May 28, 2014

Albanian Railroad: Engine 1032 and More

Ever since we arrived in Lezhë, Albania, on January 21, I wanted to photograph their trains. I would often hear the train whistle somewhere just after 7 a.m. Central European Time. But it was not until Saturday, March 21, that I finally walked the 20 minutes to where I knew the train track crossed one of the main roads out of Lezhë. I arrived at the crossing just after 7 a.m. but after a 45-minute wait, I decided I had missed the train. And I missed the train several other times, too.

Finally on April 17 and 30, I did meet the train and get some photos of it. Both times it was Engine 1032 shown below as it came from Shkodër on its way south on April 30.

Engine 1032 heading south into Lezhe station

Close-up of Engine 1032 of the Albanian Railroad (30-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

Back to my failed attempts to see the train, below are three photos showing the single track as it crosses the main highway about 10 minutes south of Lezha Academic Center where I was teaching physics to high school students.

looking south along the single track from Lezhe

Looking South along the Single Track from Lezhë (21-Mar-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

People often use the train tracks as a path to walk to and from Lezhë.

looking north along the single track into Lezhë

Looking North along the Single Track into Lezhë (21-Mar-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

At this intersection are crossing guards that are rather simple--a metal pipe with a box cage for rocks to use as a counter-balance. The three-wheel truck is referred to by the local population as a "dum-dum." I am told that most of the dum-dums are from China, and they are still being made to day as this page demonstrates.

simply crossing guard

Manual Crossing Guard in Lezhë (21-Mar-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

Then on a trip back from outside of the city, I noticed that we travelled on a bridge that crossed over a number of railroad tracks. So when I could, I went back there to look for the trains.

multiple tracks just south of the Lezhe train station

Multiple Tracks Leading to the Lezhë Train Station (5-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

At times there are sheep that graze across the tracks.

sheep grazing the railroad tracks

Sheep Grazing the Train Tracks (5-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

On the other side of the train station is the tunnel leading through the small mountain to the north of Lezhë.

the tunnel just to the north of the Lezhe train station

Looking North to the Tunnel Leading out of Lezhë (5-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

During the week before Easter, while we were visiting Allen Umble in Lushnjë, on the way to visit a family in a village, we drove over a train track that was elevated well above the often marshy land of that area. Under the communist regime, the area has mostly been drained and is now fertile farm land.

train track near a village outside of Lushnje

A Train Track near a Village Outside of Lushnjë (15-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

It was April 17, and I still had not seen an Albanian train. But I finally identified the building that was the train station in Lezhë.

the train station in Lezhe

The Train Station in Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

the sign identifying the Lezhe train depot

The Sign Identifying the Train Station in Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

As usual the people of Lezhë are very friendly and helpful, and this man was no exception. Between my hand signals pointing to my watch and the tracks and his slight understanding of English, he communicated that the trains come about 6:50 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

railway employee who clarified the train schedule for me

Albanian Railway Employee Who Told Me the Times the Train Comes to Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

kilometer marker along the tracks

A Kilometer Marker along the Tracks (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

So Thursday afternoon I was at the station waiting for the train from Tirana on its way to Shkodër (north of Lezhë). I was not disappointed. Engine 1032 came in essentially on time. This engine is a CKD ČME3 (which were made in the 1960's and somewhat later in Czechoslovakia). The engine's full identifier is #T669.1032. It pulled into the station and transferred passengers and then left through the tunnel to Shkodër.

engine 1032 transfers passengers at the Lezhe station

Train Pulled by Engine 1032 Transfers Passengers (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

engine 1032 gets ready to leave the station

Engine 1032 Gets Ready to Leave Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

the train leaves the staiton

The Train Leaves the Lezhë Station (17-Apr-143; © Richard L. Bowman)

the train approaches the tunnel

The Train Approaches the Tunnel North of the Lezhë Station (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

the last train car enters the tunnel

The Last Train Car Enters the Tunnel (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

With proof inside my camera that I had seen a train in Lezhë, I went into the station and took some photos.

inside of the Lezhe train station

Inside of the Train Station in Lezhë (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

the prices were on a sign on the wall

The Prices Were Posted on a Sign on the Station Wall (17-Apr-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

A couple of weeks later, I was again at the Lezhë train station, but this time it was in the morning waiting for the train from Shkodër. Soon after 7 a.m. it showed up coming through the tunnel and then pulling into the Lezhë station.

train from Shkodër coming through the tunnel

the train pulls into the Lezhe station

Given the age of some of the cars and engines, I was pleased to see the beautiful graffiti painted on the side of one of the cars, just like some I have seen in Harrisonburg, VA, USA.

graffiti painted car

After receiving his paperwork from one of the station personnel, one of the two persons in the cab of the engine sees me with my camera and gives me the positive thumbs-up.

engine personnel gives me the positive thumbs-up

Train travel in Albania has changed much since the fall of the communist dictatorship in early 1990's. In fact, my Albanian students wondered why I would even think about ridinng the train to Shkodër. T. J., in a blog on the Economist web site (July 19, 2010), wrote , "The period between 1975 and 1989 was the golden age [of train travel in Albania]. The trains carried 60% of all passenger traffic. Now that figure is less than 1%."

Someday I'd like to travel on one of these trains. The price is right, and it would leave the driving up to someone else!

For More Information

A Sourcebook for the Traveler in Albania -- many of the links are to useful pages, but definitely check out the link to "System map of the Albanian rail network (PDF)."
Albania (HSh) page of the "Europe Trains Guide" -- it gives a timetable that seems to be reasonably up-to-date.
Map of Albania and Macedonia in "Railways Through Europe" -- click on the actual map to view a much larger version.

Caution!

If you search the Internet for info on Albania Railroad or HSh Trains (the abbreviation for the Albanian name for its railroad), you may run across some sites that have advertisements on them that may install malware if you click on them.

For example, the ads produced by AdChoice can install ads in your browser so that they show up on many of the web pages you visit. Here is an example which I have shortened in its height.

AdChoice malware ad

On some other pages you may see a banner across the bottom hiding the bottom inch (or a couple of centimeters) of the page your are viewing. It will tell you that the web site uses cookies and asking your to accept them. First of all, any time you are visiting a web site, your browser has already been configured to allow or to not allow cookies. Your permission here is only needed to allow that web page to install more malware on your computer. Here is a shrunken version of such a banner.

cookie request malware announcement

So do not click on any such items. Getting rid of this malware/adware can take hours. I know by personal experience.

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