Parenzana
Encyclopedia
The Parenzana or Porečanka (also in Croatian
: Porečka; also in Slovene: Poreška; Italian
: Parenzana) is one of the nicknames of a defunct narrow gauge railway (operating between 1902 and 1935) between Trieste
and Poreč
(at that time Parenzo, whence the name Parenzana), in present day Italy
, Slovenia
and Croatia
.
- Parenzo (now Poreč
) - Canfanaro (now Kanfanar
)" ).
Among the area's current majority Croats
and Slovenes, the railroad is known as the Porečanka or Istranka, Istrijanka. Both the names meaning "a woman from Istria", and used to refer to a wine or vineyard railway. In Slovene, the railway is also known also Poreška, while in Croatian
it is sometimes referred to as Porečka as well as Porečanka. In Italian
the railroad's nickname is Parenzana.
's St. Andrew station (now a railway museum). It passed Muggia
and entered present day Slovenia
in Škofije. The route first passed Dekani
then turned towards the coast, passed Koper, Izola
, Strunjan
, Portorož
, Lucija, Sečovlje
, crossed the Dragonja
and entered the territory of the present day Croatia
. Then it turned westwards, reached Valica where Savudrija
's station stood and turned eastwards towards Istrian interior. It passed Buje
, climbed to Grožnjan
, soon after passing this town reached the highest point at elevation
of 293 meters above sea level and then started to descend until it reached Livade
(13m above sea level) where it crossed the Mirna river. Then it started climbing again via Motovun
and Vižinada
to Baldaši where it reached another local extreme at 273 meters above sea level. Then it was gradually descending, passed Višnjan
and reached Poreč
after 123 kilometers from Trieste, thus making it one of Europe
's longest narrow gauge railways.
Although initially planned and much effort made by local authorities, the fork from Valica to Umag
was never built. On the other hand since 1909 Piran
was connected with the station in Portorož
(at that time Portorož was a spa
and a stop for guests was arranged in a private villa
two years after the rail line was completed), first with a trolleybus
, in 1912 replaced by an electrical tram
way which was operating till 1953.
Present day in Italy
Present day in Slovenia
Present day in Croatia
s of Austria-Hungary
allowed constructing local narrow gauge railways, the first economical
analyses
of a west Istrian railway were prepared around 1880. In 1888 a Berlin
based company Sanderop & comp, led by Peter Walderstein started to prepare project plan
of the route. A Trieste
based company of Luigi Buzzi did the same independently of Sanderop & comp. In 1898 a construction permit
was obtained and in 1900 the TPC company was founded in Vienna
, its chief was Ludovico Rizzi, then a governor
of Austrian Littoral
. The construction started the same year. Several contractor
s were assigned the construction works. The section between Trieste and Portorož
was constructed by Butoraz and Zifer, both from Trieste, the section between Portorož and Buje was built by Filip Zupančič's company from Ljubljana
, the section between Buje and Vižinada
was assigned to Brunetti, List and Radl, all from Graz, and the section between Vižinada and Poreč was constructed by Pellegrini and Strohmeier, both from Vienna as well. On April 1, 1902 the first section between Trieste
and Buje
was opened. The other section between Buje and Poreč
was opened on December 15, 1902. Initial plans included an extension to Kanfanar
, then a rail junction
of standard gauge
rail lines from Divača
, Pula
and Rovinj
(the section between Kanfanar and Rovinj is now defunct) but it was never built due to lack of funds and later due to upcoming World War I.
The railroad brought an economic progress to towns along its route. It was mainly used to transport agricultural
products (with fish
and salt
) to the Trieste market
. Products of Piran
's chemical industry
and dimension stone
s from quarries
in Grožnjan
, Momjan, Kanegra, etc. were transported as well. During the World War I
the railway was used to transport military
and food
supply for the local population.
After the war and the independence of most parts of Austria-Hungary, the whole of Istria
became part of the Kingdom of Italy
. The railway was taken over by Italians, its headquarters were moved from Vienna to Pula
, locomotives and personnel were brought from other parts of Italy
. For about a decade the railway was still profitable, then the Great Depression
arose and the railway could no longer compete with developing maritime, bus
and automobile
transport
. The fascist
regime
found an excellent opportunity to further persecution
of Slovene and Croatian population, forming majority
of Istrian hinterland
population
. From Rome
the order to abandon the railroad arrived and the last train was operated on August 31, 1935. This deteriorated the economic situation and forced many people to emigrate
. The rolling stock was sold to other Italian railways, mainly to Sicily
, and a legend tells that tracks were dismounted to be transported to Abyssinia
, then an Italian colony
, but never reached Africa
as the ship sunk somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea
.
During the operation of railway several minor accident
s occurred. Some were a consequence of a human factor while others resulted from a fact that planners from interior of the Austria-Hungary
did not know the local microclimate
well. Especially around Muggia
gusts of bora
caused several derailment
s. The most tragic occurred on March 31, 1910 when three people were killed and many wounded. Another derailment near Muggia happened in 1916, but no victims are reported. In 1917 Russian
prisoners of war
deliberately caused a derailment. An engineer
and a fireman were killed.
The most tragic event in the railway's history occurred on March 19, 1921 at 18:20. A group of fascists was travelling to Trieste. During the stop in Strunjan
they shot from the train at a group of children playing near the track. 2 children were killed, 2 maimed and 3 wounded. In memory of this event Božidar Tvrdy later composed a poem Za Šentjanom je utonilo sonce (the Sun
drowned at Šentjan, full text in Slovenian).
After the World War II
several ideas arose to reconstruct the railroad at least partially for the purpose of tourism
, however this never happened. The last such initiative
came from the Croatian association for reconstruction of the railway Parenzana in 2003. However, at the moment this does not seem likely to happen. During preparation of railway's centennial celebration, the Italian and most of Slovenian sections were, with the financial help of the European Union
, converted into a recreation
Trail of Health and Friendship (Pot zdravja in prijateljstva in Slovenian
, Percorso salute dell'amicizia in Italian
) for pedestrian
s and cyclists and recently similar works started at the Croatian side as well.
s' speed was only 25 km/h and together with all stops the whole journey between Trieste and Poreč took around 7 hours. At slower sections passenger
s could jump off the train, pick a fruit
from one of many orchard
s or relieve themselves (there were no toilet
s in cars
) and return back to the train. Many stowaways who could not afford to buy expensive ticket
s used this option to avoid ticket controls. At the steepest sections locomotive
s often could not handle the slope so all passengers had to disembark the train and push it. Sometimes the train stopped because children greased rail tracks
with fig
s so the journey could only continue when the tracks were cleaned.
s without tenders
were used to operate trains. They proved inefficient to handle many ascents and bends, so more efficient locomotive
s of P-series were ordered. They were designed by Karl Gölsdorf
(as a combination of a larger version of U-series and a smaller version of a tender locomotive
that were already operating in Bosnia
) and the first three were assembled and delivered by the Krauss factory in Linz
in 1911. Additional 3 were ordered but never finished due to the World War I
. In 1903 a small single car train with a steam engine
at one end, a BCM/s51, produced by Komarek factory in Vienna
, was introduced. It did not meet all expectations so in 1906 it was sold to a local railway in Pinzgau
. After Italian annexation of Istria the new administration of the railroad ordered four additional locomotives (copies of the P-series) from Officine Meccaniche Italiane in Reggio Emilia
. They were delivered in 1922 and 1923.
All cars
were 8.5 meters long. Passenger cars had 30 seat
s and were paraffin oil lit. They had balconies
but no toilet
s. In addition, freight cars (both open and covered ones) and luggage
cars were in use. In 1935, just before the decision to close down the line, a total of 180 cars of all types were in use.
Although all tracks were removed, a large part of other railway infrastructure
(embankment
s, cutting
s, bridges, viaducts, etc.) survives today. According to the Croatian association Porečanka it could still be possible to reconstruct the railway at 94% of the original route. Several milestone
s with the inscription "T.P.C." still stand along the former route.
Most of railway stations survive as well, mostly they were converted into homes, workshop
s, warehouse
s. The former "Savudrija station" in Valica still carries the original sign with an inscription "Salvore".
All 8 tunnel
s also still exist. Some of them were used to grow mushroom
s. The others were and still are used by foot travellers and cyclists as "shortcuts". Probably the most famous of such tunnels is the one between Strunjan
and Portorož
.
Of the original U-series of locomotives, U-37 is still preserved. After withdrawing from the Porečanka it was sold to the Austria
n railway between Weiz
, Birkfeld
and Ratten
, during World War I it was moved to a Bosnian logging
railway and later it was operating at the brickworks
in Busovača
. After its "retirement" it was exhibited in front of the new railway station in Koper (built in 1967 for the new standard gauge line from Divača
) together with a few Bosnian cars, that were never used at the Porečanka. Another preserved U-series locomotive, U-40, is still in operation at Austrian Murtalbahn
.
Two of P-series locomotives survived. P-7 is now exhibited in the technical museum Leonardo da Vinci
in Milano. P-4 arrived to Bosnia
and Serbia
during World War II. Before "retirement" it was in use around Čačak
. In front of Izola
's petrol station a P-3 was exhibited in 2002 but this locomotive never operated at the Porečanka. In the 1980s the railway museum in Ljubljana
acquired another interesting locomotive of P-series. It was assembled after World War I by Krauss from the parts that were initially intended for three additional locomotives ordered by the TPC administration but the war canceled the order.
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
: Porečka; also in Slovene: Poreška; Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Parenzana) is one of the nicknames of a defunct narrow gauge railway (operating between 1902 and 1935) between Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and Poreč
Porec
Poreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....
(at that time Parenzo, whence the name Parenzana), in present day Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
Name
When constructed, the railway's official name was Parenzaner Bahn or shortly Parenzana. Later it was known as the Istrian Railway and TPC (standing for "TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
- Parenzo (now Poreč
Porec
Poreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....
) - Canfanaro (now Kanfanar
Kanfanar
Kanfanar is a municipality in the central part of Istria, Croatia, 20 km northeast of Rovinj, on the edge of the Lim Cove, on the open limestone plain of Istria. The elevation is 281 m.Chief occupations are farming and livestock breeding...
)" ).
Among the area's current majority Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Slovenes, the railroad is known as the Porečanka or Istranka, Istrijanka. Both the names meaning "a woman from Istria", and used to refer to a wine or vineyard railway. In Slovene, the railway is also known also Poreška, while in Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
it is sometimes referred to as Porečka as well as Porečanka. In Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
the railroad's nickname is Parenzana.
Route
The railway started at TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
's St. Andrew station (now a railway museum). It passed Muggia
Muggia
Muggia is a small Italian comune in the extreme south-east of Trieste lying on the border with Slovenia.Muggia is the last and only flap of Istria still in Italian territory, after the dissolution of the Free Territory of Trieste in 1954....
and entered present day Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in Škofije. The route first passed Dekani
Dekani
Dekani is a settlement in the Municipality pf Koper in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The local church is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and was originally built in 1229 and remodeled at the end of the 15th century.-External links:*...
then turned towards the coast, passed Koper, Izola
Izola
Izola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...
, Strunjan
Strunjan
Strunjan is a settlement in the Piran Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:The Strunjan Nature Reserve, located along a 4 km stretch of Adriatic coast to the north of the settlement, is the longest section of unspoilt coastline in the entire Gulf of Trieste.The Parish...
, Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
, Lucija, Sečovlje
Secovlje
Sečovlje is a settlement in the Municipality of Piran in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:This is the last Slovenian settlement before the Slovenia-Croatia border. This village was once the centre of Slovenian salt production, now its main source of income is tourism at the Sečovlje...
, crossed the Dragonja
Dragonja
Dragonja is a river in Slovenia, in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is the third longest river in Istria, after Raša and Mirna.The river is in length and flows into the Gulf of Piran....
and entered the territory of the present day Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. Then it turned westwards, reached Valica where Savudrija
Savudrija
Savudrija is a coastal settlement in northwestern Istria, Croatia. It has developed from a fishing village into a pleasant holiday centre. Savudrija is also the name of the surrounding area in the peninsula....
's station stood and turned eastwards towards Istrian interior. It passed Buje
Buje
Buje is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula, population 2,979 .Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic sea. It still commands an excellent panorama. Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the region date back to...
, climbed to Grožnjan
Grožnjan
Grožnjan is a settlement and municipality in Croatia. It is part of Croatia's Istria County, which takes up most of the Istria peninsula. It is also the only place in Croatia to have an Italian majority.-Early history:...
, soon after passing this town reached the highest point at elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 293 meters above sea level and then started to descend until it reached Livade
Livade, Croatia
Livade is a village located near Oprtalj and Motovun, in Istria, Croatia.The spa Istarske Toplice is located in Livade....
(13m above sea level) where it crossed the Mirna river. Then it started climbing again via Motovun
Motovun
Motovun is a village in central Istria, Croatia. The population of the village itself is 531, with a total of 983 residents in the municipality ; 442 of the residents have Italian as their mother language...
and Vižinada
Vižinada
Vižinada is a village and municipality in the interior of the western part of Istria, Croatia, 17 km northeast of Poreč; elevation 40 m. Economy is based on agriculture. The parish was first mentioned in 1177, in the papal document granting a privilege to the bishop of Poreč...
to Baldaši where it reached another local extreme at 273 meters above sea level. Then it was gradually descending, passed Višnjan
Višnjan
Višnjan is a village and municipality in Istria, Croatia. Višnjan is the site of Višnjan Observatory . The observatory is home of several long-running international summer programs for youth in astronomy, archeology, marine biology and other disciplines.-Geography:Višnjan is located 12 kilometers...
and reached Poreč
Porec
Poreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....
after 123 kilometers from Trieste, thus making it one of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's longest narrow gauge railways.
Although initially planned and much effort made by local authorities, the fork from Valica to Umag
Umag
Umag is a coastal city in Istria, Croatia.The city hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts.-Geography:It is the westernmost city of Croatia, and the municipality includes Savudrija which is westernmost point of Croatia....
was never built. On the other hand since 1909 Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...
was connected with the station in Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
(at that time Portorož was a spa
Destination spa
A destination spa is a short term residential/lodging facility with the primary purpose of providing individual services for spa-goers to develop healthy habits. Historically many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or sources of mineral waters...
and a stop for guests was arranged in a private villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
two years after the rail line was completed), first with a trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
, in 1912 replaced by an electrical tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way which was operating till 1953.
List of stations
Names in parentheses were during Italian rule..jpg) |
.jpg) |
 |
Present day in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- TriesteTriesteTrieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
Campomarzio - Trieste Scalo Legnami
- Trieste Servola
- Monte Castiglione
- Val Rosandra
- Muggia
Present day in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
- (Spodnje) Škofije (Albaro Vescovà-Scoffie)
- DekaniDekaniDekani is a settlement in the Municipality pf Koper in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The local church is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and was originally built in 1229 and remodeled at the end of the 15th century.-External links:*...
(Villa Decani) - Lazaret (Lazzaretto-Risano)
- Koper (Capodistria)
- Semedela
- IzolaIzolaIzola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...
(Isola d'Istria) - StrunjanStrunjanStrunjan is a settlement in the Piran Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:The Strunjan Nature Reserve, located along a 4 km stretch of Adriatic coast to the north of the settlement, is the longest section of unspoilt coastline in the entire Gulf of Trieste.The Parish...
(Madonna di Strugnano) - PortorožPortorož- External links :**...
(Portorose) - LucijaLucija, PiranLucija is a settlement in the Piran Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia. With a population close to 5,800, it is the largest settlement in Slovenia that is not a municipality in its own right.-External links:*...
(Santa Lucia) - Paderno (San Bortolo)
- SečovljeSecovljeSečovlje is a settlement in the Municipality of Piran in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:This is the last Slovenian settlement before the Slovenia-Croatia border. This village was once the centre of Slovenian salt production, now its main source of income is tourism at the Sečovlje...
(Sicciole)
Present day in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
- SavudrijaSavudrijaSavudrija is a coastal settlement in northwestern Istria, Croatia. It has developed from a fishing village into a pleasant holiday centre. Savudrija is also the name of the surrounding area in the peninsula....
(Salvore) - Markovac-Mažurija (Mazzoria)
- Kaldanija (Caldania)
- BujeBujeBuje is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula, population 2,979 .Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic sea. It still commands an excellent panorama. Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the region date back to...
(Buie) - Triban (Tribano)
- Grožnjan (Grisignana)
- Kostanjica (Castagna)
- Završje (Piemonte D'Istria)
- Oprtalj (Pòrtole)
- Livade (Bagni San Stefano)
- MotovunMotovunMotovun is a village in central Istria, Croatia. The population of the village itself is 531, with a total of 983 residents in the municipality ; 442 of the residents have Italian as their mother language...
(Montona) - Karojba (Caroiba)
- Rakotule (Raccosole)
- Vižinada (Visinada)
- Baldaši (Baldassi)
- Labinci-Markovac (Santa Domenica)
- Višnjan (Visignano)
- Nova Vas (Villanova di Parenzo)
- PorečPorecPoreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....
(Parenzo)
Technical data
- total length: 123 km
- track gauge: 760 mm
- total number of railway stations and stops: 35
- the lowest point: 2 m above sea level (in Trieste and Koper)
- the highest point: 293 m above sea level (near Grožnjan)
- number of curves: 604
- the shortest bend radiusBend radiusBend radius, which is measured to the inside curvature, is the minimum radius one can bend a pipe, tube, sheet, cable or hose without kinking it, damaging it, or shortening its life. The smaller the bend radius, the greater is the material flexibility...
: 60 m - the steepest inclinationInclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
: 28‰ - number of tunnelTunnelA tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s: 8, total length 1530 m - number of bridgeBridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s: 11 (the most important riverRiverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s to cross: the Osp, the RižanaRižanaRižana is a settlement in the Koper Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-External links:*...
, the DragonjaDragonjaDragonja is a river in Slovenia, in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is the third longest river in Istria, after Raša and Mirna.The river is in length and flows into the Gulf of Piran....
and the Mirna) - number of viaductViaductA viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
s: 6 - average speedSpeedIn kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
: 25 km/h - the highest speed: 31 km/h
History
When lawLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
allowed constructing local narrow gauge railways, the first economical
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
analyses
Financial analysis
Financial analysis refers to an assessment of the viability, stability and profitability of a business, sub-business or project....
of a west Istrian railway were prepared around 1880. In 1888 a Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
based company Sanderop & comp, led by Peter Walderstein started to prepare project plan
Project plan
A project plan, according to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, isPRINCE2 defines:In some industries, particularly information technology, the term "project plan" can refer to a Gantt chart or other document that shows project activities along a timeline. While common, this use is inaccurate...
of the route. A Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
based company of Luigi Buzzi did the same independently of Sanderop & comp. In 1898 a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
was obtained and in 1900 the TPC company was founded in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, its chief was Ludovico Rizzi, then a governor
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann is a former German gubernatorial title equivalent to that of a governor of a province or a state....
of Austrian Littoral
Austrian Littoral
The Austrian Littoral was established as a crown land of the Austrian Empire in 1849. In 1861 it was divided into the three crown lands of the Imperial Free City of Trieste and its suburbs, the Margraviate of Istria, and the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, which each had separate...
. The construction started the same year. Several contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
s were assigned the construction works. The section between Trieste and Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
was constructed by Butoraz and Zifer, both from Trieste, the section between Portorož and Buje was built by Filip Zupančič's company from Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, the section between Buje and Vižinada
Vižinada
Vižinada is a village and municipality in the interior of the western part of Istria, Croatia, 17 km northeast of Poreč; elevation 40 m. Economy is based on agriculture. The parish was first mentioned in 1177, in the papal document granting a privilege to the bishop of Poreč...
was assigned to Brunetti, List and Radl, all from Graz, and the section between Vižinada and Poreč was constructed by Pellegrini and Strohmeier, both from Vienna as well. On April 1, 1902 the first section between Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and Buje
Buje
Buje is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula, population 2,979 .Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic sea. It still commands an excellent panorama. Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the region date back to...
was opened. The other section between Buje and Poreč
Porec
Poreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....
was opened on December 15, 1902. Initial plans included an extension to Kanfanar
Kanfanar
Kanfanar is a municipality in the central part of Istria, Croatia, 20 km northeast of Rovinj, on the edge of the Lim Cove, on the open limestone plain of Istria. The elevation is 281 m.Chief occupations are farming and livestock breeding...
, then a rail junction
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
of standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
rail lines from Divača
Divača railway station
Divača railway station is a significant railway station in Divača, Slovenia. It was opened in 1857, and is located close to the Italian border, on the main railway line between Ljubljana, Slovenia and Trieste, Italy.- External links :*...
, Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
and Rovinj
Rovinj
Rovinj is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 13,562 . It is located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula and is a popular tourist resort and an active fishing port...
(the section between Kanfanar and Rovinj is now defunct) but it was never built due to lack of funds and later due to upcoming World War I.
The railroad brought an economic progress to towns along its route. It was mainly used to transport agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
products (with fish
Fish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
) to the Trieste market
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
. Products of Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...
's chemical industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
and dimension stone
Dimension stone
Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements...
s from quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
in Grožnjan
Grožnjan
Grožnjan is a settlement and municipality in Croatia. It is part of Croatia's Istria County, which takes up most of the Istria peninsula. It is also the only place in Croatia to have an Italian majority.-Early history:...
, Momjan, Kanegra, etc. were transported as well. During the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the railway was used to transport military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
and food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
supply for the local population.
After the war and the independence of most parts of Austria-Hungary, the whole of Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
became part of the Kingdom of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The railway was taken over by Italians, its headquarters were moved from Vienna to Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
, locomotives and personnel were brought from other parts of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. For about a decade the railway was still profitable, then the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
arose and the railway could no longer compete with developing maritime, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
. The fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
regime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
found an excellent opportunity to further persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
of Slovene and Croatian population, forming majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
of Istrian hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
. From Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
the order to abandon the railroad arrived and the last train was operated on August 31, 1935. This deteriorated the economic situation and forced many people to emigrate
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
. The rolling stock was sold to other Italian railways, mainly to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and a legend tells that tracks were dismounted to be transported to Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, then an Italian colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
, but never reached Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
as the ship sunk somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.
During the operation of railway several minor accident
Accident
An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...
s occurred. Some were a consequence of a human factor while others resulted from a fact that planners from interior of the Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
did not know the local microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
well. Especially around Muggia
Muggia
Muggia is a small Italian comune in the extreme south-east of Trieste lying on the border with Slovenia.Muggia is the last and only flap of Istria still in Italian territory, after the dissolution of the Free Territory of Trieste in 1954....
gusts of bora
Bora (wind)
Bora or Bura is a northern to north-eastern katabatic wind in the Adriatic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, and Turkey....
caused several derailment
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
s. The most tragic occurred on March 31, 1910 when three people were killed and many wounded. Another derailment near Muggia happened in 1916, but no victims are reported. In 1917 Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
deliberately caused a derailment. An engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and a fireman were killed.
The most tragic event in the railway's history occurred on March 19, 1921 at 18:20. A group of fascists was travelling to Trieste. During the stop in Strunjan
Strunjan
Strunjan is a settlement in the Piran Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:The Strunjan Nature Reserve, located along a 4 km stretch of Adriatic coast to the north of the settlement, is the longest section of unspoilt coastline in the entire Gulf of Trieste.The Parish...
they shot from the train at a group of children playing near the track. 2 children were killed, 2 maimed and 3 wounded. In memory of this event Božidar Tvrdy later composed a poem Za Šentjanom je utonilo sonce (the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
drowned at Šentjan, full text in Slovenian).
After the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
several ideas arose to reconstruct the railroad at least partially for the purpose of tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, however this never happened. The last such initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
came from the Croatian association for reconstruction of the railway Parenzana in 2003. However, at the moment this does not seem likely to happen. During preparation of railway's centennial celebration, the Italian and most of Slovenian sections were, with the financial help of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, converted into a recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
Trail of Health and Friendship (Pot zdravja in prijateljstva in Slovenian
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
, Percorso salute dell'amicizia in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) for pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s and cyclists and recently similar works started at the Croatian side as well.
Travelling
Due to many bends and ascents the average trainTrain
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s' speed was only 25 km/h and together with all stops the whole journey between Trieste and Poreč took around 7 hours. At slower sections passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s could jump off the train, pick a fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
from one of many orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s or relieve themselves (there were no toilet
Toilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
s in cars
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
) and return back to the train. Many stowaways who could not afford to buy expensive ticket
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
s used this option to avoid ticket controls. At the steepest sections locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s often could not handle the slope so all passengers had to disembark the train and push it. Sometimes the train stopped because children greased rail tracks
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
with fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s so the journey could only continue when the tracks were cleaned.
Locomotives and rolling stock
During the first years of the railway U-series 3-axis steam locomotiveSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s without tenders
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
were used to operate trains. They proved inefficient to handle many ascents and bends, so more efficient locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s of P-series were ordered. They were designed by Karl Gölsdorf
Karl Gölsdorf
Karl Gölsdorf was an Austrian engineer and locomotive designer.-Early Life:Karl Gölsdorf was born on 8 June 1861 in Vienna, the son of Louis Adolf Gölsdorf. Even as a schoolboy he was introduced to locomotive design by his father, the chief mechanical engineer of the Imperial and Royal Southern...
(as a combination of a larger version of U-series and a smaller version of a tender locomotive
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
that were already operating in Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
) and the first three were assembled and delivered by the Krauss factory in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
in 1911. Additional 3 were ordered but never finished due to the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1903 a small single car train with a steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
at one end, a BCM/s51, produced by Komarek factory in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, was introduced. It did not meet all expectations so in 1906 it was sold to a local railway in Pinzgau
Pinzgau
The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region....
. After Italian annexation of Istria the new administration of the railroad ordered four additional locomotives (copies of the P-series) from Officine Meccaniche Italiane in Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
. They were delivered in 1922 and 1923.
All cars
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
were 8.5 meters long. Passenger cars had 30 seat
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
s and were paraffin oil lit. They had balconies
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
but no toilet
Toilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
s. In addition, freight cars (both open and covered ones) and luggage
Luggage
Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers which hold a traveller's articles during transit.Luggage is more or less the same concept as "baggage", but is normally used in relation to the personal luggage of a specific person or persons Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers...
cars were in use. In 1935, just before the decision to close down the line, a total of 180 cars of all types were in use.
Remains
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
(embankment
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
s, cutting
Cutting
Cutting is the separation of a physical object, or a portion of a physical object, into two portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. An implement commonly used for cutting is the knife or in medical cases the scalpel...
s, bridges, viaducts, etc.) survives today. According to the Croatian association Porečanka it could still be possible to reconstruct the railway at 94% of the original route. Several milestone
Milestone
A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
s with the inscription "T.P.C." still stand along the former route.
Most of railway stations survive as well, mostly they were converted into homes, workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s, warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s. The former "Savudrija station" in Valica still carries the original sign with an inscription "Salvore".
All 8 tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s also still exist. Some of them were used to grow mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s. The others were and still are used by foot travellers and cyclists as "shortcuts". Probably the most famous of such tunnels is the one between Strunjan
Strunjan
Strunjan is a settlement in the Piran Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:The Strunjan Nature Reserve, located along a 4 km stretch of Adriatic coast to the north of the settlement, is the longest section of unspoilt coastline in the entire Gulf of Trieste.The Parish...
and Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
.
Of the original U-series of locomotives, U-37 is still preserved. After withdrawing from the Porečanka it was sold to the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n railway between Weiz
Weiz
Weiz is a small town of 9,445 inhabitants in the eastern part of Styria, Austria.Its partner city is Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland...
, Birkfeld
Birkfeld
Birkfeld is a market town with 1650 inhabitants in Styria, Austria. Birkfeld belongs to the Weiz political district. It lies in the valley of the Feistritz river....
and Ratten
Ratten
Ratten is a municipality in the district of Weiz in Styria, Austria....
, during World War I it was moved to a Bosnian logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
railway and later it was operating at the brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
in Busovača
Busovaca
Busovača is a small town and municipality in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is from Sarajevo, from Zenica, and from Travnik.-History:During the Bosnian War, the city saw heavy fighting between the Bosnian Army and the Croatian Defence Council...
. After its "retirement" it was exhibited in front of the new railway station in Koper (built in 1967 for the new standard gauge line from Divača
Divaca
Divača is a small town and municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia, a few kilometres from the Italian border.The Parish Church in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Anthony the Hermit and belongs to the Diocese of Koper....
) together with a few Bosnian cars, that were never used at the Porečanka. Another preserved U-series locomotive, U-40, is still in operation at Austrian Murtalbahn
Murtalbahn
The Murtalbahn is a narrow-gauge railway which runs from the market town of Unzmarkt through Murau to Tamsweg in the Austrian state of Styria although Tamsweg is just inside the federal state of Salzburg...
.
Two of P-series locomotives survived. P-7 is now exhibited in the technical museum Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
in Milano. P-4 arrived to Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
during World War II. Before "retirement" it was in use around Čačak
Cacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
. In front of Izola
Izola
Izola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...
's petrol station a P-3 was exhibited in 2002 but this locomotive never operated at the Porečanka. In the 1980s the railway museum in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
acquired another interesting locomotive of P-series. It was assembled after World War I by Krauss from the parts that were initially intended for three additional locomotives ordered by the TPC administration but the war canceled the order.
External links
- A site about the railroad's centennial: in Slovenian and Italian
- Žusterna.si (in Slovenian only)
- History of Savudrija (in Slovenian only)
- Istrianet (major part in Italian)
- Croatian association for reconstruction of the railway (in Croatian only)