This trip was mainly to revisit some of the countries I didn’t cover properly on Balkan Bash II in September. The intention was to do the ALCos on the Pelly, cover the A221 on the Stylida branch, before heading up to Serbia, via Bulgaria, to do the diesel lines I missed, then head into Albania and cover the whole network, followed by a return to Kosovo to do the line to the south. We then planned to return through Serbia, have a quick trip to Romania as Redhill rates Sulzer (no accounting for taste!), and head down past Sarajevo to Ploce for a bus to Split to do the 2062s. Finally we wanted a spin on the 664s in Slovenia before flying home from Linz.

We covered most of our aims, though were denied the Ploce/Split move before we started as HZ decided six weeks was quite long enough for the line to be open, and closed it again from February to June. We were also denied Nis-Dimitrovgrad due the axing of the daytime Sofija-Beograd trains and all local services. We got into Romania, but were prevented from doing any moves due to a CFR strike. On the plus side we got a couple of bonuses on the loco front.

We looked at various ticket options, and at one point looked to buy inter-rails for convenience, but found we could do the trip considerably cheaper using a combination of Euro-Dominoes. However, we decided this too late to have time to actually get them, so decided to buy them as we went along, though we did at one stage consider buying inter-rails in Bulgaria as they are much cheaper over there.

The bash started with the overnight Queasyjet flight from Luton to Athina, so after leaving work I met Redhill in London for a few beers to make the flight more bearable.

Arrival was scheduled for 0445, so for once I wouldn’t have minded the plane being late, as the first relevant train from Athina is at 10 o’clock. However we landed at 0400, leaving us with a major fester. We got the bus into town, then as the metro doesn’t operate that early we used the streetmap at the bus stop to plot a route and walk to the station to kill time.

We then tried to buy Euro-Dominoes at the international ticket office, but were told to wait until the information office opened. We had planned a fill in move to scratch some Adtranz junk (nowt else to do!), but this would have meant departing before the office opened. When it finally did open, Ada told us we could only buy them from the main OSE office up the road, but that it only opens Monday-Friday. Cheers then! We therefore ended up using individual tickets, which were cheap enough, but it’s quite difficult to buy tickets when you’re doing +1 leaps!

At the Pelly shack, we tried to buy pieces to Pirgos, but Bert tried to tell us all trains today were full, even though the real trains don’t require reservation. Eventually after much gibbering between two Berts we got our tickets, and caught the cart to Pireaus. We then did train 300 to Akrata, to pick up 301 to Korinthos for 302 to Pirgos. We decided instead to bail off 301 at Vrachati to allow us to go shopping. We got to the supermarket and grabbed a few winning beers and some food. However, as we got to the checkout, we suddenly realised we only had a minute until the train. We abandoned our supplies and ran back to the shack, only to wait for the half-hour late train 302, which at least was load six for extra space and thrash. At Pirgos, train 300 formed train 1356 to Kiparissia. Before we left the back three coaches were unhooked unannounced, and we left with the end doors wide open. We then moved to the now empty front coach to watch a fine pyrotechnic display by A9106.

After a good night’s doss, we returned east, originally planning to go straight to Athina, on to Thessaloniki, and overnight to Sofija. However, we passed required A9108 at Isthmos, so plans were changed. We headed back to Diakopto, stocked up on beer, and then on to Athina. At Athina I tried to find some Greek beer for the overnight, and though I failed I did find a shop selling four Russian ones!

At Thessaloniki we tried to buy Serb Euro-Dominoes, but the Ada suggested a Balkan Flexi-Pass, at €80 for 10 days within a month, valid in Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania. Excellent value, we were just annoyed that we’d already spent €30 on individual pieces.

Train 410 was still diverted via Axios, so we had Adtranz junk instead of a can – the can would probably have been louder! At Idomeni the loco came off and went on a southbound freight. As departure time loomed, the only loco present was Alco A206, which was shunting the yard. We hoped we might get that, but it then disappeared off towards Macedonia. Departure time came and went, before A206 returned with a long rake of wagons. After a bit of shunting, it dropped onto the front of 410, and we headed off towards Gevgelija, where the beast was replaced by a Macedonian can for a scenic run across Macedonia, to be replaced by a dud ZS can.

Like my last trip to Serbia, things started badly. We bailed at Stalac for the 1805 to Pozega, only to find it was caped, and there were no fill-in moves before the 2120 to Pozega/Bar. To add to the fun, there were no cashpoints, and I had about enough dinar for two beers and not much else. Eventually the overnight to Bar arrived, and we got sleepers from the Bert for €9.50 each.

We awoke to the stunning views of the mountains of Montenegro, as the train snaked its way along the valley side. We then dropped down through Podgorica, where a few demic locos were laid up, but there was no sign of the Class 665 Alcos I saw there in September.

Upon arrival at Bar, we got a taxi to the Albanian border. By this stage it was pissing down, and we weren’t best pleased when the driver dropped us in the middle of nowhere, with a few locals glaring at us. We carried on by foot, shortly reaching the border controls. We then got a taxi to Shkoder, which despite the weather was much quicker than last time. Unlike my previous trip, the bridge into town was clear, and we arrived at the shack with time for a couple of beers.

The stock was much better than last time, consisting of ex-OBB opens, with far fewer broken or missing windows, and even some lights. We did the midday train to Vore, for the afternoon train through to Vlore. When we arrived, we had another ‘what the hell are we doing?’ moment, as we seemed to be in the middle of an unlit shanty town. However, we were soon through this and into the main town, which was well lit and had most amenities, including a cashpoint, though the roads were wet and muddy. We eventually found a hotel, where the Bert spoke English. We dined at the hotel, and when we asked for beer, Bert told us that the brewery was on site – we’d stumbled on a brew-pub! Cat-fitted as well.

We headed back to the shack, narrowly avoiding being savaged by a large flea-ridden shit-machine which we failed to see in the dark. We checked the same loco was on the stock, and grabbed a compo. Shortly before departure, the loco uncoupled and ran a short way, before going back on the stock – this seems to be regular practice in Albania. However, as we approached Fier we saw it wasn’t that simple – we had a pair! They were removed for a freight at Fier, and replaced by another winner.

We bailed at Rrogozhine for the morning run to Pogradec, and at Prenjas passed the HSH dump, where about 25 cmelaks, half a dozen T435s and one of the 2000 Class ‘warships’ were stored, and had been for many years, as until recently HSH weren’t allowed to sell stock, even for scrap. Unfortunately, at Pogradec they had obviously taken advantage of this new freedom, as we saw the last remains of the other four ‘warships’.

We headed back to Tirane, an uneventful journey apart from the train being bricked between Shkozet and Sukth, the windows in front of and behind our compartment being smashed. Back at Tirane, we went to the first hotel we saw, and although it was quite chingy, we couldn’t be bothered to walk around looking for another, and after much haggling agreed on $60 for a twin.

We did a fill in move to Vore and back. We had a choice of two trains back, and had to gamble as we knew one of them would form the Shkoder train. The first to arrive was a winner, so we got on and sat with three young ladies, one of whom spoke perfect English. We chatted with her, and she confirmed what we had already worked out, that most people in Albania just want the tourists to come and bring much-needed money into the country. The coastal areas are starting to built their tourist trade, but in other areas the locals are stunned to see foreigners.

When we arrived in Tirane, we went for a burger, and celebrated clearing the Albanian network with a breakfast beer! We then got some photos, before getting the train back to Shkoder. On the way some Ada went to the bog and got locked in for ages as there was no inside handle!

One thing to note about cranking in Albania, is that tickets are not sold in advance, only for the next train. So while in theory one could spend all day between Tirane and Vore and get 8-10 cmelaks, in practice it would be difficult because of having to buy tickets each time. It doesn’t appear to be possible to buy tickets on the train, and the grippers (or rather snippers, as they use nail scissors!) are very efficient.

We then got a minibus to Hani I Hotit, walked across the border, and got another taxi to Podgorica. We decided to do a daylight run through the mountains, so did the all-FC train B510 to Markovac for B811 to Bar. We decided to have a meal, and for €4.50 each had the Montenegrin speciality platter, comprising various sorts of meat, along with a beer or five. As we ate our meals and looked at the spectacular views, Redhill commented about what would happen if a train went over the edge. About five minutes later we looked down and saw the remains of a couple of coaches or wagons, a good five hundred feet down!

As we headed back south we took a few more scenic phots before it got dark, and had a few more beers. We didn’t realise we had arrived at Bar, as I’m normally at the front of the train, but this time we were at the back so I didn’t recognise the station. We were therefore still onboard when 661315 shunted the stock, so we got a bonus scratch. We got a sleeper berth as we were both very tired, though the price had risen dramatically to nearly €15 each – I think the first Bert charged us for two beds in a three-bed berth, whereas the second charged us for a two-bed berth. We dossed out, only to be soon woken by a rather heavy-handed internal passport grip.

The 661 on the overnight swapped at Kraljevo, so we headed on to Stalac and back. On the return we were running late, so we bailed at Stirca to be safe. The train back towards Stalac had a freight complete with loco on the back, though it didn’t need to power with the feeble line speed on this route. At Stalac, we caught what we thought was train 491 to Sofija, planning to cover the 661s on the Dimitrovgrad line (Redhill wanted the Bulgarian Sulzer too!). As we left we watched the 661 attach about twenty loaded wagons to the Kraljevo train, but it was too late to bail. However, at Nis our train caped, and we found it was the local, and our move had blown up, costing us at least a day, maybe two.

We had time to do a couple of trips round the loop, but the loco we had just arrived on did the first trip, and the second left late making it too tight for the train to Zajecar. We got some money, then some lunch, before getting 661247 on load two plus a wagon to Zajecar. We were invaded by some soldiers, and when the gripper came round they just gave him the finger, turned to us and said ‘Army – no ticket’!.

Everyone else who does this move seems to get a loco change at Zajecar for the run to Majdanpek, but 247 went through so we didn’t bother going on. We could have done a return to Prahovo Pristiniste, but couldn’t be bothered as it was Ganz junk. We toyed with the idea of heading back towards Nis to pick up what should be 661143 coming back, but trains in that area are prone to cancellation so we didn’t want to get stuck in Mali Izvor! The stock arrived behind a pair of Ganz, one shut down. We got on, but the train set back to fill the boiler van, despite the fact it was late. The inside Ganz then fired up, and the front one went away. However, the second one also went away, and was replaced by the one we’d just scratched. A tenth of a mile is a perfectly acceptable mileage for Ganz, and the three hour fester for the Beograd train also didn’t appeal, so we went for a beer before checking into Hotel Serbia.

As we headed to the station for the oh-so-sensibly timed 0230 to Beograd, we heard the familiar sound of an Irish 071, and sure enough 666001 was back from the dead and on the front of our train. We had a brief bellow, before setting the compo up for doss. Somewhere along the way I was awoken by some Bert wanting to invade, and not even Redhill’s snoring deterred him. When we awoke later, Bert started gibbering about how we must plant lots of trees, and eat lots of underground shitake mushrooms (yuk!). As I tried to concentrate on plotting a way to recover the day we had lost due to the loss of the daytime trains through Dimitrovgrad, Bert kept tapping me on the knee and telling me to plant trees.

I found a way to recover the day, but it depended on two unreliable trains around Cacak. Fortunately both ran, and we arrived at Kraljevo in time to watch our train arrive with winner 661109 on the front. Another winner, 661318, was alongside, so I wasn’t too bothered when 109 was ripped. I was quite pissed off when dud 661274 appeared from nowhere to work the train though! We took this to Lesak, and when the passport Bert came through and saw Redhill with a bottle of beer he came and gibbered at us. We didn’t understand, and Redhill offered to put the beer away. Bert then said no, he was just saying it was crap beer!

At Lesak, ex-NSB NoHAB beast Di3 619 was waiting on the train to Kosovo Polje, and unlike last time I was allowed to take photos. We grabbed a compo, but later moved to the open coach as this was the only one with lights. Some wagons were shunted onto the back at Mitrovica, so we eventually arrived in Kosovo Polje an hour late.

We woke early to do the morning run to Djeneral Jankovic/Hani I Elizet, on the Macedonian border, and I was most unimpressed to see Di3 643, the one I had last time, on the front, especially when we passed the two winners on the shed. We boarded at 0420, and were surprised when we departed almost immediately, as the train is booked at 0431. We returned to Serbia, quite well timed as the troubles in Kosovo started again a couple of days later. We dossed on the Serb train, waking at Brvenik to find our loco on fire. It can’t have been serious, as we were soon on our way. We then passed 661109 heading to Raska, so planned to cover it in the afternoon.

After a lunchtime visit to Cacak, we headed south on the same train as yesterday, leaping at some shack without a name board, where we crossed 661109. We leapt on, and after the southbound train had cleared we set back and ran through the loop, so the north end points must be out of use. We had decided on a return to Lapovo, and were most pleased we’d done the dodgy move as 661109 was again ripped at Kraljevo for 661274.

Another early start, as we wanted to go to the Beograd brewpub, before doing the 661 to Vrsac. I had concocted a move to cover the remaining 661 lines, while also getting Redhill the Sulzer junk he wanted. The move was the Bucuresti overnight as far as Craiova, for an early morning seminar phot for the UK class 56 farewell, for a 60 to Calafat, boat across the Danube, then a can to Sofija for the overnight to Beograd. After scoring the pale beer in the brewpub, we were told the dark wasn’t on. D’oh! We then finally found some postcards, as we were both under orders to send such things, but they’re quite hard to find in Albania, Kosovo etc. Can’t think why…

We decided to check the formation of the overnight, and get a sleeper only if they were at the front. They were, so we bought a berth from the Bert. He charged us 1491DIN each (about £15), by far the most expensive sleeper of the trip. The train reversed out of the shack, then ran round the side of the station, joining the line from Beograd Centar to Pancevo Glavna. We got across the border no problem, and the 661 uncoupled. However, we noted a minor hitch – no replacement loco! There was much gibbering, and an English-speaking guy told us that CFR staff were on strike, and this was the end of the line. Cheers then!

A bus was arranged to take people on to Bucuresti, but as we were only going for a day, we decided to head back to Beograd. We asked the Bert if we could stay on the stock, until it formed the westbound working in the morning, but he was having none of it. We then asked about a refund on the sleeper berth, but he said it wasn’t possible as he’d written the ticket. He also seemed reluctant to let us have a copy of the ticket. When he eventually gave it to us we saw why – the cheeky bastard had charged us the two-berth price, but written it out as two beds in a three-berth, pocketing the 1000DIN difference. He gave us the ticket and the 1000DIN, and kicked us out. Fortunately the Bert I’d been talking too had also decided to head back, and called a colleague to pick us all up and take us to Beograd. We arrived at about half past one, and headed straight for Hotel Beograd. Disaster – it was full! They recommended Hotel Prag, which fortunately had a room. We decided that we would at least have a decent night’s sleep, and get up for the 1055 to Zagreb.

We decided to buy our Croatian and Slovenian Euro-Dominoes before leaving Belgrade, and with the help of an English-speaking member of staff were able to do so easily. The only problem is they don’t take cards and the nearest cashpoint is a ten-minute walk uphill!

We crossed into Croatia, and at Vinkovci went for a return to Zupanja, as the branch was for a long time a 2062 on one coach, though shortly after our visit it reverted to being a pigtaxi. On returning to Vinkovci, we were just too late to get the gronk shunting the Banja Luka portion off the train from Beograd, but at least it was another winning 2062. We had a good bellow as we left Vinkovci, as the 2062 was clagging like only a two-stroke engine can. There were no lights in our compo, and it was only when Redhill saw the mirror in the bog that we found we were covered in enough oil to make George Dubya Bush declare war.

At Strizivojna Vrpolje we just missed the direct cart to Osijek, which would have allowed a short return move with two 2044s, so we got the can back to Vinkovci for another cart move to Osijek. Today was the start of an unbelievable run of dud cans for me – two out of two so far, and more to come! We went for pizza and pivo in Osijek, before getting the midnight train to Zagreb.

We had a number of options, so I texted Simon to find out what was on T12 and T30. A move was quickly devised, and so we spent the morning on T12 and the afternoon on T30. T12 netted my last two Varazdin locos, and five winners for Redhill, and there were a further two each on T30. After doing the Varazdin-Koprivnica cart, we festered for no apparent reason. A cart then appeared from the border direction, and was met by about a dozen cops. Someone tried to run away, but was caught and dragged off by the Policije – presumably trying to ‘f’ it over the border on a dodgy passport. Once a couple of normals off the cart boarded out train, we were away. The move was still on, but we had to bail earlier for the northbound service. We ended up back in Osijek for pizza and pivo again, and this time took the Budapest-Sarajevo train to Strizivojna-Vrpolje, for a dud can to the Slovenian border.

A return to the Hodos line, I was confident of the appearance of 664102 at some point, as that on seems to be solid on the passenger turns. We had winner 664112 to Hodos, passing winner 664106 on freight along the way. Waiting for the return at Hodos was… 664102. We did this to Pragersko where in place of the booked 342, 363008 dropped on. This was taken to Celje where we restocked, before another bonus in the shape of 362024. These were to be the only SZ cans I scored on this trip. Back at Pragersko, we were surprised to see 102 had been swapped for winner 664106. We decided to bail at Murska Sobota for the brewpub, rather than continue to Hodos. We then did a move to cover IC516, before heading to Maribor for dinner and EN240, which at four hours is the longest overnight in Slovenia!

I had been undecided as to whether to go for another spin on the Osijek line, or cover the autovlak. I decided on the autovlak, a decision I later regretted as I found 2062014 had worked Osijek-Koprivnica and back. I had hoped the 0632 Sezana-Jesenice might be a 664 vice cart, as sometimes happens on Fridays. I also hoped for a 644 on the autovlak.

On arrival at Sezana, things started badly. The loco-hauled fill in move turned out to be a cart, so we had over two hours to kill in Sezana. The 0632 was a cart throughout, and the autovlak was 664120. We had a choice of ways to get back from the autovlak. Going south would give us a 363 and a 342, whereas going north would give time to visit the brewpub at Jesenice, and the same 342. We decided on north, and the brewpub was very nice until we left early on account of some gibbering oaf who invaded our table.

We then got the EC back to Zagreb, formed of OBB coffins, which insisted on heating the compo to Hades temperature even with the thermostat set to minimum. I had planned an overnight, as we’d done far more hotels than planned this trip, but we decided to wimp out and checked into Hotel Astoria.

A relatively straightforward day, consisting of a return to Bihac. I was dreading going all that way and having the same 661 as last time, but fortunately it was a winner, and even the can out of Zagreb was a winner. The train was wedged, but we got a compo in FC, paying the Bert about £2.50 each to upgrade. Back in Zagreb we got a kebab and a quick draught Tomislav, before getting the overnight to Salzburg, which bizarrely had a pair of cans, both working (and both dud!). These were swapped for a dud box at Dobova, fortunately the last dud loco of the trip.

Our last day was spent in Austria, as we were flying home from Linz. Redhill wanted to go to Mariazell, and the 1099s look quite rateable for cans, so that was the morning taken care of. In the afternoon we covered the two ‘electric gronk’ turns off Linz, though only one of them produced. The Mariazell line was very scenic, though not quite as stunning as the line to Bar. It was a shock to be back to western prices though – we spent as much on tickets in one day as we had spent on the previous week!

The flight was bang on time, and after a tense wait at baggage reclaim we caught the 2145 train to London. By bailing at Tottenham Hale for a tube move to Paddington I made the 2300 to Bristol Parkway, though I was gutted to have to flag the superior train alongside, 57604 on the down beds.

Overall, another successful trip. I will definitely be going to Greece again soon, and will probably come out via Sofija so as to score the Dimitrovgrad line before they ruin it by putting wires up. I will also cover the Zajecar-Beograd turn again in the hope of getting another 666. Other than that, I may flag Serbia for a while, as most of the diesel routes are just too much of a stagger. Croatia is on the cards for June, possibly a final fling if the new carts ruin the moves too much, and maybe I’ll do the Ploce move.

We had no real hassle from any of the passport grips, and the only place we were challenged for photting was Beograd.

Thanks once again to Simon Hillcox for texting the HZ gen, next time I’ll see if I can pick up the gen on my Psion!

Kiparissia: Hotel Ionion (or ‘One Onion’ as we christened it), opposite shack. €40 twin en suite. Takes cards

Vlore: Hotel Martini. Straight ahead from shack, up to end, turn right. Hotel down side alley on right. 10 minutes walk, mostly lit. comfy rooms, en suite, TV. €20 twin. On-site brewery. Cash only

Tirane:Hotel Areela. Out of shack, left, go past sign pointing to hotel, take next right down alley instead. 5 minutes walk. Asked for €70 twin en suite with TV, haggled down to $60. Cash only

Zajecar: Hotel Serbia. Out of shack to end of road, left. Irish pub nearby. 1500DIN twin en suite. Cash only

Kraljevo: Hotel Turist. Out of shack straight ahead into town, hotel in main square. 970DIN single, 1865DIN twin. En suite. Cash only

Beograd: Hotel Prag: out of shack, up hill past hotel Astoria, left, up another hill. 2450DIN twin en suite.

Zagreb: Hotel Astoria. Out of shack, turn right, left after Hotel Central. Chinese restaurant attached. Kn500 twin en suite including hellfire breakfast.

Beograd: Pivnica Kasina. Head for Hotel Prag, keep going up hill past Hotel Moskva. Brews dark and light.

Vlore: see Hotel Martini above

Murska Sobota: Zvezda. Out of shack, keep going straight ahead until end, turn right, head towards park. Pub on corner on left. Light & dark

Jesenice: Kazina. Out of shack, right, just keep following road, over railway, over roundabout, pub behind petrol station. Svetlo – much clearer than at many other brewpubs, and more gassy, but with good hop flavour. Tamno – also gassy, but quite chewy as well. Very dry.

Dave Unpronounceable