valentaman
Member
22nd February with leave to use a trip out to some different places was part of the plan!
A rainy drive to Bishop Stortford
Then 745110 to the airport
EI-IFT 737 Max8 FR2366 to Kosice
A lot of screaming kidzz and few having a blazing row...
Bus to the railway station to purchase tomorrow's ticket for R960 to Mukachevo Ukraine!
Night photography is then done to round off day 1!
Stay at University Dorms for 18 euros!
23rd February Time to Head East into the unknown
Tram to station
There R960 Kosice to Mukachevo was standing with 813.003 on its own but then at 8.30 163.108 and a SK-WBSA Blue and Yellow Ropey old Carriage coupled up and would remain with us all the way to Chop any ideas why folks? Coach number was SK-WBSA 52 56 70-40 002-3
On departure from Cierna we stopped at the Border gate for a passport and bag check but when I was asked if I had smokes or booze said no that was it!
Arriving into Chop same situation again no hassle but that would occur later...
813.003 then took us thru to Mukachevo on some dodgy ropey track as good as a 142! Cost for this leg is 11 Euros.
On the depot at Chop noted a few bits but mostly blocked from view
Arrival at Mukachevo for 3 Hours
30 mins later and got told to delete photos as photography not allowed
so went to a cafe and enjoyed a few drinks
Time to head north!
Taking Ukrzaliznytsia Train: 039Л
Trip route: Mukachevo - STRYI Formed of 16 coaches and VL10-1457 cost £1.42
Arrived in Stryj and went to my hotel that cost me 7 quid a bit of a dive oh well...
then went and did a little bit of night photography
24th February time to head for the Cements and some tourism
Train: 043Ш
Trip route: STRYI - IVANO-FRANKIVSK Te10 2124A and 2127B £1.35
Te33 2001 Train: 136Л
Trip route: IVANO-FRANKIVSK - LVIV train goes on to Dnipro ? Cost £1.60
Getting hands shaken by Ukrainian soldiers, lovely folk! A fun train ride to Lviv beckoned many Alco shots later!
Went to my hotel near the Opera House and before the Curfew time which across majority of Ukraine is 2300-0500 approx
25 February Where it all got very dicey fast!
Going for a walk over a public footbridge with a camera and a quick photo of 2 trains and oh no 5 soldiers come over and shouting... and subsequently taken to the police station to be grilled on who i am and why I take photos... 45 mins later explaining tourism and Train spotting in Ukrainian and english... using google to help me get the wording right... I was told to go and then every little station I went to they kept saying no photography Englishman... So if considering a visit bare in mind you might be getting a grilling...
anyways with that done it was on for a quick bash to Lviv Pidzamache then a tram back to the main square to do tourist stuff
Then rode on more trams and buses and went to see the Azovstal memorial! A very sobering place.
No 2m62s sighted on Ivanov turns... All seem to be TE33 sadly
Dinner at a bar near the station 7 quid
26th February time to get out of here!
Wakes up for a 4am Taxi thru a lviv taxi app and Telegram to communicate
Train: 081К
Trip route: LVIV - CHOP Grand price of £1.80
Vl10 1490
and Banking us over the Carpathians was VL11.099
All trains within Ukraine were 3rd Class Ammendorf Carriages with the coal powered boilers, a really awesome experience.
Now we are stamped out of Ukraine, it's time to head to the usual spots...
Noisey 418.165 took me on SZ645 Chop to Zahony
SZ 6215 431.184 to Nyíregyháza past a ex uk class 86 at Szerencs!
SZ 5115 431044 to Miskolc-TiszaiNow to head for Slovakia aboard
IC184 Hornád from Miskolc to Hidasnémeti with 480.012 my 21st 480 scooped! 4 to go!
which became EC184 later on from Hidasnémeti with 362.002 runs me through to Košice
362002 to Kosice Total cost for the run from Chop to Košice £20
now it was straight on to OS7824 to Kostoľany nad Hornádom 163.104 doing that!
There I did a hours photography then awaiting the 460 diagram
OS 7825 is the booked run now a Poprad Tatry to Kosice service gen from spreadsheets and vagonweb took this to Ťahanovce unit was 460.043 460.044
OS 7827 then to Kosice to wrap up the day 163.107
Stayed again at the university dorms for 18 euros
27.2.2024 was about photography not bashing so a visit to the SRT was called for
661813 to Ruskov OS 8505 Presov to Cierna Nad Tisou now a line full of units!
Busy day of freight 3 broad gauge workings in sunshine!
661807 to Košice OS 8524 Cierna Nad Tisou to Presov Taken as far as Košice.
350.002 EX612 Košice to Bratislava as far as Poprad-Tatry
Hotel near Station for £27 ouch!
28th the closing day of the adventure...
Started at 05.35 with a 495.955 Stadler to Strbske Pleso
Then another to Strba down the cog rail that was fun with 495.952
Then a long walk to Strba curve for some photography
A dozen or so freights and watching a group of tourists rock up in a camper van then misjudge there parking and it sinking into the mud oops after that it was the walk back then
163.001 Strba to Poprad-Tatry OS 7849 from Liptovský Mikuláš
Taxi to Poprad Airport cost 8 euros but as we got going he changed it to 15 and then 20... scammer users be aware!!
737-800 EI-EFC to Stansted for a 745104 to Stortford for the 90 min drive back to Rutland
So Slovakia a success
Ukraine was interesting but getting detained for having a camera whilst walking over a railway bridge was a bit extreme but apparently photography is very very illegal though from asking it seems to be a rule that may be not quite as it seems and depending on who you run into as to what occurs...
No. Air alerts whilst I was In Mukachevo, Stryj, Ivano-Frankivsk or Lviv
Entry requirements for Ukraine valid passport and roof of hotels and travel documents and advise to have war insurance 3euros a day
Was I mad to go there yes was I glad to do it hell yes! (Toruism is legally allowed but each of us has our own view)
Tickets I downloaded tickets.ua to book my 3rd class berths
Spoke to so many Ukrainians who were for the most part amazing. There were some dicey moments where a bus driver filmed me etc but I think it's an old hark back to old times!
Photos will be up on Instagram @Arutlandphotographer and Flickr.com/ukbuses in the coming days and weeks...
Thanks to Richard Hague's and others for their invaluable advice
A very very very good trip! Any questions about the trip feel free to ask!
Until next time
Cheers