02 September 2016

From Curtea de Argeș via the Transfăgărășan route to Sibiu and Alba Iulia
DSC2036 A bust of Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave) in Curtea de Argeș. : Romania DSC2037 The Princely Court, Curtea de Argeș. : Romania DSC2038 A statue of Basarab I of Wallachia. : Romania
DSC2043 Biserica Domneasca, Curtea de Argeș. : Romania DSC2046 One of the few English language description boards I came across whilst in Romania. : Romania DSC2047 In the grounds of the Princely Court, Curtea de Argeș. : Romania
DSC2050 Curtea de Argeș' rather grand station building, now very much under used. : Romania DSC2052 Curtea de Argeș station, waiting on a train.... : Romania DSC2053 At Curtea de Argeș station, looking south. : Romania
DSC2058 A church at the monastery in Curtea de Argeș. : Romania DSC2060 Curtea de Argeș monastery. : Romania DSC2066 Fantastic stone carved detail. : Romania
DSC2068 Further amazing stone work. : Romania DSC2069 Texting God perhaps? : Romania DSC2075 Inside the very ornate monastery. : Romania
DSC2078 Every inch is painted, even the ceiling. : Romania DSC2080 The impressive interior of Curtea de Argeș monastery. : Romania DSC2081 Plenty of gold on display…. : Romania
DSC2083 Some of the amazing decoration inside the monastery. : Romania DSC2089 Pretty impressive workmanship. : Romania DSC2091 Looking up. : Romania
DSC2096 Inside the monastery. : Romania DSC2099 Carved stone around the outside of Curtea de Argeș Monastery. : Romania DSC2100 Curtea de Argeș monastery. : Romania
DSC2101 The craftsmanship which went into the monastery was first rate. : Romania DSC2105 The ornate and impressive monastery at Curtea de Argeș. : Romania DSC2109 It must have taken something to get the geometry right. : Romania
DSC2111 Impressive! : Romania DSC2116 Against the light shot of Curtea de Argeș’s monastery made possible by the power of digital photography. : Romania DSC2117 A feature of Romania was vending machines in unexpected places. : Romania
DSC2119 Looking towards the mountains at Oeștii Ungureni. : Romania DSC2120 Traditional rural transport at Oeștii Ungureni. : Romania DSC2123 The next destination, at the top of the hill, Poienari Castle. : Romania
DSC2124 Poienari Castle, high up in a commanding position. : Romania DSC2127 There were dogs everywhere in Romania, reminding me of my time in Argentina. This one sensibly finds some shelter from the sun. : Romania DSC2128 That way then…. And only 1480 steps to go! : Romania
DSC2130 Just some of those 1480 steps. : Romania DSC2133 All about it… : Romania DSC2134 Nearly there…. : Romania
DSC2140 Poienari Castle gives great views of the surrounding rugged scenery. The road onward can be seen cut into the cliffs. : Romania DSC2148 Looking down to where I had parked. : Romania DSC2151 Poienari Castle. : Romania
DSC2157 Poienari Castle, nice on a nice day…. : Romania DSC2163 Rugged country on the fringes of the Carpathian Mountains. : Romania DSC2164 Poienari Castle. : Romania
DSC2169 Mediaeval justice? : Romania DSC2175 Another church and the small surrounding settlement somewhere to the north of Poienari Castle on the road into the mountains. : Romania DSC2180 On route 7C, the famous Transfăgărășan (Transfiguration) route driven through the mountains under the direction of Romania’s Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu. : Romania
DSC2182 The road starts to get interesting, now above the tree line and starting to loop around to gain some height. : Romania DSC2183 Looking back to the tree line. : Romania DSC2187 A series of hairpins in the mountains. : Romania
DSC2188 The mountains from the Transfăgărășan road. : Romania DSC2191 A few minutes previous I was down there. It was starting to seem worth the effort! : Romania DSC2193 Looking towards the summit of the road, the last section being through the mountains in a tunnel. : Romania
DSC2195 Mountain road through the Carpathians. It looks so innocent in warm early autumn conditions but is regularly shut in the winter. : Romania DSC2196 The road winds up the mountains. : Romania DSC2202 Into the light on the Transfăgărășan road. : Romania
DSC2204 Getting very near to the top now. The road reaches an altitude of 2034m (6673’). : Romania DSC2207 Now on the north side of the mountain pass and the well-known view of the road winding down or up depending on your perspective. : Romania DSC2208 In the Carpathians. : Romania
DSC2210 That’s the way down then. : Romania DSC2212 Must be some good walks to do on those mountains. : Romania DSC2215 Do I trust dodgy Communist era concrete? : Romania
DSC2217 Pretty impressive road. : Romania DSC2218 Plenty of sheep enjoying the mountain grass. : Romania DSC2220 Looking back up towards the summit. : Romania
DSC2221 A decent amount of concrete was used in the construction of the road. : Romania DSC2225 A hazard on the roads of Romania I was to encounter more than once and they don’t get out of the way for anything! : Romania DSC2227 The clouds toy with the tops of the mountains. : Romania
DSC2229 Looking down to the plains around the mountains. : Romania DSC2234 Now out of the mountains, time for a view back. : Romania DSC2236 The Carpathians, in this part of Romania and in many others, rapidly rise out of relatively flat lands. : Romania
DSC2237 Mountains and clouds. : Romania DSC2240 Rural living. : Romania DSC2242 Cartisoara church and graveyard. : Romania
DSC2244 The road through Cartisoara. : Romania DSC2246 Mountains in the haze. : Romania DSC2249 And so to the first proper appointment with a Romanian railway. This is Sibiu station with a loco hauled train in the station. : Romania
DSC2251 CFR 60 0928, a diesel electric Co-Co with a Sulzer 12LDA28 engine of a very similar type to those fitted to BR Class 47s in the UK. : Romania DSC2255 Sorting out the paperwork at Sibiu. : Romania DSC2256 CFR 60 0928 at Sibiu ready to head away to the south. : Romania
DSC2258 Sibiu was the terminus for a 760mm gauge line, the well-known Sibiu to Agnita railway. It closed in 2001 but is now subject to a preservation attempt. This is the site of the narrow gauge station in Sibiu where, under the weeds, are the rails awaiting their next train. : Romania DSC2260 Sibiu is a town renowned across Romania for being historic and well worth a visit so I went to the railway museum at the depot instead… Unlike the UK no one bats and eyelid at anyone walking around looking at the locos at what is an open railway depot : Romania DSC2262 At the entrance to the museum is CFR 40-004, a rack and adhesion tank loco used on the Caransebeș to Hațeg route, Romania’s only rack worked line. : Romania
DSC2263 2-8-2t rack and adhesion tank 40-004 at Sibiu railway museum. : Romania DSC2265 Stuck behind a hedge is 0-6-2t 6845, built by Borsig in 1908. : Romania DSC2267 CFR 389-001 is a 760mm gauge loco used on the Sibiu – Agnita line. It was built in 1885 at Wiener-Neustadt. : Romania
DSC2268 Cabside details. : Romania DSC2270 Outside valvegear on 389-001. : Romania DSC2271 Another 760mm gauge loco on display is 0-6-0t CFF 763.148. : Romania
DSC2272 A steam crane at Sibiu museum. : Romania DSC2273 Three locos in a line, closest is 764.201, behind is 324.951 and behind that is 94.649. : Romania DSC2274 Skoda built 2-6-0 130.503. : Romania
DSC2276 764.201, 324.951 and 94.649 at Sibiu Railway Museum. : Romania DSC2277 Cabside plates on 130.503. : Romania DSC2279 Rear three quarters view of 130.503. : Romania
DSC2280 Some of the locos at Sibiu museum at not well positioned for photography. On the left is industrial tank Sm 1 and on the right is CFR 2-6-2t 131.040. : Romania DSC2282 CFR 131.040 was like many Romanian locos a coal fired machine but with the capacity to have an oil over coal firing system. The tanks for the oil are sat on top of the water tanks. : Romania DSC2283 MAVAG (Budapest) built 2-6-2 324.951 and KPEV (Prussian) T16 0-10-0 94.469. : Romania
DSC2287 Looking into the cab of 324.951. : Romania DSC2289 Many locos on Romanian Railways have their origin in Prussian and German technology. 94.649 is a Prussian T16 type. This loco came to Romania as a consequence of WWII. : Romania DSC2291 Firebox and air pump detail on 324.951. : Romania
DSC2292 The CFR copied the DRG Class 50 2-10-0s as their Class 150. 150.1105, one not to feature a Kylchap exhaust, is displayed at Sibiu museum. : Romania DSC2293 Prussian T16 (as was) 94.649, built in 1914 by Schwartzkopff. : Romania DSC2295 Hungarian built 2-6-2 324.951 dates from 1917. : Romania
DSC2296 A tender looking for an engine. : Romania DSC2298 CFR Class 60 diesel 60-1201 awaiting duty at Sibiu depot. : Romania DSC2301 94.649 seen from alongside 150.1105. : Romania
DSC2306 764.201 in contrasty light. : Romania DSC2307 764.201, an 0-8-0 760mm gauge loco. : Romania DSC2308 Wheel detail on 324.951. : Romania
DSC2309 The good looking 324.951. : Romania DSC2312 A rotary snowplough and 130.503 at Sibiu museum. : Romania DSC2315 CFF 673.148. CFF indicates this locomotive was engaged in forestry railway work. : Romania
DSC2317 Dome and feedwater “purifier” detail on 2-6-2t 315.032. : Romania DSC2319 2-6-2t 315.032 and 0-6-0 620 at Sibiu museum. 620 was built by Franco-Belge in 1890. : Romania DSC2321 62 1011, 60 0832, 64 1219, 60 12?6 (number obscured by the raised coupling) and 65-0925 lined up around the turntable with nothing to do. : Romania
DSC2322 A fireless loco, 315.032, CFR 077 (Hanomog 7280 of 1915), 620 and 1493 at Sibiu museum. : Romania DSC2324 Water column and multiple unit, which presumably doesn’t need the water on offer? : Romania DSC2325 Another ancient 760mm gauge loco on display is 388.002, built at Weiner-Neustadt in 1896. : Romania
DSC2329 The turntable, museum locos and CFR service machines at Sibiu depot. : Romania DSC2330 CFR diesels 60 0832, 64 129 and 60 12?6 around the ‘table at Sibiu depot. : Romania DSC2333 It wasn’t going to take long before I found one of these Reşiţa 0-8-0t locos…. This one is CFR 764-106. : Romania
DSC2338 0-6-0t 077, unfortunately not well positioned for photos. : Romania DSC2339 Diesels outside the roundhouse. : Romania DSC2341 0-6-0 tender loco 620 and 1493 at Sibiu Museum. 0-6-0 1493 was built by Henschel in 1894 as works number 3820. : Romania
DSC2345 Don’t know anything about this loco other than it is a fireless. : Romania DSC2350 Cabside of CFR 89 0498. : Romania DSC2352 This CFR Class 64, 64 0927, is some way from its home depot at Târgu Mureș. : Romania
DSC2354 This sticker on the side of 64 0927 tells of the locomotive’s refurbishment. : Romania DSC2359 CFR logo on the side of a unit. : Romania DSC2362 A side view, over the hedge, of 389.001. : Romania
DSC2363 A pair of tagged units at Sibiu depot. : Romania DSC2367 The view from the depot towards the Sibiu station. : Romania DSC2369 A final view of 40.004. : Romania
DSC2374 A residential street near the depot. : Romania 20160902 183956 Crossing a bridge paralleled by a pipeline bridge on the outskirts of Alba Iulia. : Eastern Europe DSC2380 Once again didn’t really look around the renowned city of Alba Iulia. Other things took precedence, next time as it is meant to be worth a look! : Romania
DSC2381 Sunset in Alba Iulia : Romania 20160902 201324 Dinner was a very nice goulash. : Eastern Europe