The perfect ending

At the end of the day we had perfect light for a red/cream diesel passenger railcar passing through and a final daylight working by kriegslok 33-503 from Lukavac to Sikulje (which was collecting empty wagons deposited by a class 661 GM diesel a little earlier). A perfect end to the day.

33-503 at Lukavac

In the evening we enjoyed a final group meal followed by countless beers and shots of slipovich. As the numbers thinned out the tables of English and German speakers merged and we had something of an anglo-german summit to solve Europe’s problems. Sadly we all had sufficient beers that the answers had vanished by the next morning…

More photos of Steam around Tuzla
More photos of Bosnian diesel and electric locomotives

Through the mist…

The lake at Lukavac was entirely shrouded in fog when I stepped out of the hotel this morning and much of the surrounding area was equally affected, as was Dubrave where we turned up with minutes to spare before the departure of a scheduled freight working. I ran around doing my best headless chicken impression to get some shots in the atmospheric conditions before joining everyone at the bridge to get a good viewpoint for the departure. It was one of the most memorable moments of the trip and I hope that some of that comes across in the video footage I took…

After leaving Dubrave behind we headed to Sikulje, the last of the colliery systems which use class 33 steam locomotives. We spent some time here watching movements around the yard before heading down the line to get some shots as it departed. Later we carried on to Bukinje for a final visit.

In the afternoon we had some time to kill as there were no steam hauled freight workings scheduled until late afternoon/early evening. It was a warm day so a few of us spent some time sitting around on the kerbside drinking bottles of Bosnian beer…

Real steam – all permutations possible!

The Soda Factory at Lukavac has an operational class 62 but the owners of the factory do not allow visits. However, they did agree to bring out their locomotive with a chimney first run on the short distance to Lukavac exchange yard. Everyone lined up ready to get the shot but sometimes, things don’t quite work out as you might expect…

62 from Lukavac Soda Factory

The class 62 locomotive appeared pushing a single tank into the exchange yard, making the most impossible target to photograph head on (though a little better from the side, as can be seen from my shot above, although it’s still not the most photogenic arrangement!). One to chalk up as a lost cause…

Aerial ropeway – Lukavac

In the early evening I took a wander along the shore to see the aerial ropeway which crosses the artificial lake with loaded wagons filled with raw materials. The roadway along the lakeside passes underneath the ropeway and there was a net strung across the road to catch any stray calcite that escaped the wagons. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like it. Incredibly impressive.

The photographs don’t come anywhere near conveying the size, load or speed of these wagons but it’s the best I can do…