In the footsteps of the spectacular railway of the foresters. Story place from Hunedoara, brought out of anonymity VIDEO

The foresters’ railway from Hunedoara reached scrap metal in the 2000s, more than a century after its establishment. Since then, several locals have asked the authorities to develop it as a tourist route, between two important monuments in Hunedoara.

Every spring and autumn, locals and tourists are invited to a trip of about ten kilometers along the route of the former narrow railway that connected, in the past, Hunedoara to the settlements in the Forest Land.

For over a decade, the trip on foot, through the valleys of Zlaști and Govâjdia, has been intended to promote a spectacular tourist route, ignored by the authorities, after the railway of the foresters was decommissioned and sent to scrap metal at the end of the 2000s.

The past few days, the people of Hunedoara started again on the route of the locomotives – the steam locomotives that circulated for decades from Hunedoara to the villages of Govâjdia, Ghelari and Crăciuneasa (video).

“Through this approach, we want to raise yet another alarm signal to the authorities to make them aware of the importance of restoring for tourist purposes this spectacular route that starts from the Corvinilor Castle and reaches Furnalul in Govăjdia in Hunedoara County“, the organizers of the trip sent.

For over a decade, several local residents of Hunedoara have approached the Hunedoara town halls and the Hunedoara County Council for the restoration of the value of the former railway that connected Hunedoara to the iron mines in the Forest Land, as a tourist attraction.

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Hunedoara Ghelari railway photo Daniel Guta the truth

After repeated promises, the situation of the Mocanilets route remained unchanged, the authorities failing to get involved in any route development project.

A private investor, on the other hand, showed his interest in arranging the route of the former railway, so that it can be used for rides with road trains, for leisure between Corvinilor Castle and Furnalul din Govâjdia (video). But several bridges and decks will have to be rebuilt, and the vegetation and stones that have covered the embankment in recent years will have to be removed.

“The restoration of the route would mean a great chance for tourism in Hunedoara, because its starting point starts right from Corvinilor Castle in Hunedoara, crosses spectacular places and now stops at Furnalul in Govâjdia, which is over two centuries old. So, for sure, many of the more than 400,000 annual visitors to the castle in Hunedoara will want to walk along the path of the mocanica”one of the hikers thinks.

The route of the mocanits from Hunedoara

Foresters’ Railway (video), between Hunedoara and the Ghelari area, was inaugurated on August 29, 1900, and trains ran almost continuously on its route with an initial length of over 16 kilometers.

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The mocanite route from Hunedoara Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (25) jpg

Mocănilets (steam locomotives) initially transported workers and the iron ore brought from the mines in the Poiana Ruscă Mountains to the metallurgical plants of Hunedoara.

Since 1978, the narrow railway was taken over by the mining enterprise from Zlaști and was used to transport passengers and talc, dolomite and wood from the exploitations located in the neighboring villages of Hunedoara.

In the mid-90s, the last three kilometers of the railway, towards the Ghelari mines, were abolished, and a decade later, the entire remaining section, 13 kilometers long, between Hunedoara and the station at the Crăciuneasa dolomite quarry was decommissioned.

The Hunedoara Ghelari railway reached scrap metal together with part of its metal installations. Some metal bridge structures were sold to be reused on other railway routes, others were abandoned along with the constructions on the old route.

The starting point of the trail was near Corvinir Castle, where you can now see the ruins of a small train station, a funicular station and a hotel built a few years ago. From the castle, the small carts traveled a few kilometers along the Zlaşti valley (video), continued through a tunnel of almost 800 meters, reaching the valley of Govâjdia.

More than 10 kilometers away, after a journey through the wild lands of Hunedoara, the narrow-gauge railway ended after Furnalul de la Govăjdia, at the foot of a huge talc and dolomite quarry, located at Crăciuneasa (video).

Its branch, towards Ghelari, reached near the entrances to the iron mines in the valley of Rețişoara, which connected, under the mountain, with the central mine in Ghelari.

Also, an inclined plane on which the ore wagons descended was established near the Rețișoara station.