Pelion railway

 Pelion railway (2009) 
A Tubize locomotive hauls a charter train
from Ano Lechonia to Mileai.
Line length: 28.200 km (17.523 mi)
Track gauge: 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in)
Legend
Depot
0.000 Volos
Jetty
Koleti
Orminiou
Filellinon
Vlachava
2.900 Anavros
5.300
7.850 Agria R.S.
8.324 Agria
10.921 Kato Lechonia
12.429 Ano Lechonia
Depot
18.842 Gazea
20.337 Ag. Triada
23.430 Pinakates
24.300 Ag. Athanasios
28.200 Mileai

Pelion railway was a narrow gauge (600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in)) railway line of Thessaly Railways in Greece, connecting the city of Volos with the town of Mileai on Pelion.

Contents

History

After Thessaly Railways completed the construction of the metre gauge lines from Volos to Larissa and Kalampaka (1886) they decided to extend their network eastwards, to connect Volos with the communities of Pelion Peninsula. Due to limited space and mountainous terrain they decided to build this extension in 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge. The new line extended from Volos station through Volos city center (as a tramway) to Agria (1892), reaching Ano Lechonia in 1896 and Mileai (Milies) in 1903.

The section from Volos station to Anavros is essentially a tramway. In addition to Pelion trains, tram services have operated in the past on this section. From Anavros to Agria and Lechonia the line has no special features, most notable being the concrete bridge over River Vrychon.

In contrast, the mountain section from Ano Lechonia to Mileai has a number of interesting civil engineering features, including seven stone bridges, an iron bridge at Milies, two tunnels and five stone road bridges over the line. Engine sheds were built at Volos, Agria and Mileai, but now the locomotives are maitained at a new shed at Ano Lechonia. Turntables were installed at Volos and Mileai, the latter being replaced recently with a new one of larger diameter to accommodate the diesel locomotives. Water towers were built at Agria, Ano Lechonia (still in use) and Mileai.[1]

The line was operated by Thessaly Railways until 1955 and then taken over by the Hellenic State Railways. In 1971 it was transferred with the rest of the Greek railway lines to Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), which promptly suspended the service as a cost-saving measure.

The section from Volos to Agria was operated as a heritage railway by "The Friends of Pelion Railway" between 1987 and 1994, but OSE forced them to terminate the operation in order to preserve OSE's state-imposed monopoly. However in 1996 OSE reopened the section from Ano Lechonia to Mileai as a heritage railway, initially using steam traction and converting to diesel traction in 1999.[2] The stations of Ano Lechonia and Agria, which had been severely damaged by earthquakes, were restored according to the original designs.

Current services

Currently TrainOSE runs one train every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday from mid-April to the end of October. The service runs every day during July and August. According to the current timetable (1 August 2009) train 3800 departs Ano Lechnonia at 11:00 and arrives to Milies at 12:20, stopping at Ano Gazea. Return train 3801 departs Milies at 16:00 and arrives to Ano Lechnonia at 17:15.[3]

Rolling stock

Numbers Type QTY Manufacturer Model Power (HP) Year Photo
0-8-0T 3 Weidknecht 1892
0-4-0T 1 Weidknecht 1892
2-6-0T 2 Tubize 1909
2-6-0T 3 Haine St. Pierre 1912
0-4-0T 2 Decauville 1912
4-6-0T 1 Baldwin 1917/1950
A1, A2 2 Schoema 1999

See also

References

  1. ^ * I. Zartaloudis, D. Karatolos, D. Koutelidis, G. Nathenas, S. Fasoulas, A. Filippoupolitis, A. (1997) (in Greek). Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (Hellenic Railways). Μίλητος (Militos). pp. 264–275. ISBN 960-8460-07-7. 
  2. ^ Organ, J. (2006). Greece Narrow Gauge. Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-72-1. 
  3. ^ TrainOSE S.A. "Timetables 1 August 2009", Table 5A/B

External links and further reading

  • Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pelion_railway Pelion railway] at Wikimedia Commons
  • Hans-Bernhard Schönborn (1997). Schmalspurbahnen in Griechenland. Edition Ergasias. pp. 201–205, 228, 241–242, 252. ISBN 3-909221-32-7. 
  • George Nathenas, Militsa Karathanou (2006). The Little Train of Pelion. Athens: Militos Editions. ISBN 960-8460-68-9. 
  • Greece — Railway Map (2nd Edition). London, UK: The Quail Map Company. 1992. ISBN 0900609-85-0. 
  • Simms, W.F. (1997). The railways of Greece. Wilfried F. Sims. pp. 12, 79. ISBN 0-9528881-1-4. 
  • Pelion railway at science.gr
  • The Railways of Volos by James Waite (The International Steam pages, 2010).