosplit shipyards in 1992 and is powered by HZ Co-Co DE 2062 045 (EMD G26 A2761/1962, ex JZ 664-001) in the middle. It is said to have never been used during the war.
Outside the summer holiday season no loco-hauled passenger trains reach Split, but a single HZPP 2044 is kept as spare inside the shed at Solin in case one of the more modern DMUs used on the ICN service to Zagreb might fail.
In Ploce, very neglected JZ 83-106 (Krauss Linz 7143/1916, 1933 ex SHS/BHLB 1138) is plinthed on the station platform.
The short section along the Neretva River to Metkovic and Caplijna in Bosnia only sees a handful of fuel trains a month, which are handled by HZ Cargo’s single remaining class 2041-0 diesel. Crews have to come in from Split when that happens. Private operator ENNA (formerly PPD Transport) runs frequent coal trains between the port and the border, some of which are destined for the power plants in Bosnia and others for Hungary (via Serbia). For this they use leased ZFBH 441-902 (ex TCDD) and Vossloh shunter 0650 109 with Croatian crews. ZFBH was due to extend their Sarajevo – Caplijna Talgo trains to Ploce on weekends during this summer.
In Dubrovnik, the old railway station of the 760mm gauge line (top) as well as various other buildings survive in the Gruz area where the port is located.
In Trebinje (Republika Srpska, BiH), nicely kept JZ 83-056 (Jung 3538/1923, 1933 ex SHS RU12) with tender 83-008 is plinthed in front of the old station, now a retirement home. Further on in town, on the former line towards Herceg Novi (Montenegro), the railway bridge across the Trebisnjica river has been converted to road use.
At one end of the bridge there is a tunnel which has been equipped with lights to act as a footpath cum bicycle track.
