Trip to Czech Republic - October 2003
General Notes
The main part of this trip (16 to 19 October) was organised by GIL Incentive- und Bildungsreisen, Margarete-Massias-Str. 14, D-69124 Heidelberg, Germany, and comprised a group of 15 enthusiasts from Germany and Great Britain. The party was led by Kai Hellwig, to whom I offer my thanks for another excellent trip.
Operating Company Abbreviations:
- ČD - České Drahy (Czech Railways)
| Place | Arrive | Depart | Train | Traction details & notes |
Wednesday 15th October 2003
| Timperley | 06:00 | - | Taxi | |
| Manchester Airport (MAN) | 06:10 | 07:40 | OK647 | Czech Airlines Boeing 737-400 OK-DGM |
| Prague Airport (PRG) | 10:50 | |||
| Letiště Ruzyně | 11:34 | '319' | bus | |
| Hostivice | 12:05 | 12:16 | 2508 | ČD DR 810 560-3 + 1T |
| * Lužna u Rakovníka | ČD DR 810 560-3 + 1T + 810 561-1 | |||
| Rakovník | 13:53 | 14:14 | 17708 | ČD DR 810 560-3 |
| Kralovice u Rakovníka | 14:57 | 15:30 | 8 | bus |
| Mladotice | 15:49 | 16:28 | 7607 | ČD DR 831 162-3 + 1T + 831 130-0 |
| Plzeň hl.n. | 17:33 | 19:10 | 765 | ČD EL 242 251-7 |
| Strakonice | 20:08 | arr 8 late | ||
| New passenger track today: Čistá - Kralovice u Rakovníka. | ||||
| Overnight at Hotel Amber Hotel Bavor, Na Ohradě 31, 361 01 Strakonice (10 minutes walk from station, in centre of town). | ||||
| Notes Bus route 319 from the airport is very useful if intending to travel westwards from Praha. Timings can be found in ČD table 121 as, between Středokluky and Hostivice, the buses form a rail-replacement service. Čistá to Kralovice u Rakovníka re-opened in 2002, though a bus service remains in place onwards to Mladotice. Overnight in Strakonice to get into position for the journey to Nové Údolí next day. |
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Thursday 16th October 2003
| Strakonice | 08:14 | 18104 | ČD DR 810 509-1 (+ 1T to Vimperk) | |
| Volary | 10:24 | 10:37 | 8166 | ČD DR 810 575-1 |
| Nové Údolí | 11:06 | |||
| Nové Údolí PJD | 12:10 | - | ? Pošumavská Jižní Dráha photo | |
| Haidmühle Zoll | 12:12 | 12:12 | - | ? Pošumavská Jižní Dráha |
| Nové Údolí PJD | 12:14 | |||
| Nové Údolí | 12:50 | special | ČD DR 810 523-1 | |
| Volary | 13:23 | 13:33 | 8104 | ČD DR 810 757-1 |
| Kájov | 15:08 | 15:15 | special | ČD DR 810 265-9; also JIP DL 711 005-9 within paperworks |
| via hrotová úvrať (reverse at end of line) - JIP Větřní [paper works] (reverse at end of line 16:09/12) - hrotová úvrať (reverse) - Kájov (reverse 17:07/17) - Odbočka Rožnov - diveunder - České Budějovice low level goods lines 18:13/18 - Výhybna Nemanice I (reverse 18:24/25) - via avoiding line - Výhybna Nemanice II (18:29) | ||||
| Hluboká nad Vltavou | 18:45 | 18:54 | 664 | ČD EL 242 212-9 |
| Plzeň hl.n. | 20:37 | 20:45 | special | ČD EL 242 212-9 |
| Plzeň Jižní předměstí | 20:50 | |||
| New passenger track today: none. | ||||
| Overnight at Hotel Škoda, nám. Českých bratří 10, 31600 Plzeň (5 minutes walk from Jižní předměstí station). | ||||
| Notes This was the first day of the GIL special trip. "Pošumavská Jižní Dráha" ("Böhmerwald Südbahn") is claimed to be the shortest international railway in the world, at 105m long. Part of the line (!) is on the alignment of the closed railway route between Nové Údolí and Haidmühle. The branch to the paper works at Větřní is very steeply graded. We ran via the goods lines at the east side of the station at České Budějovice, then via the freight-only curve between the Praha and Plzeň lines. The service train was extended to Jižní předměstí to make it easier to get to the hotel. |
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Friday 17th October 2003
| Plzeň Jižní předměstí | 07:30 | special | ČD DR 810 259-0 | |
| via extensive visit to Škoda works [15 reversals: sever 07:49 - jih 08:16 - Karlov 08:39 - to test track 09:40 - jih 09:56] - Plzeň Jižní předměstí (10:02) - Plzeň hl.n. (10:05/27) - Plzeň Koterov (reverse 10:32/37) - Plzeň lobézské koleje [east end avoiding line] - Chrást u Plzně (10:54) - Hořovice (reverse 11:25/27) - BUZULUK Komárov (reverse 11:47/11:59) - | ||||
| Hořovice | 12:04 | 12:05 | 7807 | ČD EL 363 079-5 |
| Beroun | 12:29 | 13:13 | special | ČD DR 810 278-2 |
| via 6 reversals to get to VČS branch - VČS Tmaň cement works (3 reversals 13:50/14:05) - 2 reversals to get off branch - Beroun (14:48) - Nučice (reverse 15:09/15:13) - Hořelice (end of line, reverse 15:14/18) photo - Mořina (3 reversals 15:56/16:00) - Hořelice (16:37/41) - Nučice (16:49) - Rudná u Prahy (reverse 16:54/16:59) - Hostivice (reverse 17:08/48) - | ||||
| Kladno | 18:08 | 18:30 | - | bus to Hotel |
| Hotel Kladno | 18:35 | |||
| New passenger track today: none. | ||||
| Overnight at Hotel Kladno, Kladno. | ||||
| Notes The day started with an extensive visit to the Škoda works at Plzeň. This has two connections to the ČD network, from the north and south sides of the main running lines at Plzeň Jižní předměstí. After a trip around the avoiding line at the east end of the layout at Plzeň we visited the freight branch from Hořovice to a general industrial siding at Komárov. A service train ride to Beroun, and time for lunch there, connected into another special. We first visited the cement works at Tmaň - after a nearly endless set of reversals to get to the branch - then the long branch to a quarry at Mořina. This latter branch is the remains of a former long-distance alternative freight route to Kladno. |
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Saturday 18th October 2003
| Hotel Kladno | 06:35 | - | bus | |
| Kamenné Žehrovice | 06:45 | 07:00 | special | ČD DR 810 278-2 |
| via Kačice (reverse 07:05/10) - Důl Libušin (reverse 07:12/17) - Kačice (reverse 07:23/28) - Kamenné Žehrovice (07:38) - Kladno (07:46/08:23) - Kladno-Dubí (reverse 08:32/08:34) - extensive visit to Kladno steelworks [11 reversals] photo - Kladno-Dubí (12:00) - Kralupy nad Vltavou (12:33) - Úžice (reverse 12:42/49) - 6.5km branch to airfield (reverse 13:08/12) - Úžice (reverse 13:28/13:29) - SKP Kaučuk siding (reverse 13:33/35) - Úžice (reverse 13:42/45) - Chvatěruby (reverse 13:53/55) - Vlečka Kaučuk sidings (reverse) - on formation of original route over river Vltava - reverse at road crossing (14:04/09) - sidings (reverse 14:14) - Chvatěruby (14:22) - Kralupy nad Vltavou (arr. 14:25 [53 mins. early], break, dep. 15:07) - Vraňany - Dolní Beřkovice (15:27) - via Mělník power station arrival and departure lines - Hněvice sidings (reverse 16:06) - onto Papírny Štětí (Frantschach) paperworks system - over Labe river bridge - exchange sidings line 109 (16:20/37) - via 3 reversals to line 11 (reverse 16:47) - line 12 - line 101 (reverse 16:56) - line 401 - line 409 - reverse (17:03/7) - line 102a (reverse 17:12) - line 406 (reverse 17:15) - off paperworks system - Štětí (17:25/39) - Mělník (reverse 17:53/17:58) - onto Mělník-Labe [port railway] - Hafen 1 (18:17/22) - riverbank line north end (reverse 18:31) - via triangle (reverse 18:37) - riverbank line south end (reverse 18:40) - direct to north end (reverse 18:58) - port arrival line (reverse 18:55) - to apex of triangle (reverse 18:59) - | ||||
| Mělník | 18:45 | 19:10 | bus arrive 18 late | |
| Hotel Ludmila | 19:15 | |||
| New passenger track today: new alignment of main line between Vraňany and Dolní Beřkovice. | ||||
| Overnight at Hotel Ludmila, Pražská 2639, 27601 Mělník | ||||
| Notes The colliery at Důl Libušin appears to be virtually closed. We covered most of the available track in the steelworks at Kladno. Each of the branches and industrial areas visited had its own interest, including covering part of the original route between Chvatěruby and Kralupy nad Vltavou (the remains of the river bridge are still visible from the present bridge), and the paperworks system at Štětí which has its own bridge over the river Labe and connects into both the left and right bank lines. A full coverage of the docks lines at Mělník concluded a very interesting day, though it ended in the dark! |
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Sunday 19th October 2003
| Mělník | 07:25 | 613 | ČD EL 141 054-7 | |
| Nymburk hl.n. | 08:01 | 08:15 | special | M240 0089 (=ex-ČD 820 089-1) |
| via Nymburk město (reverse 08:20/5) - Veleliby (reverse 08:32/5) - goods lines to north of Nymburk hl.n. - Odb. Babín (08:57) - Velký Osek (09:12) - long curve - Vyh. Kanín (reverse 09:19/22) - short curve - Velký Osek (09:26) - Kolín (09:37) - Kutná Hora hl.n. (09:51/55) - branch towards ČKD works (reverse at gate 10:18/10:24) - Kutná Hora hl.n. (double reversal 10:50/11:11) - Kolín (11:25) - Velim (11:34) - onto ŽZO Cerhenice test track connection - Cerhenice sidings km0.0=km13.3 (reverse 11:59) - anticlockwise via large loop - km7.0 (12:02) - km5.0 (12:05) - km0.0 (reverse 12:15/6) - onto connecting line to small loop - south to east curve (12:21) - loop - north to east curve (12:33) - loop (photo) - north to south curve (12:49) - km0.0 (reverse 12:54/5) - sidings (reverse 12:56/13:00 photo) - connecting line - | ||||
| Velim | 13:15 | 13:23 | 674 | ČD EL 362 164-6 via Vitkov |
| Praha hl.n. | 14:05 | |||
| Hlavní Nádraží | 14:17 | 'C' | metro | |
| Háje | 14:37 | 14:44 | '271' | bus |
| Skalka | 15:09 | 15:15 | 'A' | metro |
| Můstek | 15:30 | 15:36 | 'B' | metro |
| Černý Most | 15:56 | 16:31 | 'B' | metro |
| Můstek | 16:50 | 16:57 | 'A' | metro |
| Dejvická | 17:03 | 17:15 | '119' | bus |
| Letiště Ruzyně | 17:35 | |||
| Prague Airport (PRG) | 19:25 | OK646 | Czech Airlines Boeing 737-400 OK-FGR | |
| Manchester Airport (MAN) | 20:46 | 20:53 | - | Taxi |
| Timperley | 21:06 | |||
| New passenger track today: none. | ||||
| Notes Today we used a "preserved" railcar rather than a ČD one. After visiting the avoiding line west of Nymburk hl.n. (though this does have a passenger service) we used the goods lines through the yards east of Nymburk. We used both the long and short curves at Velký Osek, again the latter does see passenger trains but these can be awkward to find in the timetable. The branch at Kutná Hora was a little disappointing as, unusually, we did not really get to a defined end of line. Finally a highlight for me was the full coverage of the test track at Cerhenice (sometimes known as Velim). As a first-time visitor our railcar was limited to 40km/h! On the service train back into Praha we used the "alternative" route via Vitkov, again, usage of this is difficult to detect from the timetable. Filled in the rest of the day by finishing off the Praha metro, then the more conventional route to the airport. |
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Tickets used (excluding special trains): single journey tickets throughout.