Railway Herald
Mid-March in Bulgaria before the clocks are put forward by 1 hour presented a bit of a challenge to early evening photography on the Rhodope Narrow Gauge Railway on 18th March 2024. With the light failing fast Henschel Class 75 locomotive No. 75009 slows for the stop at Velingrad-Jug (Velingrad South) with southbound train service ORD16105 which had departed Septemvri in the PM at 16:25 for Dobrinishte. All coaching stock on the line during my recent visit was carrying the overall green livery as captured here. Similar to many other stations along the route this location clearly enjoyed two additional lines which sadly have long since been lifted. This narrow gauge line must have been something else during the steam era when freight workings were part of the daily operations. Sadly, during Communist times photography of the railway system would get you arrested. Hence few images survive of what was once very much a working railway.
Stephen Ginn
