Thank you for this wonderful video. I haven't quite been able to find another video on this part of Southern Bulgaria, yours is one of a kind. Very good quality and post processing, awesome!
Thank you, visiting the railways of the former East European countries is always fun, a bit like slipping back in time to the last days of steam in Britain, when health and safety was still sensible and railway staff worked in a more relaxed atmosphere. I still have a huge amount of material from my tour of the former Yugoslavia to edit and upload as time permits.
Thank you for sharing this interesting journey! Passenger traffic on line 83 is long ago a thing from the past and it was really interesting to observe how it's neglected condition attributes to both sad but also some beautiful scenic views.
Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip, the section between Nova Zagora and Simeonovgrad was particularly interesting. We passed a number of long freight trains, that looked out of place on this very rural line, I believe routes to Turkey had been closed due to severe flooding, the line we were travelling on had also been affected. The coal mine railways looked interesting. Has the railway been modernized since this video and are you likely to feature it in one of your future videos? I always enjoy your cab ride videos.
Hi and thank you for your kind words, No, unfortunately the line is still in the same condition, although there are rumors that it will be soon electrified. The industrial mine railways are really interesting, indeed, and although access to them is quite limited, there are a few spots where you can enjoy filming EL2s by the road. Perhaps the only news on line 83 is that the international container shuttles of Rail Cargo Group and DB Cargo no longer are diverted from Nova Zagora to Simeonovgrad. Instead, they go through Line 4 (from Mihailovo to Dimitrovgrad), thus eliminating the need of diesel power for them. Another interesting sight, which was common last year was the PIMK Rail Ludmilla 07 077, driving limestone trains from Yambol to Lyubenovo: flic.kr/p/Zi3nh7 I would really like to make a cab ride video along that line, but I doubt it would be anytime soon, as it is a bit remote and I would need a lot of luck to get there on board of a locomotive. Kind regards from Bulgaria and thank you for watching my videos. I am enjoying your channel too!
Hi, the Ludmilla diesels are almost as popular as steam locomotives among the enthusiasts I meet. They are a bit like the British Class 47's, they keep surviving against the odds, usually as cheap motive power for private freight companies. Line 83 is interesting and I understand the problem with getting a camera into the cab, you never know whether the driver is going to say "yes" or "no" and its a long way to go if the answer is "no". I wish lived closer, it would be nice to cover the railways in this part of Bulgaria. I was fascinated to see ex British Railways locomotives (Class 87 and 92) still in their original colors on my visit to Bulgaria, I was also fascinated by the narrow gauge railway in the Rila mountains. Thank you for the videos you upload, I enjoy watching them. Best wishes. Tim.
A most interesting video Tim...These Railway lines remind me of the ones in Romania. Everything looks overgrown and derelict....good that you have filmed it before it all changes...Nice one ..Steve.~
***** Cheers Steve, this tour continued into Greece for two days, where again our train was routed over little used overgrown international railway lines. We were close to Romania at times but never crossed the border ..... Tim.
Wonderful video, Tim. Thanks for uploading it. I can see you passed through my hometown. Since then the route has been modernised and now it passes through different places. I can't really remember how it was before. Could you, by any chance, be able to send me any uncut footage from Simeonovgrad to Harmanli from the rear of the train? It would surely bring back some nostalgic memories.
Hi, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride, the train took this unusual route due to flooding on the mainline. I can't promise anything, but I'll take a look to see what I can find. Here is a link to some of the other videos taken on this tour th-cam.com/play/PLPdTWbkwx85pbPN5nvNb3hAhReKKa7Qaj.html Cheers. Tim.
@@Timsvideochannel1 Thank you, Tim. I remember that around Feb. 2012, there was a flooding that year. Soon after the new route was built. I have seen some of your other videos, I especially like the ones with the steam 03 series. I am really happy they restored these great old locos. About the videos we were talking about, I really hope you still keep these clips, as I have travelled many times on that line as a kid. If you can send me some materials It would be really great. Thanks for checking.
@@TedMyth Hi, I had a quick check last night and I kept almost all the video from that trip, although I haven't had time to look closely at the original videos to see if I have any footage from that particular day that is not already included in the video uploaded to TH-cam. If I do find anything the easiest way to get it to you will be by using "Dropbox". Give me two or three days to look through my old footage because my day job is keeping me busy at the moment. Cheers. Tim.
@@Timsvideochannel1 Thank you very much, Tim. I appreciate your effort and the time you are spending to search for the vids. No need to rush, whenever you have the time. In case you find anything, just let me know and we'll work things out however it is suitable for you.
Hi, I found the original GoPro camera video footage from that day, looking backwards from the train. It will need a little editing before I know the file size, it is likely to be too big to send via dropbox. I can upload it to TH-cam as an unlisted video, I can send you the link so that you watch it or download it. It will take a week or two to prepare the video. Does this work for you? Cheers. Tim.
Reminds me in some ways of parts of my own home Australian state in the late 1960s - early 1970. A bit neglected, a bit out of date. The tracks badly need a "poison train" filled with herbicides.
Thank you, although I had been skiing in Bulgaria before this visit, I knew little about the country, so it was nice to spend time travelling around and meeting people.
You really captured the Russian mood around industrial areas; rusty and in need of paint! Nice video, I like the steam shot, it's a pity they neglected so much of the infrastructure, even the newer hardware looks rough. The video is really interesting to watch and gives a good sense of the state of things in Russia. Those class 07s look Swiss could it be the Russians are copying the masters or train building?
Hi, I believe to carriages were originally manufactured in Germany, they formed part of King Boris's royal train. Please click on link to learn more about the train and similar tours - www.railwaytouring.net/blog/steam-in-bulgaria-and-the-royal-train-of-king-boris
(2:50) At Germany nickname of that diesel class is Ludmilla. This brave socialist diesel from Russia hauled passengers transit trains from West Germany to West Berlin and back. After Berlin Wall came down these locos run deep into former enemy territory without any fear. They did lots of good services every time heavy diesels were requested.
+Timsvideochannel1 After Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) was founded both Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) and Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) transferred their properties to new railway company. First of all whole stock of DR was registered same manner as old DB. (Ludmilla changed from DR class 132 to DB class 232.) Then DBAG founded about 250 sub companies to split all tasks and properties by 'economic reasons' (DB Net, DB Cargo, DB Schenker, DB Real Estate [railway stations(!)] etc.) Some diesels from DR survived because urgent need. All other locos and stuff were sold as scrap except stuff purchased by private railway companies. Now DBAG and sub companies buy Class 66 diesels to replace all diesels for passenger and freight trains en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_Class_66
+pega17pl Hi, in Britain we are very familiar with the Class 66, know as sheds here because they look like more like a small industrial building than a locomotive.
It looks a fascinating country. Great variety of motive power. At one point there were locos from Switzerland, Romania, the USSR and Denmark all together, and of course there's the ex BR electrics too. And derelict concrete buildings dotting the landscape looking rather like Stalingrad circa 1943. Nice to see a few old Russian trucks still around too.
AndreiTupolev The freight only line from Nova Zagora to Svilengrad was one of the highlights of our visit to Bulgaria, our little train passing a succession of long international freight trains along a line that reminded me of the light railways built in Britain to serve small communities at the beginning of the 19th century. There were signs that this line is about to be modernized, so it was good we traveled along it when we did. We also passed two electrified internal railway systems serving coal mines along the route, the electric locomotives operating those systems looked very old, unfortunately they were never close enough to get good photos.
+Peter M Hi Peter, the loco at 0:44 does resemble a Swiss electric locomotive, although it is a Sulzer based diesel locomotive built in Romania. The loco at 5:29 is a Class 07 - 3000hp Soviet built diesel electric. This trip reminded me of British Railways back in the 70's, but change is happening in Bulgaria and I think some of the scenes captured in this video will soon be just memories. Just click on the times to be taken you to the correct place in the video.
Ragnars Brother Much of this route is a fascinating time warp, but the Twenty First century is coming with modernization on the way. Bulgaria is coming to terms with a changing world, the end of the old Soviet Union and it has recently joined the EU. For the young this has brought new opportunities throughout the member countries, but for the older generation who remember communism it must be a very different and uncertain world. On the plus side the hotels we stayed in were some of the best I have ever come across.
+Timsvideochannel1 the eu is controlled by the globalist elite zionist scum that had signed european countries on to billions in debt which 90% of isnt even theirs
Hi, our tour guide referred to the locomotives as Russian. Thank you for bringing this to my notice, I looked on Google to understand why our guide might have said this and I drew the conclusion that technically the locomotives were made in the old USSR, but today Lugansk is in the Ukrainian. I found this article interesting - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DR_Class_130_family. I have changed the title to refer to them by their nickname "Ludmilla", I hope this OK, please say if it is not. Best wishes. Tim.
![Cab Ride Bulgaria 🛤️ Southern Diesel Line [PART 1] Momchilgrad - Haskovo 🔵 PIMK Ludmilla 07 077](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9PUD8ckOY_4/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for this wonderful video. I haven't quite been able to find another video on this part of Southern Bulgaria, yours is one of a kind. Very good quality and post processing, awesome!
Thanks for taking time to comment, it is really appreciated.
Just registering my enjoyment on another of your great railway videos Tim!
Thank you, visiting the railways of the former East European countries is always fun, a bit like slipping back in time to the last days of steam in Britain, when health and safety was still sensible and railway staff worked in a more relaxed atmosphere. I still have a huge amount of material from my tour of the former Yugoslavia to edit and upload as time permits.
Thank you for sharing this interesting journey! Passenger traffic on line 83 is long ago a thing from the past and it was really interesting to observe how it's neglected condition attributes to both sad but also some beautiful scenic views.
Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip, the section between Nova Zagora and Simeonovgrad was particularly interesting. We passed a number of long freight trains, that looked out of place on this very rural line, I believe routes to Turkey had been closed due to severe flooding, the line we were travelling on had also been affected. The coal mine railways looked interesting. Has the railway been modernized since this video and are you likely to feature it in one of your future videos? I always enjoy your cab ride videos.
Hi and thank you for your kind words,
No, unfortunately the line is still in the same condition, although there are rumors that it will be soon electrified. The industrial mine railways are really interesting, indeed, and although access to them is quite limited, there are a few spots where you can enjoy filming EL2s by the road.
Perhaps the only news on line 83 is that the international container shuttles of Rail Cargo Group and DB Cargo no longer are diverted from Nova Zagora to Simeonovgrad. Instead, they go through Line 4 (from Mihailovo to Dimitrovgrad), thus eliminating the need of diesel power for them. Another interesting sight, which was common last year was the PIMK Rail Ludmilla 07 077, driving limestone trains from Yambol to Lyubenovo: flic.kr/p/Zi3nh7
I would really like to make a cab ride video along that line, but I doubt it would be anytime soon, as it is a bit remote and I would need a lot of luck to get there on board of a locomotive.
Kind regards from Bulgaria and thank you for watching my videos. I am enjoying your channel too!
Hi, the Ludmilla diesels are almost as popular as steam locomotives among the enthusiasts I meet. They are a bit like the British Class 47's, they keep surviving against the odds, usually as cheap motive power for private freight companies. Line 83 is interesting and I understand the problem with getting a camera into the cab, you never know whether the driver is going to say "yes" or "no" and its a long way to go if the answer is "no". I wish lived closer, it would be nice to cover the railways in this part of Bulgaria.
I was fascinated to see ex British Railways locomotives (Class 87 and 92) still in their original colors on my visit to Bulgaria, I was also fascinated by the narrow gauge railway in the Rila mountains.
Thank you for the videos you upload, I enjoy watching them. Best wishes. Tim.
DB have kept the ex DR Ludmillas on for a long time. These Ukranian Cinderellas seem good workhorses
Not Russian, but Ukrainian diesel-electric locomotive. Manufactured city of Lugansk. Defective Russian occupation now this city
БРАВО! ЧУДЕСЕН ФИЛМ.
+Plamen Georgiev
Благодаря
super video ..........
A most interesting video Tim...These Railway lines remind me of the ones in Romania. Everything looks overgrown and derelict....good that you have filmed it before it all changes...Nice one ..Steve.~
***** Cheers Steve, this tour continued into Greece for two days, where again our train was routed over little used overgrown international railway lines. We were close to Romania at times but never crossed the border ..... Tim.
Looking forward to seeing it Tim.
Wonderful video, Tim. Thanks for uploading it. I can see you passed through my hometown. Since then the route has been modernised and now it passes through different places. I can't really remember how it was before. Could you, by any chance, be able to send me any uncut footage from Simeonovgrad to Harmanli from the rear of the train? It would surely bring back some nostalgic memories.
Hi, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride, the train took this unusual route due to flooding on the mainline. I can't promise anything, but I'll take a look to see what I can find. Here is a link to some of the other videos taken on this tour th-cam.com/play/PLPdTWbkwx85pbPN5nvNb3hAhReKKa7Qaj.html
Cheers. Tim.
@@Timsvideochannel1 Thank you, Tim. I remember that around Feb. 2012, there was a flooding that year. Soon after the new route was built.
I have seen some of your other videos, I especially like the ones with the steam 03 series. I am really happy they restored these great old locos.
About the videos we were talking about, I really hope you still keep these clips, as I have travelled many times on that line as a kid. If you can send me some materials It would be really great. Thanks for checking.
@@TedMyth Hi, I had a quick check last night and I kept almost all the video from that trip, although I haven't had time to look closely at the original videos to see if I have any footage from that particular day that is not already included in the video uploaded to TH-cam. If I do find anything the easiest way to get it to you will be by using "Dropbox". Give me two or three days to look through my old footage because my day job is keeping me busy at the moment. Cheers. Tim.
@@Timsvideochannel1 Thank you very much, Tim. I appreciate your effort and the time you are spending to search for the vids. No need to rush, whenever you have the time. In case you find anything, just let me know and we'll work things out however it is suitable for you.
Hi, I found the original GoPro camera video footage from that day, looking backwards from the train. It will need a little editing before I know the file size, it is likely to be too big to send via dropbox. I can upload it to TH-cam as an unlisted video, I can send you the link so that you watch it or download it. It will take a week or two to prepare the video. Does this work for you? Cheers. Tim.
Reminds me in some ways of parts of my own home Australian state in the late 1960s - early 1970. A bit neglected, a bit out of date.
The tracks badly need a "poison train" filled with herbicides.
very nice video recording
+Surinder Grewal Thank you.
Thank u for this nice film
Ron, wb8nmk N.W. Ohio USA .
Aug.10-2015
Ron Winke Your welcome Ron, thank you for taking time to comment ... Tim.
Nice movie of a country unknown to me.
Thank you, although I had been skiing in Bulgaria before this visit, I knew little about the country, so it was nice to spend time travelling around and meeting people.
Tim, do you know this special railway from Kermen to Svilengrad you have on video doesn't exist at any map?
+pega17pl
Hello Heinz, try this map .... www.bueker.net/trainspotting/map.php?file=maps/bulgaria/bulgaria.gif
+Timsvideochannel1
Hello Tim, sorry for this joke gone wrong. Nevertheless many thanks for the very useful map. I wished I had it earlier.
You really captured the Russian mood around industrial areas; rusty and in need of paint! Nice video, I like the steam shot, it's a pity they neglected so much of the infrastructure, even the newer hardware looks rough. The video is really interesting to watch and gives a good sense of the state of things in Russia. Those class 07s look Swiss could it be the Russians are copying the masters or train building?
Interesting stock - two of those carriages look like ex-German (DR) pre-war ones from a special or government train
Hi, I believe to carriages were originally manufactured in Germany, they formed part of King Boris's royal train. Please click on link to learn more about the train and similar tours - www.railwaytouring.net/blog/steam-in-bulgaria-and-the-royal-train-of-king-boris
(2:50) At Germany nickname of that diesel class is Ludmilla. This brave socialist diesel from Russia hauled passengers transit trains from West Germany to West Berlin and back. After Berlin Wall came down these locos run deep into former enemy territory without any fear. They did lots of good services every time heavy diesels were requested.
+pega17pl
I believe some of them were even taken into DB stock .... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DR_Class_130_family
+Timsvideochannel1
After Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) was founded both Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) and Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) transferred their properties to new railway company. First of all whole stock of DR was registered same manner as old DB. (Ludmilla changed from DR class 132 to DB class 232.) Then DBAG founded about 250 sub companies to split all tasks and properties by 'economic reasons' (DB Net, DB Cargo, DB Schenker, DB Real Estate [railway stations(!)] etc.) Some diesels from DR survived because urgent need. All other locos and stuff were sold as scrap except stuff purchased by private railway companies. Now DBAG and sub companies buy Class 66 diesels to replace all diesels for passenger and freight trains
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_Class_66
+pega17pl
Hi, in Britain we are very familiar with the Class 66, know as sheds here because they look like more like a small industrial building than a locomotive.
+Timsvideochannel1
I noted at checking your diesel classes at UK. Sheds is right word.
Whats a Ludmila? Non Vasya, Petya, Masha :-) ?
how translate БДЖ? Болгарска Дорога Железна?
It looks a fascinating country. Great variety of motive power. At one point there were locos from Switzerland, Romania, the USSR and Denmark all together, and of course there's the ex BR electrics too. And derelict concrete buildings dotting the landscape looking rather like Stalingrad circa 1943.
Nice to see a few old Russian trucks still around too.
AndreiTupolev The freight only line from Nova Zagora to Svilengrad was one of the highlights of our visit to Bulgaria, our little train passing a succession of long international freight trains along a line that reminded me of the light railways built in Britain to serve small communities at the beginning of the 19th century. There were signs that this line is about to be modernized, so it was good we traveled along it when we did. We also passed two electrified internal railway systems serving coal mines along the route, the electric locomotives operating those systems looked very old, unfortunately they were never close enough to get good photos.
I should have said Bulgaria not Russia!
+Peter M
Hi Peter, the loco at 0:44 does resemble a Swiss electric locomotive, although it is a Sulzer based diesel locomotive built in Romania. The loco at 5:29 is a Class 07 - 3000hp Soviet built diesel electric. This trip reminded me of British Railways back in the 70's, but change is happening in Bulgaria and I think some of the scenes captured in this video will soon be just memories. Just click on the times to be taken you to the correct place in the video.
thanks for the video...glad I don't live there
Ragnars Brother Much of this route is a fascinating time warp, but the Twenty First century is coming with modernization on the way. Bulgaria is coming to terms with a changing world, the end of the old Soviet Union and it has recently joined the EU. For the young this has brought new opportunities throughout the member countries, but for the older generation who remember communism it must be a very different and uncertain world. On the plus side the hotels we stayed in were some of the best I have ever come across.
+Timsvideochannel1 the eu is controlled by the globalist elite zionist scum that had signed european countries on to billions in debt which 90% of isnt even theirs
Not Russian, but Ukrainian diesel-electric locomotive. Manufactured city of Lugansk. Defective Russian occupation now this city
Hi, our tour guide referred to the locomotives as Russian. Thank you for bringing this to my notice, I looked on Google to understand why our guide might have said this and I drew the conclusion that technically the locomotives were made in the old USSR, but today Lugansk is in the Ukrainian. I found this article interesting - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DR_Class_130_family. I have changed the title to refer to them by their nickname "Ludmilla", I hope this OK, please say if it is not. Best wishes. Tim.
Yes Lugansk is Ukraine
rubbish video where was the steam and diesels all you show is a video from rear of train very boring