“Serbia 🇷🇸 ~Sargan Eight Train Ride in Mokra Gora”
We had a fun day, indeed!
The weather started out with a storm, as we waited for the train to arrive to the station, but in the two hour ride, we would see some sunshine. It all made for some interesting photography; very challenging, in fact, but regardless, we had a very nice time. It was scenic, very clean, and well laid out. There were many tunnels, as well, which surprised us.
The train cars were full of people; mostly families with children. We had a few stops to stretch thy legs and get photos, or buy ice cream. Daryl was in heaven as he found a few English-speakers. One was from New Jersey, and the other from Sweden. I have always enjoyed watching Daryl visit with others. It is one of the things he does, that drew me to him, before we had met. He laughs, and jokes, and has fun. He is very social and comfortable with strangers, especially those he speaks to who love to travel as much as he does.
We had no trouble getting our tickets for the train ride at 4PM. They were waiting for us, just like the nice man on the phone, yesterday, said they would be. The cost was just under $20 for the both of us. Each train car is different, and it was fun to take a peek in a few, after all the humans left the cars and the station. The train cars are all very clean, and have been refurbished, nicely. There are a group of withers who wash the windows on the car, constantly, in between runs. As a photographer, this is really great! Though, today, I put down my window, and nobody yelled at me, and made me put it back up, so I got clean shots, anyway. The route was clean and tidy as well. It was picture perfect!
A ride on the Sargan Eight Railroad will take you on a trip, into the past. While sitting on the wooden benches, we had a chance to observe the incredible landscape of this part of Serbia, to learn about its history and the incredible engineering accomplishment it once represented.
Sargan Eight was a part of a narrow railroad, which was to connect two main railroads constructed by two countries: Serbia; from Belgrade to Mokra Gora),and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire; from Dubrovnik to Visegrad. The construction of this connecting railroad started during the First World War, by the occupational Austro-Hungarian forces, only to be abandoned soon afterwards. The construction began in in 1916, Sadly, during the construction of one tunnel, it collapsed killing 200 Russian and Italian war prisoners (prisoners who were forced to work on the railroad).
In 1922, when the work on the railroad continued, engineers were faced with a huge problem of bypassing a large altitude difference between the two railroads. For this reason, the authorities turned to an Austro-Hungarian war prisoner who was sentenced to life and to whom liberty had been promised, if he managed to solve the problem. Even though he managed to solve the problem; one day, two teams in charge of digging a tunnel failed to meet as expected and distraught war prisoner committed suicide; though the very next day, those two teams we able to meet up the difference, the very next day.
Sargan Eight railroad is considered an engineering masterpiece of the time, since it managed to connect two railroads and bypass over 984 feet of altitude difference. The unique solution was to use rails that would form a shape of the number 8 (a figure that allowed overcoming the altitude difference).
This small section of railway tracks passes over five bridges and through 22 tunnels, which makes it a unique railway track in Europe.
During the shooting of the film “Life is a Miracle” by Emir Kusturica, a special train station was built, called Golubici. Today, it has became a regular station stop of the nostalgic train.
Does anybody remember having an electric train set as a kid? Well, my brother had one, and he let me play with it once in a while. My dad got him a big piece of plywood, and then my brother and I spent hours painting the green grass area on it, adding roads, then he put together track, and the lay of the town, with miniature stores, water tower, churches, farm animals in a field, train tunnels, trees, and a station. Our ride today, had me thinking back to those days when I was so young. I felt like I was on that play train and going though a perfect little village with all the miniature decor, yet I was on a real train, in a real place. It was super cool! I totally recommend, if you are ever in western Serbia!
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
Love the scenery. Everything looks pristine and clean as could possibly be. I’ve never had much thought about Serbia, but this journey of yours has really opened my eyes to things I’ll probably never see first hand. Loved that old car, and the train cars blew my mind. I’m a wood freak. I was surprised to see heating had been provided in one of the cars you pictured. I assume they all share that heating technique. Its obvious you’ve spent a lot of time behind a camera. Nice work. Your writing skills too, just draw the reader into the action. I’ve really enjoyed your adventures
Thank you so much for the nice compliment. It is nice to hear from you, my work is appreciated. I love revealing countries in this world which a lot of people don’t ever consider being a place to visit. Serbia is one of those places. Out of all the Balkans so far, Serbia is the most challenging for driving around in, due to lack of English signage and understanding their road systems. The train was really fun. We have been in so many trains around the world, I will most likely do a book, just on trains! The area was very tidy and clean for sure, which we always appreciate! Thank you again, for your comment!