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Hire Boats Gas Steet Basin in early 1960's

Lizzy J

By Lizzy J
in History & Heritage

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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I am reliably informed that there is a fair number of Romanian "ladies" around the "Mailbox" and the flats near Gas St, however my informant tells me they are "Rhino" types, ie thick skinned and charge a lot! smile.png

 

That makes sense and they're probably built like Rhino's too? But are they "horny" like Rhino's? I'm fluent in Romanian but I've never tried it with a Brummie accent.....

I understand the Romanian wives are the most expensive!

 

Too right they are - see my post #128 on page 7 of this thread! blink.png

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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You could have mine (- but don't tell The Bearwood Boster!) - she's always going spare!

 

Archie that was an exceptionally generous offer! I'll certainly give it some serious thought for when I'm back in the UK - unless you want to package her up well and post her forthwith to Romania?

 

Unfortunately it seems the "Bearwood Boster" has found out. Being new here I have no idea who or what the Bearwood Boster is, but I assume that he/she/it is a half werewolf / half bogieman creature that covets your other half?? hug.gif

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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I went on the TICCIH industrial heritage visits in 2002, 2003, 2004, so have been to a number of places, mainly in the west and north west of the country, including the railway. A photo I took of one of the locos exiting the tunnel appeared on the front of the TICCIH newsletter, so I have done a little to promote the railway. I hope it hasn't changed too much since then when it was still very much a working logging railway with tourism as an add-on. Other railway places we visited were the Resita workshops, where they were still repairing steam engines, mainly for German enthusiasts, and the Anina branch, where we were welcomed by the railway station brass band.

 

Although I never got there, I did manage to pick up a book about the bridges on the canal up to Timisoara, and a German colleague has let me have a copy of his film for Bavarian TV which includes the canal to Constanta and interviews with some of the forced labourers who built it.

 

The CFF Viseu railway has indeed changed, though not necessarily for the worst. They suffered severe flooding in 2005 but managed to repair most of the line. A near accident involving tourists led them to start running tourist trains separately from the logging trains. Now the tourist trains are all steam-hauled whilst the logging trains are mostly diesel. But logging trains still take priority and if a conflict arises, the tourists wait while the logging train takes precedence. Even so, this last summer there were days when more than 1000 tourists travelled the line - necessitating as many as 5 tourist trains in one day and 8-9 coach trains: pretty impressive on the gradients involved! The new owners (as of 5 years ago) have just told me they have acquired no less than 13 new coaches from a 760mm line in Switzerland to cope with expected tourist numbers next summer!

 

The Timisoara and Danube - Black Sea (i.e. Constanta) Canals are about as far removed from the Staffs & Worcester as you can imagine - a bit like comparing the Lancaster Canal with the Suez..... boat.gif

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archie57 Proficient

archie57

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Archie that was an exceptionally generous offer! I'll certainly give it some serious thought for when I'm back in the UK - unless you want to package her up well and post her forthwith to Romania?

 

Unfortunately it seems the "Bearwood Boster" has found out. Being new here I have no idea who or what the Bearwood Boster is, but I assume that he/she/it is a half werewolf / half bogieman creature that covets your other half?? hug.gif

She's a beast not to be tangled with! (as is the other half........)

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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No change fron 1877 to 2015 then.

It seems mainly just swopping these days and I don't seem to be welcomeangry.png , maybe because I'm single.

 

Well, I have the same problem Jim - being single I mean. It's a bit like stamp swapping - if you don't have any stamps it's difficult to swap! But things are looking up - Archie57 has offered me his other half, so if I take him up on the offer and you find a nice, young dish, you and I can then swap! That's if the Bearwood Boster doesn't interfere.....banned.gif

She's a beast not to be tangled with! (as is the other half........)

 

..... Can she wind paddles though?

 

I mean your other half, not the Bearwood Boster...... huh.png

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Pluto Veteran

PlutoDonate to Canal World

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The CFF Viseu railway has indeed changed, though not necessarily for the worst. They suffered severe flooding in 2005 but managed to repair most of the line. A near accident involving tourists led them to start running tourist trains separately from the logging trains. Now the tourist trains are all steam-hauled whilst the logging trains are mostly diesel. But logging trains still take priority and if a conflict arises, the tourists wait while the logging train takes precedence. Even so, this last summer there were days when more than 1000 tourists travelled the line - necessitating as many as 5 tourist trains in one day and 8-9 coach trains: pretty impressive on the gradients involved! The new owners (as of 5 years ago) have just told me they have acquired no less than 13 new coaches from a 760mm line in Switzerland to cope with expected tourist numbers next summer!

 

The Timisoara and Danube - Black Sea (i.e. Constanta) Canals are about as far removed from the Staffs & Worcester as you can imagine - a bit like comparing the Lancaster Canal with the Suez..... boat.gif

Thanks for that. Good to know the railway remains active.

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Exactly Pluto - I did! And your photo is it! This is the 760mm gauge CFF Viseu "Mocanita", in Maramures in the far north of Romania. Twice a year I work there as a volunteer teaching English to the railway staff - especially to the young ladies who run the tourist part of the railway during the summer season. We believe we have the ONLY English language school that takes place actually ON a narrow gauge steam logging railway while the train is running, anywhere in the world - although we stand to be corrected! The engine driver in your photo is Domnul (Mr.) Brandi. Have you been there?

 

 

I also translate into English all their brochures and publicity materials, museum displays and website (http://www.cffviseu.ro/content/en/). In return they let me play with their trains and steam locos any time I want to, and when I visit with my tour guests we get special treatment! MUCH better (and much cheaper) than trying to build my own steam railway!

 

Anyone for a visit?? Apologies for the Canal smiley_offtopic.gif

 

 

Absolutely no apology required, thank you. What's the origin of the loco? German?

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PlutoDonate to Canal World

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Absolutely no apology required, thank you. What's the origin of the loco? German?

Romania had several loco works, the one at Remarul still working on steam locos in 2005.

gallery_6938_1_4730.jpg

 

At Resita, there was a museum of some of the locos built there when I visited in 2004.

gallery_6938_1_59087.jpg

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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Half werewolf/half bogieman(bogiewoman in this case)- certainly felt that way this morning after rather a lot of champagne cocktails...Can honestly say I don't covet Mrs archie57 but we have been good mates since 1976 !

 

Thank you for clarifying that - you have put my mind at rest! Mark you, in searching online for a definition of "Boster" I find trhe following (at http://canalplan.org.uk/):

 

The Bearwood Boster - Length 16.76 metres ( 55 feet ) - Beam 2.083 metres ( 6 feet 10 inches ) - Draft 0.55 ( 1 foot 10 inches ). Metal hull, .

 

My, my - you are one BIG lady! Definitely not to tangle with, as said your other half! I assume "metal hull" is a typo for "metal skull"???

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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Don't think Welshpool and Llanfair railway are too impressed with their Resita no. 19!

 

Do you know why not?? Usually they are good locos - tough, resilient, powerful - if not highly refined. They are ideally suited to roughly laid track, sharp curves, steep gradients, heavy use, and much abuse! Maybe the W&L is treating it too gently? Anyway if they don't like it, they should send it back home - I GUARANTEE the CFF Viseu would be interested! Actually I'm serious here - do you have contacts at the W&L? CFF Viseu IS looking for another loco as long as it's not expensive..... cheers.gif

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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Absolutely no apology required, thank you. What's the origin of the loco? German?

 

Indeed not! Romanian built loco - Resita 1126 of 1954, numbered 764.421 for the CFF forest railways: "76" standing for the gauge in cms, "4" being the number of coupled axles, and "421" being the running number in CFF ownership. The loco is owned by a Swiss association that was heavily involved with the CFF Viseu line until about 5 years ago - they gave her the name "ELVEȚIA", meaning "Switzerland" in Romanian.

 

The Resita steel works in SW Romania built vast numbers of steam locos of all gauges. Another works in Romania at Reghin was still building narrow-gauge steam locos almost identical to the Resita's, until as recently as the mid 1980's!!!

 

You are right though in thinking that the narrow gauge steam locos running on Romania's former logging railways were of German origin - German, Austrian, Hungarian and Romanian in fact. The original entrpreneurs who established the logging industry here were mostly German, Austrian and Hungarian. Not forgetting that Transylvania, along with a significant part of the Carpathian Mountains, only became part of Romania in 1920.

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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Romania had several loco works, the one at Remarul still working on steam locos in 2005.

 

At Resita, there was a museum of some of the locos built there when I visited in 2004.

 

 

Remarul in Cluj-Napoca still functions but they don't seem to be doing as much major restoration work on Standard Gauge steam locos for foreign (eg. British) preservation groups as before. Georg Hocevar - an Austrian based at Criscior in Romania - owns a works that does a lot of restoration work on narrow-gauge locos, but there are other places in Romania too. The running depot at CFF Viseu in Maramures can do most of the work required on their steam locos: changing wheels, axles and running gear and replacing boiler tubes being just a small part of their repertoir.

 

The open-air museum at Resita still exists but pretty much anything removable has already been taken off those locos, as they are just displayed in a public park with no security whatsoever. There are museums also at Sibiu and Dej, and quite a number of locos plinthed at various locations around the country. There are even 2 narrow gauge steam locos from the former CFR narrow gauge lines around Targu-Mures, slumbering in a backyard no more then 150 yards from my Romanian home! They are for sale if anyone has 75,000 Euro to spare?

 

I can supply specific details of Romanian narrow gauge railways and locos if required, or better still take you to see them! wink.png

Archie57 isn't my other half !!! He belongs with Mrs archie57 & my other half is Mr Bearwood Boster.None of this swapping malarky here thank you...

 

It's very confusing ....... huh.png

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rovingrom Contributor

rovingrom

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Love the shot of the "narrowboat navy" in walsall with the old TI factory in the background

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?app=galleryℑ=7415

springy

 

Thank you! I don't imagine they submerged the sub too often - even running at periscope depth might have been tricky on the Walsall Canal!

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PlutoDonate to Canal World

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I can supply specific details of Romanian narrow gauge railways and locos if required, or better still take you to see them! wink.png

 

I would recommend a visit as, when I was there, the railway was operating a little like our canals in the late 1960s/ early 1970s, in that the original use was still going on, while tourism and leisure usage was just beginning. The scenery is pretty spectacular as well. You should also visit the Iron Gates on the Danube. The valley is now flooded because of a hydro-electric scheme, but before that steam locomotives used to pull boats upstream against the current. The Roman Emperor Trajan also excavated a towing path into the side of the valley, now unfortunately invisible. The setting is possibly more spectacular that the Rhine Gorge.

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archie57 Proficient

archie57

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Do you know why not?? Usually they are good locos - tough, resilient, powerful - if not highly refined. They are ideally suited to roughly laid track, sharp curves, steep gradients, heavy use, and much abuse! Maybe the W&L is treating it too gently? Anyway if they don't like it, they should send it back home - I GUARANTEE the CFF Viseu would be interested! Actually I'm serious here - do you have contacts at the W&L? CFF Viseu IS looking for another loco as long as it's not expensive..... cheers.gif

http://www.national-preservation.com/threads/w-llr-resitas.346467/

I never thanked you for taking the time and trouble to post the photos!

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