Hey Tim. Once again a lovely ride through the countryside in Slovakia. Unlikely most of your videos there are tunnels in this one. The second tunnel in the beginning was the longest of them all, even beating the Barog tunnel on the Kalka-Shimla line in India. Look forward to the rest of the journey through Slovakia. 😊😊
Hi, I didn't cut the tunnels out of this video because the camera I was using still worked, even when it was almost dark. This was another pretty railway route, in some ways similar to the Kalka-Shimla line, in other ways very different. At 1143.61m long, Barog is a long tunnel although the story of Colonel Barog is sad. I still have a couple of videos to upload from this tour :-)
Hello Tim! Really a beautiful railway line. Long tunnels, high bridges and a lot of untouched nature. One could believe on the open track that one is in Switzerland. Only the overhead line is missing. The difference is: In Slovakia everything is at least 5x cheaper. In Handlova a very pretty woman dispatcher with command staff. What more do you want. Greetings from Hans from the Mühlviertel. Wish you a nice holiday.☺
Hello Hans, this was a very scenic trip, in places it did look like Switzerland. Slovakia is a great value for money destination, I am surprised it is not more popular with British tourists, especially walkers in summer and skiers in winter. I have noticed throughout this tour the number of pretty ladies working on the railway, you'll like the ladies in the next video ;-) Take care. Tim.
Hi, this railway has a lot in common with the wonderful rail routes featured on your channel. If you get a chance to visit Slovakia, I'm sure you'll love it. It's not an expensive destination and the people are really friendly. All the best from England.
Hi Tim, From 07:28 you can see Slovak MOD area hidden in the forest. These are huge ammunition depots. During the Cold War it would be unthinkable that anyone from the West would be allowed to take a ride on that train. Also the views were very limited, the forest was kept dense, lots of fences with warning not to stray from the railway tracks and Photography prohibited. There's a branch line from Sklene station into the area. Extensive sidings and underground tunnels able to accommodate a whole train of ammo delivery. Another interesting fact - the Bralský tunnel from 11:45 is 3011 meters long. Opened between two world wars in 1931, it's second longest railway tunnel in Slovakia to the impressive Čremošné tunnel near Harmanec - 4697 m long, which was built from 1936 to 1940. That track from Horná Štubňa to Banská Bystrica is another stunning feat of construction and engineering in difficult mountainous locations. Thank your for sharing these awesome recordings from your trips!
Hi Bike Dxer, the European countries that were difficult to access during the time of the cold war fascinated me when I was younger, mainly because photographs of the railways were rare and those that I did see often featured steam locomotives many years after they had disappeared from the national railways in England (my home country). I used to hear stories of British railway photographers travelling to country's behind the Iron Curtain being arrested and their films being confiscated. At the time it was difficult to understand why railway photographers were considered a threat, but now I have read your comment, I understand the situation that existed at the time. When I booked my seat on this Rail-tour (Summer in Slovakia with the Railway Touring Company) I knew very little about the country. This video was taken on the last day as we made our way to Bratislava, the same train crew accompanied our group throughout the tour, I think they enjoyed it as much as we did, they were very friendly and helpful as were all the people I met in Slovakia. Now I know it is a beautiful and interesting country where I was made welcome at all times. I appreciate your comment, especially the information about the railway, I am surprised at the number of people who read through the comments, something only really available on TH-cam, helping to make it a very different experience to watching documentaries on television. I look forward to sharing more trips, Tim.
Thank you for a nice reply Tim. Yes, it used to be extremely paranoid society on that wrong side of the Curtain. You could never be sure who's reporting on you to secret police. Everyone has been indoctrinated to be vigilant, keeping an eye on strangers and report them immediately. Some did it for personal gain or beliefs. Post office and railway staff were helping to secret police by tipping off, reporting anyone who tried to escape to the West.. This area around Handlová was considered to be of strategic importance, those buildings opposite the railway station belong to Brown Coal mining company. There used to be a power plant and chemical works as well. More ammunition storage and maintenance sites past Prievidza (a whole valley/underground town surrounded by hills with an extensive railway infrastructure). If sabotaged, this railway track with tunnels and viaducts would cut it all off. Road transportation hasn't been that big until the nineties here. German troops tried to do that when leaving Handlová - though they succeed only to blow up two pillars. It's a viaduct over the main road (one in thumbnail of your video), a bridge section fell down on houses below. I found an amazing old and recent photographs: www.vlaky.net/galerie/1719/handlovsky-viadukt/?p=1 This video is interesting, you've see it maybe: m.th-cam.com/video/OItIoqXqNMs/w-d-xo.html a ride in the opposite direction, a slower regional train stopping at every station and struggling uphill. It's been recorded a year ago in the Spring so it's a slightly different look than yours. Wish you more journeys and I'm looking forward to seeing some videos. Best, Ron.
@@TheMajkla Hi, I enjoyed your comment, especially the link to the photographs showing Handlovský viadukt. I found Trať ŽSR 145 channel when I was looking for information about Poprad Tatry. Many of the routes covered are familiar to me, I particularly liked seeing the Starý Smokovec railways in winter. Your description of life behind the iron curtain is similar to that recounted by people I've met in Bulgaria and country's that were once part of the former Yugoslavia. For someone like myself from the West it is hard to imagine, as our only experiences are those shown in movies. From your description, Prievidza has an interesting history, much of it of due to the cold war. I live on the South Coast of England where almost all signs of WW2 have gone, except for the existence of a large number of former RAF airfields, many of which are now in the hands of private owners, some still operate, but most have found new uses such as industrial estates or sites for weekly markets and car boot sales. Europe has a fascinating and complicated history, it is nice to travel and learn first hand from seeing places and talking to local people, it also helps me to understand the country I live in. Take care. Tim.
It's obvious now that you did not visit the most beautiful mountain railroad in Slovakia: Horná Štubňa - Banská Bystrica. Should you visit again I would highly recommend that line - with 22 tunnels and beautiful scenery.
Hi, sadly I did miss the Horná Štubňa - Banská Bystrica railway. Thank you for recommending it to me, I have many reasons to return now, hopefully it won't be too long.
Ahoj Mních, don't forget track 171 Zvolen - Diviaky. Especially magical is a leg Hronská Dúbrava - Turček. Tunnels, loops, significant terrain modifications near Jastrabá.. Built by 6000 - 7000 construction workers per day; between years 1870-1872, this scenic route is called a Slovakian Semmering. But pictures or videos say it better than words: th-cam.com/video/i10gppYognw/w-d-xo.html
Oh yes reminds me of the Newry Armagh single line now closed with 1 mile long lissummon tunnel ;Very good indeed nice scenery tunnels and bridges there was one video of the hope valley line with the 3 big tunnels through yorkshire Disley; Totley ;and Cowburn but cant see any new ones made to date anyhow good stuff indeed .
I haven't made it to Ireland yet, although from videos I have seen it looks beautiful. Slovakia has kept it's railway system almost intact, offering a reminder of how the meandering branch lines of Britain must have looked before they were cruelty culled in the 60's. I've travelled over the Hope Valley route in a DMU with a forward view, unfortunately back then the home video camera had yet to be invented.
A wonderful journey in a tourist paradise thanks tim,Is it still hot in the old country,In sydney today it was lucky to reach double figures and it has been snowing on the blue mountains just west of sydney and the wind chill factor was down to 5c cheer's bob.
Hi Robert, glad you enjoyed it. Next month I'm off to visit some tourist railways in neighbouring Austria, just as beautiful I hope. We've got wind and rain here today, but it's still pretty warm. Some flooding up country, nothing serious on the South Coast. Take care. Tim.
It was a fascinating ride, though a picturesque landscape. It was really nice of the driver to allow me to share this view normally reserved for train crew. I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
Hi Vinod, I lived nearby and this is very slow, regional line. Maximum speed allowed is 60 km/h but there are lots of restrictions slowing it down. The length is 37 kilometers but because of complicated terrain it takes almost an hour (54 minutes) downhill and up to an hour and six minutes the opposite direction from Prievidza to Horna Stubna (uphill). The train that Tim was on was a special event chartered for organised groups of rail enthusiasts. In a regular service, there are short trains like this www.vlaky.net/upload/images/reports/002737/05.jpg It's an updated version of this old boneshaker: m.smedata.sk/api-media/media/image/sme/8/33/3351458/3351458_600x400.jpeg?rev=3 It's beautiful landscape whether you travel there in summer or in winter when there's lot of snow.
I think you mean fourth. "Forth" is as in "to sally forth" which is to say, to go out and attempt something. Unless you're talking about an old computer language. :) Anyway, once again you've nailed it with a wonderful driver's-eye-view of some beautiful countryside. :) Fun Fact: The old computer language "FORTH" was called that because when it was invented, it was thought to be advanced enough to be the fourth generation of computer languages, but the language itself couldn't deal with strings larger than 5 characters long, hence the deliberate misspelling.
Oops, I didn't see it until you pointed it out, when I became a glaring error. Thanks for the heads up, at least I was able to edit the video description. I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride. English wasn't my strongest subject at school, I could write a story, but, spelling and grammar often let me down. That "Forth" generation computer language fact was new to me, I've learned something today.
Hi, I always wanted to be a train driver, the view from your window is always changing, you are lucky to work on such interesting and beautiful routes.
@@mircokrajcik I'm sure the good days outweigh the bad, we spend a lot of time at work, so it's really important to enjoy what we do. I'm am engineer/designer, left school at 16, served an apprenticeship in tool-making, worked for various companies before setting up my own, after over 46 years in the industry, I still enjoy my job, we are the lucky ones.
Hey Tim. Once again a lovely ride through the countryside in Slovakia. Unlikely most of your videos there are tunnels in this one. The second tunnel in the beginning was the longest of them all, even beating the Barog tunnel on the Kalka-Shimla line in India. Look forward to the rest of the journey through Slovakia. 😊😊
Hi, I didn't cut the tunnels out of this video because the camera I was using still worked, even when it was almost dark. This was another pretty railway route, in some ways similar to the Kalka-Shimla line, in other ways very different. At 1143.61m long, Barog is a long tunnel although the story of Colonel Barog is sad. I still have a couple of videos to upload from this tour :-)
Very nice scenery on this ride. Thank you 👍
Cheers, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride.
Hello Tim! Really a beautiful railway line. Long tunnels, high bridges and a lot of untouched nature. One could believe on the open track that one is in Switzerland. Only the overhead line is missing. The difference is: In Slovakia everything is at least 5x cheaper. In Handlova a very pretty woman dispatcher with command staff. What more do you want. Greetings from Hans from the Mühlviertel. Wish you a nice holiday.☺
Hello Hans, this was a very scenic trip, in places it did look like Switzerland. Slovakia is a great value for money destination, I am surprised it is not more popular with British tourists, especially walkers in summer and skiers in winter. I have noticed throughout this tour the number of pretty ladies working on the railway, you'll like the ladies in the next video ;-) Take care. Tim.
Hello from France wonderful video thank you for posting !
Hi, this railway has a lot in common with the wonderful rail routes featured on your channel. If you get a chance to visit Slovakia, I'm sure you'll love it. It's not an expensive destination and the people are really friendly. All the best from England.
Veľmi prekrásne 😅😅😅😅 natočené video 😅😅😅😅. Super 😅😅😅😅.
Ďakujem, som rád, že ste si užili jazdu :-)
Hi Tim,
From 07:28 you can see Slovak MOD area hidden in the forest. These are huge ammunition depots. During the Cold War it would be unthinkable that anyone from the West would be allowed to take a ride on that train. Also the views were very limited, the forest was kept dense, lots of fences with warning not to stray from the railway tracks and Photography prohibited. There's a branch line from Sklene station into the area. Extensive sidings and underground tunnels able to accommodate a whole train of ammo delivery.
Another interesting fact - the Bralský tunnel from 11:45 is 3011 meters long. Opened between two world wars in 1931, it's second longest railway tunnel in Slovakia to the impressive Čremošné tunnel near Harmanec - 4697 m long, which was built from 1936 to 1940. That track from Horná Štubňa to Banská Bystrica is another stunning feat of construction and engineering in difficult mountainous locations. Thank your for sharing these awesome recordings from your trips!
Hi Bike Dxer, the European countries that were difficult to access during the time of the cold war fascinated me when I was younger, mainly because photographs of the railways were rare and those that I did see often featured steam locomotives many years after they had disappeared from the national railways in England (my home country). I used to hear stories of British railway photographers travelling to country's behind the Iron Curtain being arrested and their films being confiscated. At the time it was difficult to understand why railway photographers were considered a threat, but now I have read your comment, I understand the situation that existed at the time. When I booked my seat on this Rail-tour (Summer in Slovakia with the Railway Touring Company) I knew very little about the country. This video was taken on the last day as we made our way to Bratislava, the same train crew accompanied our group throughout the tour, I think they enjoyed it as much as we did, they were very friendly and helpful as were all the people I met in Slovakia. Now I know it is a beautiful and interesting country where I was made welcome at all times. I appreciate your comment, especially the information about the railway, I am surprised at the number of people who read through the comments, something only really available on TH-cam, helping to make it a very different experience to watching documentaries on television. I look forward to sharing more trips, Tim.
Thank you for a nice reply Tim. Yes, it used to be extremely paranoid society on that wrong side of the Curtain. You could never be sure who's reporting on you to secret police. Everyone has been indoctrinated to be vigilant, keeping an eye on strangers and report them immediately. Some did it for personal gain or beliefs. Post office and railway staff were helping to secret police by tipping off, reporting anyone who tried to escape to the West.. This area around Handlová was considered to be of strategic importance, those buildings opposite the railway station belong to Brown Coal mining company. There used to be a power plant and chemical works as well. More ammunition storage and maintenance sites past Prievidza (a whole valley/underground town surrounded by hills with an extensive railway infrastructure). If sabotaged, this railway track with tunnels and viaducts would cut it all off. Road transportation hasn't been that big until the nineties here. German troops tried to do that when leaving Handlová - though they succeed only to blow up two pillars. It's a viaduct over the main road (one in thumbnail of your video), a bridge section fell down on houses below. I found an amazing old and recent photographs: www.vlaky.net/galerie/1719/handlovsky-viadukt/?p=1
This video is interesting, you've see it maybe: m.th-cam.com/video/OItIoqXqNMs/w-d-xo.html a ride in the opposite direction, a slower regional train stopping at every station and struggling uphill. It's been recorded a year ago in the Spring so it's a slightly different look than yours. Wish you more journeys and I'm looking forward to seeing some videos. Best, Ron.
@@TheMajkla Hi, I enjoyed your comment, especially the link to the photographs showing Handlovský viadukt. I found Trať ŽSR 145 channel when I was looking for information about Poprad Tatry. Many of the routes covered are familiar to me, I particularly liked seeing the Starý Smokovec railways in winter.
Your description of life behind the iron curtain is similar to that recounted by people I've met in Bulgaria and country's that were once part of the former Yugoslavia. For someone like myself from the West it is hard to imagine, as our only experiences are those shown in movies. From your description, Prievidza has an interesting history, much of it of due to the cold war. I live on the South Coast of England where almost all signs of WW2 have gone, except for the existence of a large number of former RAF airfields, many of which are now in the hands of private owners, some still operate, but most have found new uses such as industrial estates or sites for weekly markets and car boot sales.
Europe has a fascinating and complicated history, it is nice to travel and learn first hand from seeing places and talking to local people, it also helps me to understand the country I live in. Take care. Tim.
Excellent ride! Most enjoyable.
Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
It's obvious now that you did not visit the most beautiful mountain railroad in Slovakia: Horná Štubňa - Banská Bystrica. Should you visit again I would highly recommend that line - with 22 tunnels and beautiful scenery.
Hi, sadly I did miss the Horná Štubňa - Banská Bystrica railway. Thank you for recommending it to me, I have many reasons to return now, hopefully it won't be too long.
Ahoj Mních, don't forget track 171 Zvolen - Diviaky. Especially magical is a leg Hronská Dúbrava - Turček. Tunnels, loops, significant terrain modifications near Jastrabá.. Built by 6000 - 7000 construction workers per day; between years 1870-1872, this scenic route is called a Slovakian Semmering.
But pictures or videos say it better than words:
th-cam.com/video/i10gppYognw/w-d-xo.html
Oh yes reminds me of the Newry Armagh single line now closed with 1 mile long lissummon tunnel ;Very good indeed nice scenery tunnels and bridges there was one video of the hope valley line with the 3 big tunnels through yorkshire Disley; Totley ;and Cowburn but cant see any new ones made to date anyhow good stuff indeed .
I haven't made it to Ireland yet, although from videos I have seen it looks beautiful. Slovakia has kept it's railway system almost intact, offering a reminder of how the meandering branch lines of Britain must have looked before they were cruelty culled in the 60's. I've travelled over the Hope Valley route in a DMU with a forward view, unfortunately back then the home video camera had yet to be invented.
A wonderful journey in a tourist paradise thanks tim,Is it still hot in the old country,In sydney today it was lucky to reach double figures and it has been snowing on the blue mountains just west of sydney and the wind chill factor was down to 5c cheer's bob.
Hi Robert, glad you enjoyed it. Next month I'm off to visit some tourist railways in neighbouring Austria, just as beautiful I hope. We've got wind and rain here today, but it's still pretty warm. Some flooding up country, nothing serious on the South Coast. Take care. Tim.
I'm going to watch the train driving video ^^
I hope you enjoy the ride.
Outstanding🤗
It was a fascinating ride, though a picturesque landscape. It was really nice of the driver to allow me to share this view normally reserved for train crew. I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
Greetings from India. Wonderful video. How many coaches does this train have. What is the maximum permitted speed limit. Thank you.
Hi Vinod, I lived nearby and this is very slow, regional line.
Maximum speed allowed is 60 km/h but there are lots of restrictions slowing it down. The length is 37 kilometers but because of complicated terrain it takes almost an hour (54 minutes) downhill and up to an hour and six minutes the opposite direction from Prievidza to Horna Stubna (uphill).
The train that Tim was on was a special event chartered for organised groups of rail enthusiasts. In a regular service, there are short trains like this www.vlaky.net/upload/images/reports/002737/05.jpg
It's an updated version of this old boneshaker: m.smedata.sk/api-media/media/image/sme/8/33/3351458/3351458_600x400.jpeg?rev=3 It's beautiful landscape whether you travel there in summer or in winter when there's lot of snow.
@@TheMajkla Hi and thank you, your comment made interesting reading, the train I was travelling on consisted of one locomotive and 5 coaches.
Dankeschön
Hi Tim, trať horná Štubňa zolen je slovenský Semmering😉Nice video 👍👍👍👍
Excellent!
Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
Very interesting video! Greetings from Ukraine!
Hi Boris Lu, I'm pleased you enjoyed the video, Greetings from England.
perfect video! great! i like it!
Thank you, I am pleased you enjoyed the ride. I looked at your channel, it looks interesting, we share the same love for travel and trains.
Ach great video 👍👍
Cheers, it was nice of the driver to share his view of this picturesque route.
I think you mean fourth. "Forth" is as in "to sally forth" which is to say, to go out and attempt something.
Unless you're talking about an old computer language. :)
Anyway, once again you've nailed it with a wonderful driver's-eye-view of some beautiful countryside. :)
Fun Fact: The old computer language "FORTH" was called that because when it was invented, it was thought to be advanced enough to be the fourth generation of computer languages, but the language itself couldn't deal with strings larger than 5 characters long, hence the deliberate misspelling.
Oops, I didn't see it until you pointed it out, when I became a glaring error. Thanks for the heads up, at least I was able to edit the video description. I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride. English wasn't my strongest subject at school, I could write a story, but, spelling and grammar often let me down. That "Forth" generation computer language fact was new to me, I've learned something today.
Belo video!
Thank you :-)
I am a train driver and I drive trains also on this railway 😉
Hi, I always wanted to be a train driver, the view from your window is always changing, you are lucky to work on such interesting and beautiful routes.
@@Timsvideochannel1 every coin have two sides 😉. Some routes and trains are nice but some of them not, but I like my work.
@@mircokrajcik I'm sure the good days outweigh the bad, we spend a lot of time at work, so it's really important to enjoy what we do. I'm am engineer/designer, left school at 16, served an apprenticeship in tool-making, worked for various companies before setting up my own, after over 46 years in the industry, I still enjoy my job, we are the lucky ones.
It is so dark--must be mu computrt.