Forestry Railway at Cierny Hron (CHZ)
Timetable	Vydrovo-bridge - Cierny Balog - Svätý Ján - Hronec (operated) Hronec - Podbrezová (without operating, planed reopening) Sihla - Svätý Ján and many other lines (canceled)

Half a century a go it was, with a bit exaggeration, possible to say, we can go across the whole Slovakia through the forestry railway lines. But one by one has been closed since the 50s in connection of ruthless wood production and using of heavy mechanisation and trucks on the working places high in tje mountain walleys. This phenomenon of the Slovak mountains has slowly disappeared, the lines were closed and the equipment was wound up. The last one was closed on December 31, 1982. It was the railway at stream Cierny Hron. Its wide network with numerous extensions in the Cierny Hron stream was in its best times in the late 40s more than 130 km long. It was the gratest forestry railway network in Slovakia.
Fortunately, a group of very devoted and above all persevering people was succesful in the saving of the mine line with some short extensions together with the rest of equipment in the last minute and its registration in list of cultural monuments. After long 13 years of untiring work the public season service was opened between Hronec and Cierny Balog in 1995.
The forestry Railway at Cierny Hron was not only the greatest one, but also one of the oldest ones. It was built systematicly since 1908, at first by Hungarian, after 1918 by Czechoslovak state. The railway, beside of the wood transport, connected the whole region with the wide world. It was one of the first forestry railway networks with public passenger service since the 20s.
The history of used vehicles, above all steam locomotives, is inseparably connected with the history of the network. 13 steam locomotives, manufactured by 5 works, were used during the 3 quarter century of the regular railway service. The greatest part of the work was executed by 5 locomotives built by Prague CKD works and by another 4, built by MAV Locomotive Works in Budapest. Also in this area the railway at Cierny Hron was the first between similar Slovak railways.
A new task was found for the railway - a change into a living technical monument was a small counterbalance of peace and beaty, witch is very needful for a flustered people of today during the seeking of a harmonic relation between the technology and the nature.

Source: Karel Zeithammer: Ciernhronská lesní draha (ARROW LINE, a. s., Sklonena 7, CZ-190 00 Praha 9, Czech republic, Phone: +420/2/2461 7385, Distributor: H - servis, Bitovska 1227/9, CZ-140 00 Praha 4, Czech republic, Phone: +420/2/436 837 and other distribution companies)

Europa Nostra - now larger

These who have already visited the French Castle of Montmoyen, the Telemark canal in Norwey, the Arrigo Theatre in Bilbao, Spain, and the music hall of the Ospedaletto Palace in Venice should miss out on such Slovak sights as, for instance, a late-Gothic church in Tvrdošín, the Betliar mansion and a historic forest railway in Cierny Balog. Though all the sights are situated in different parts of the world and belong to diverse provinces of human enterprise, all have something in common, each cultural rarity has been recorded as the world's tourist attraction after the bestowal of the Europe Nostra ward for the renewal of historical, natural and technological heritage of the European continent. The Renaissance-Baroque country estate Betliar, for instance, has been distinguished for a sensitive scholarly and artistic reconstruction that has made this outstanding cultural landmark a magnet to pull tourists to the environs of the town of Rožnava. Now take the Ciernohron narrow-differential railway in Cierny Balog, central Slovakia. It too has been re-opened for tourists to enjoy thrilling trips throught the wilderness. That it will be again carrying people through the Cierny Balog Forest is all due to the enthusiasm of the green activists involved in the Strom Života (Tree of Life) projects. They have renewed the tracks, and refurbished the steam and diesel locomotives as well as wagons and several railway station facilities.

Sona Hudecová-Podhorná (Slovak Information Agency)

Other informations on sites :

1. Official site CHZ
2. www.upce.cz/~kpz/uzke/balogi
3. www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/6330/cernyhron.html
4. www.isternet.sk/vydra/chz.htm
5. falco.vslib.cz/~kolombo/balog/cb_index.html
6. fpedas.utc.sk/~mart-pe/chz.html
7. www.rainside.sk/country/tsz.htm

Site created : 03-I-1999
Last update : 10-I-2010

( http://www.rail.sk/arp/slovakia/history/h900e.htm )