Romania in 2007 and 2009

2011

2011-06-24T01:46:00.000-07:00

We are returning to Romania next week visiting Iasi, Galati, Braila and Bucuresti. I will publish some tram pictures here. We are also visiting Chisinau and the weather forecast is heavy rain. I will publish trolleybus pictures here.

Some Figures

2009-05-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few figures about our journey from Luton to Athens by air, Athens to Timisoara by rail and Timisoara to Luton by air. All the train journeys were second class and the prices include seat reservations and various express train supplements. We pre-booked hotels and flights on the internet but just went to the various railway stations and bought tickets for the trains.

Timisoara

2009-04-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

1. Bremen.

2. Munich.

3. Horse tram.

4. Karlsruhe.

Track and overhead

2009-04-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

The tramway through the centre of Arad is closed for reconstruction.
1. Cutting down old span wires.

2. Well worn track.

3. This point is still in use for the curve. The lady was about to clean and grease it.

4. Setting up a Thermit weld.

Arad2

2009-04-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

1. Bridge on main road to Timisoara.

2. Ex RHB tram and trailer at Ghioroc terminus.

3. I remember these. 467 motors and 1106 trailers were built between 1956 and 1967.

4. Ex OEG tram set reversing. You can just see the flag lady in orange on the left.

Arad 1

2009-04-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today we saw trams from 10 different German speaking towns.
1. Halle (DDR) and Ulm (BRD).

2. We only saw one tram new to Arad - a T4R.

3 & 4. Former Essen 1755. A question. Pic 4 shows the rear cab - are the electrical contacts in the open cupboard low voltage?
Thanks for the replies. Another question. Given that it ws the rear cab - would any of the contacts be live?

Halle 903

2009-04-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Oradea 2

2009-04-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

1. Refurbished T4D - I suspect it may be ex Dresden.

2. Kath's new friend and his tram.

3. Depot shunter.

4. And so to bed.

Oradea

2009-04-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Oradea has a well maintained and effective tramway and has the first low floor cars I have seen in RO. The track is good and there are loading islands at most stops. However at the station and city centre you have to use an underpass to get to the stop!
1. The roof of a low floor car from hotel room.

2. Ex Berlin KT4D on more traditional Romanian street. Didn't see low floor cars oon this route.

3. Double ended single-sided T4D on shuttle service to mostly derelict factories. Driver is sitting in back cab.

4. The low floor cars are Siemens ULF design. Don't know how they work as they have 4 single wheels each side under the grey panels.

Cluj

2009-04-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

1. Plenty of electricity! Ex Magdeburg T4D. Very few of these in service.

2. I was very pleased to ride on this tram. One of the very few Romanian built Timis trams remaining. We only saw this one with matching tailer also number 1.

3. The backbone of the fleet are ex Berlin KT4Ds.

4. In Potsdam fleet livery, several of these modernised KT4Ds were in service. Note the plug doors and replacement windows. These are in excellent condition.

Romania

2009-04-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

1. The single track railway from Ruse (BG) to Videle (RO) runs down the middle of a village street.

2. Bucuresti - Romanian built tram.

3 & 4. Ex Potsdam Tatra KT4Ds in Ploiesti.

Sofia - Sunday

2009-04-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

The number of hits has plummeted last week. Sorry it will be Romania not Crich next week.

1. Two routes, both Tatra operated, run thro these woods.

2. Graffiti.

3. Rain.

4. The latest rebuild of narrow gauge cars.

Tatra T4D from Halle

2009-04-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

I only saw these Tatras on one route. Don't forget 902 used to have metre gauge bogies.

Sofia - Friday

2009-04-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

1 & 2. Museum tram (1009 mm gauge) - built 1935 by MAN.

3 & 4. Two for Christoph. Standard gauge cars from Bonn.

Sofia - Thursday

2009-04-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

1. Bulgarian trains are not very fast.

2. Typical tram.

3. Tatra (ex Halle, I think).

4. Low floor centre section.

Athens Tuesday

2009-04-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Athens

2009-04-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

1. 21st century water tram. It hasn't rained today. Look carefully under the front of the tram,

2. Parked car holding up tram service.

3. Ancient Greek wagon way.

4. Ancient Greek tramway at Acropolis metro station.

tram drivers' friends

2007-05-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

RATB

2007-05-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Bucharest is unusual in not having a fleet of foreign trams. The only type we saw were these V3As. We also saw a lot of track reconstruction with some routes partially closed.

Bucharest

2007-05-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Part of Ceasuescu's 'palace' is now open to the public. Construction was not started when we visited in 1982.

Hostel Baneasa Parc

2007-05-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

My plan was to spend the last two nights of our holiday in a large hotel in the northern suburbs of Bucharest conveniently situated on the tram route to Baneasa Airport. It was full as was the Ramada down the road. However the receptionist in the Ramada was very helpful and phoned round for us and found the Hostel Baneasa Parc.
This hotel is one bus stop north of Baneasa Airport just off the main road to Otopeni Airport and can only be accessed from the southbound carriageway. However as the pictures show it was well worth the hassel in finding it.
We would recommend it to anyone visiting Bucharest.

Trams from Berlin, Rotterdam and Nuremburg

2007-05-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

1. Ex-Berlin KT4D.
2. Ex-Rotterdam Duwag artic.
3. Ex Nurembur bogie car built by MAN in 1959.

Braila

2007-05-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

1. Trackwork.
2. Most points are in Romania are manually operated and missing point box lids etc are common.

Rotterdam, Berlin and Dresden.

2007-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

1 & 2. These relatively modern cars from Rotterdam seem to be the latest arrivals.
3. Ex-Berlin KT4Ds.
4. 0084 from Dresden with offside doors.

Galati

2007-05-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

1 & 4. The Hotel Galati where we have now stayed three times. Each time the standard of accomodation and the food has improved. In 1982 they couldn't offer us an evening meal - 'We are not rich in food'.
2. The minibuses vastly outnumber the trams and buses.
3. Very few of these span wires seem to be doing any work.

Trams from Bern, Halle, Iasi and Augsburg

2007-05-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

1. A Swiss standard car from Bern.
2. A Tatra T4D from Halle.
3. A Tatra T4R delivered new to Iasi in 1977.
4. One of the unusual Augsburg cars of 1964 with the front section mounted on a 6 wheel truck and the rear on a 4 wheel bogie.

Iasi Hotels and views

2007-05-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

1. The Hotel Unirea where we stayed this year and in 1982.
2. Sadly The Grand Hotel Train was fully booked.
3. & 4. Views from the top floor restaurant.

Iasi

2007-05-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

A selection on metre guage cars from Switzerland and Germany. Note that all the tram have a licence plate in addition to a fleet number.
1. 149 from Bern.
2. 328 from Stuttgart.
3. 107 from Darmstadt.
4. 269 from Halle.

More horses

2007-05-20T00:27:00.000-07:00

There are still vast numbers of simple horse drawn carts like this on the roads in Romania. A minority of the drivers now wear high visibility jackets. A few have reflective strips on the rear and we didn't see any with any form of lighting.

Botosani

2007-05-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

Botosani is one of the new tramways opening in 1991. It now has two routes operated by former Dresden T4Ds.

44

2007-05-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

The outer end of route 1 is operated as a shuttle service by one tram.
1. Look carefully at this picture and you will see that it is a double ended T4D. Christoph Heuer tells me that this was Magdeburg 1206 and that 13 such cars were converted to single-sided double-ended layout in 1985/86.
2. Another rear view.
3. The rear driving position.
4. Interior looking towards the rear.

Oradea

2007-05-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

There are three routes in Oradea numbered 1, 2 and 3. The 1 and the 3 go round a large town centre loop and are numbered 1N and 3N clockwise and 1R and 3R anti-clockwise.
1. Tatra T4D 13 was once Magdeburg 1194.
2. KT4D 208 was Berlin 9027.
3. T4d 26 from Magdeburg.
4. KT4D 224 from Berlin.

Back to Arad

2007-05-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

1. There is a rather nice river bridge on route 3 in Arad. Traffic volumes made it very difficult to photograph. Banat trailer 16 towed by 15.
2. Arad town hall.

Ronat

2007-05-19T04:47:00.000-07:00

In 1982 we went to Ronat on a pair of Hungarian style back to back 4-wheel trams. Since the the route has been extended about one stop and a turning circle constructed and there is now a surfaced road alongside the tram track.
1. Munich 2035 at the new terminus Razboini.
2. The tram stop at Ronat.
3. Munich 2034 approaching the city centre.
4. 2034 on its return journey.

Bremen and Munich trams

2007-05-19T04:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the Timisoara trams come from Munich or Bremen.
1. 3452 was built in 1967 and came from Bremen in 1995.
2. 2042 was built in 1968 and came from Munich in 2001.
3. There is a trams only crossing near the city centre which is protected by half barrier poles. 3503 is a 1973 Bremen car.
4. 3503 at the crossing. Note the superb track and overhead.

Timisoara

2007-05-19T04:38:00.000-07:00

Unlike most Romanian tramways, the track and overhead wiring in Timisoara are in good condition - all that is needed now are some modern trams to run on the new track.
1. These 2 Banat cars were parked near the station - we didn't see any in use.
2. Route 3 was cut back to Dambovita with a shuttle bus service provided by classical Ikarus buses. The track and overhead are new but tram number 105 comes from Karlsruhe and was built in 1959.
3. Duwag 2502 in what I think is the new fleet livery.
4. Our hire car with a Munich tram in the background.

Arad's German trams

2007-05-19T04:31:00.000-07:00

Most of the trams in Arad are second hand metre guage cars from Germany.
1. 1126, a Tatra T4d from Halle alongside Banat 212 at Fat Frumos.
2. Stutgart GT4 number 554 built in 1960 and in Arad since 1995.
3. 1860 a Duwag from Essen also built in 1960 but only in Arad since 2001.
4. 1008 a Stadtbahn type car from Essen delivered to Arad since 2004.

Banat trams

2007-05-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

Arad was the only town where we saw Romanian built Banat trams in service.
1. Tram number 1 built in 1981 and modernised 10 years ago in the town centre bound for Ghioroc.
2. Trailer 2 at Vladimirescu.
3. Motor car number 15 at Vladimirescu.
4. Twighlight in the town centre. I don't know what number this one is.

Hotel Arad

2007-05-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

The Hotel Arad is in the centre of the town, very near to the Continental. It has refurbished rooms, a terrace restaurant and a car park. It also has a collection of garden gnomes.

Chioroc

2007-05-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Chioroc at 12:45 to find that the next ram on the 22 km roadside line to Arad was at 13:26. There is an excellant cake shop/cafe near to the turning circle so we couln't havee timed it better.
1. The tram arrives from Arad (A Duwag 6 axle artic of 1960 from Ludwigshafen).
2. Reversing on the triangle - the man on the left is the flag man.
3. The depot is on the outskirts of the town and features these tram jacks.
2. Returning to Arad.

Rasinari

2007-05-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

General views of Rasinari village.
1. The main street.
2. The village pub - only bottled beer and crisps.
3. A well.
4. A side street.

Horses

2007-05-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

The following pictures were all taken in the village of Rasinari.

1. The tram turns round on the outskirts of the village.
2. The bus however continues along the main street to the centre.
3. A common scene in Romania - a horse and a cart seemingly abandoned at the roadside.
4. A general view of the tramway as it enters the village.

Sibiu's tram (Part 2)

2007-05-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

1. Approaching Rasinari.
2. Reversing round the triangle at Sibiu and picking up a late-comer.
3. Drawing forwards on the triangle. (Note the English language slogan)
4. Setting off for Rasinari at 16:00.

Sibiu's tram (part 1)

2007-05-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

The only tram route in Sibiu is the rural line to Rasinari which has changed very little since 1982. The Romanian 4 wheel trams have been replaced by bogie cars from Geneva and the tram service has been drastically cut and now one car provides an hourly peak hour service on weekdays and an all day service on Saturdays and Sundays. There is also an hourly weekday bus service.
1. Geneva 721 as we found it at about 09:30 - parked up after its morning journeys. Fortunately there was a timetable pasted in the window from which we deduced that the next journey was at 13:00.
2. We were right and a driver arrived at 12:45 and pumped up the air etc.
3. At Rasinari the tram reverses round this triangle with no supervision at the rear.
4. Drawing forwards.

Sibiu - European City of Culture 2007

2007-05-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sibiu is this year's European City of Culture but it is not quite ready. The central area contains a number of magnicently restored buildings but most of the town is still suffering from half a centuary's neglect.
1. We arrived and easily found a newish hotel near to the railway station. We then walked along streets like this one to the centre.
2. The central area is magnificent but filled with parked cars.
3. The railway station buildings on the left are closed for reconstruction. The square and steet outside are also closed. The trolleybuses now terminate at a roundabout on the main road and T1 is operated by motor buses.
4. In the evening we went to a cellar bar. I can recommend the Silva dark beer.

Ploiesti

2007-05-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

Ploiesti is the home of one of Romania's new (post 1982) tramways having opened in 1987. We drove through on May day morning and saw a few ex Potsdam KT4Ds. As is usual in today's Romania the second hand cars have been placed in service without repainting. The state of the track can be seen from the photos. We then drove to Sibiu stopping for 'michis' (small sausages) for lunch. The roads in Romania have detoriated since 1982, the traffic has increased and the standard of driving is questionable.