News

December 30, 2011

This year Santa brought the Friends of the Mocănița an unexpected yet long desired present: two real locomotives.

They are the Romanian L45H diesel locomotive no. 87-0040-3 and the Polish built steam locomotive no. 764.055, given in concession by the State Railway Tourism Company SFT-CFR S.A. They are now in Cluj-Napoca but will be brought to the SAR early next year, the steam locomotive to be a static exhibit in the station at Sibiu, to promote the restoration project, while the diesel to join the passenger carriage at the other end of the railway, in Agnita.

A static exhibit since the 70's, the steam locomotive misses many parts, mostly inside the cab, although the exterior looks complete to the untrained eye. On the other hand, the diesel ran until a few years ago and is mostly complete, with a few missing parts that render it unusable. Both will be cosmetically restored by volunteers in 2012 and, where possible, missing parts will be sourced, while funds will be raised through a website appeal.

Join us in this campaign!

September 29th, 2011

Last Saturday the Friends of the Mocănița received an unexpected gift - a narrow gauge trolley and 40 litres of herbicide.

It all started back in March, when some of the SAR friends (Ioana, Claudia, Bogdan, Radu and Mihai) went to Lechința, which is the north end of the Tg. Mureș narrow gauge lines, honoring an invitation from Sandu Demeter, another narrow gauge railways enthusiast. The motivation was, apart from the obvious and enjoyable meeting between people sharing the same passion, a memorable trip on the line by means of a motorized draizine made by Sandu.

We also met there Marian Dumitru, him too a narrow gauge enthusiast, who came all the way from Arad, together with his father, to see Sandu's draizine. Intrigued by Marian's passion in a place where the nearest narrow gauge line is more than 100 kilometers away, we soon became friends and listened to his plans of building a similar draisine, while he was carefully observing every detail of Sandu's invention.

Here we are, 6 months later, when Marian decides to pay us a visit in Agnita, on a day when he knew we'll be working the line. His father joins him again, sharing his enthusiasm, while unloading from their trailer a precious metal home-made trolley, freshly painted, with two removable seats. We soon put it to the test, carying tools to where we were working that day, at the end of the station. Virgil also finds another use for it - adrenaline on the unloading ramp. Later, the children living in the station building also enjoy riding it, propelled by the same Virgil.

Sadly Marian had to leave early, the road back to Arad is long and crowded, but not before offering us 40 litres of herbicide, which will come handy next spring when spraying the track. We all thank you sincerely Marian and hope we'll be able to return the favour one day!

September 23rd, 2011

As stated before, earlier this year the SAR gained friends within the UK, following their brief visit last year for the centenary celebrations. As logic dictates, one of their first actions would be to get acquainted with the situation on the ground and the legal status of the assets. Thus it happens that, roughly one year later, we were happy to welcome a party of 9 UK friends of the SAR to Agnita, for a 5 day visit to the SAR.

SARUK members pushing the trolley with sleepers >

After an initial meeting with the mayor of Agnita, Mr. Radu Curcean, to familiarise with the legal status and issues of the SAR, our guests toured up and down the line from Agnita to Sibiu, including the branch line to Vurpăr, getting to know the line and buildings, admiring the scenery, discovering the culture and identifying potential opportunities and vulnerabilities of the SAR, while travelling by car, local bus, four-wheel drive vehicle and the bicycle trolley. Even more, they helped the track gang replacing sleepers on Saturday, went to a church service on Sunday at the Evangelical church in Alțîna, visited the Transfăgărășan - a splendid road up into the tallest mountains in Romania and helped the Romanian Friends choosing the right place to rebuild the warehouse in the station at Agnita.

Having taken in every moment and loaded with memories and photographs, they left very early on Wdnesday morning, Sept. 21^st, but not before reinstating their full support for the SAR restoration project, promissing to be back soon and thanking those who made their trip so enjoyable. Their thanks go to Radu, Laurie and Mihai of the Friends of the Mocănița for sparing their time and vehicles to accompany them, the mayor Radu Curcean for providing a minibus and sheding light on the legal and political aspects, the minibus drivers, the Ice B&B in Agnita for an excellent accomodation and the Ivvis B&B in Cornățel for a delightful lunch.

The first echoes of their trip have already been heard on the valley, as an issue they identified at the newly built road side parking by the monastery at Nocrich, where a drainage ditch had been dug much too close to the tracks, has already been repaired. At the same time, the precarious stables building at the Alțîna station was promissed funding later this year from one of the SARUK members for complete restoration.

We wish to thank all SARUK members for their efforts and perseverence and we hope for an even more enjoyable next visit soon!

Read more about their Romanian experience in the SARUK Newsletter.

July 20th, 2011

Only four months after the Friends of the Mocănița launched the public appeal to save the water tower at Cornățel, affected by theft and weather and in real danger of collapse, the building regained its original look.

Carefully restored by a team of young builders from Alțîna, who also left their marks on several parish houses along the Hârtibaciu Valley, the building regained its roof, the walls have been partially rebuilt and the exterior replastered.

May 2010

March 2011

July 2011

The total cost of 7100 RON has been paid entirely from donations, 4074 lei raised through the "Save the water tower" campaign, from abroad through SARUK, as well as from within the country, while the rest came from the 2% of the income donations of last year. On top of these we received a donation of tiles from Mr. Liviu Masalar, owner of the farm near the water tower.

We wish to thank all who have donated and thus helped save this small part of the Sibiu-Agnita railway. This is the second building restored on the SAR, after the one at Coveș, but there are still many which need attention.

June 10th, 2011

A train consisting of 17 coaches and a locomotive has found his "depot" in the meeting room at the Town Hall in Agnita. The rolling stock is made of recicled materials such as cardboard and plastic bottles. The builders of this miniature train were childrens from the kindergartens of Agnita, Kindergarten no.16 in Sibiu and Kindergarten no.2 in Sighișoara, while the route on every coach read Sibiu - Agnita - Sighișoara.

During the "Childrens' Mocănița" project, initiated and coordinated by Maria Brumar, Adriana Prișcă and Simona Armeana, in a timescale of two months the little builders listened to sories, made trips, painted, modelled and each group built a personalized coach. Their older friends from the Agnita Volunteer Service and the Friends of the Mocănița Association provided support.

During this time, the children embarked on wonderful imaginary voyages with the old Mocănița, between Sibiu - Agnita - Sighișoara.

At the end of the project each group placed his coach on tracks outside in the kindergarten's court and awaited the parents' appreciation for their work. Unfortunately, the drops of rain rushed them to take the long perishable train inside one of the class rooms, where conditions have not been best to fully appreciate the beauty of their work.

Now the people of Agnita can admire the children made Mocănița in the meeting room at the Town Hall. One can't tell when will they be able to also admire the adults' Mocănița, running between Sibiu - Agnita. Let's just hope they won't have to wait until the builders of the Childrens' Mocănița grow big.

April 14th, 2011

Yet another battle was lost for the SAR, as all the rolling stock in the narrow gauge depot at Sibiu has been taken away at the beginning of this month:

• 764.052 steam locomotive, in working order, although with an expired boiler. It never ran on the SAR and her sole run after being refurbished was for the BBC Countryfile programme in April 2007;
• 764.205 steam locomotive, in near working order. It was the last steam locomotive to haul tourist trains on the SAR, after a major overhaul in 1997;
• 764.155 steam locomotive, incomplete. Although borrowed from the Tg. Mureș depot, it used to haul tourist trains in mid 90's, prior to 764.205;
• 87-0017 diesel locomotive, in working order. This is the last of the diesels that used to haul daily passenger and freight trains on the SAR until 2001;
• two heating wagons, which were used in the latest years to heat passenger trains during winter;
• a breakdown van, built in mid 50's;
• a flat wagon, the last of many which used to carry logs from the Hârtibaciu Valley.

Although some of the rolling stock has been rented for 5 years from SFT, the state owned railway tourism company, it is not yet certain what kind of paperwork enabled the removal of rolling stock which did not belong to SFT. Everything has been moved to Târgu Mureș, where an investor is working towards restoring the Mureș narrow gauge lines.

Although we are happy that the SAR rolling stock is helping with the revival of another Romanian narrow gauge railway, we highly disapprove how the whole deal went, without any notice or consult with the SAR players, neither by the SFT nor by the new tennant. However, a few days before being lifted, the Friends managed to start the procedure of listing the breakdown van and the flat wagon, the steam locomotives having already been listed, thus ensuring that this bit of SAR will at least not dissapear.

A torn and broken track in front of the depot, clung by the trailer when making the first transport, is all that reminds now of the busiest few days of n.g. activity in Sibiu over the last four years.

The picture shows steam locomotive no. 764.052 for the last time in Sibiu, on March 28, ready to be loaded onto the trailer.

April 4th, 2011

On Saturday, 2nd of April, five Friends of the SAR joined the "Awaiting the Mocănița" volunteering action at Hunedoara, aimed towards showing to the local authorities that the civil society wants the Hunedoara-Govăjdie narrow gauge railway back, for tourism purposes.

Armed with axes, saws and chainsaws, tens of young volunteers cleared about 4 km of trackbed of weeds, the SAR volunteers having joined the third team, who battled with nature on the most distant section of trackbed tackled by this action, between Catana halt and the bridge at km 7+260.

Beside the beautiful landscape, the trackbed winding on the mountain slope, some 30 meters above the valley, we were impressed by the size of the mobilization and the enthusiasm of the young people from Hunedoara. Those who made it through to the end enjoyed a trip further on the trackbed, through the impressive curved tunnel dating back to 1900 and on to the 3 missing bridges, followed by the furnace at Govăjdie, the most modern furnace for melting iron ore in Europe at its time.

We parted with nostalgy and promissing to return, both for such organized actions and for friendly visits. But, perhaps most important, with the satisfaction of having made new friends and having helped with the rebirth of yet another Romanian narrow gauge railway.

Good luck, CFI Hunedoara!

March 31st, 2011

On March 23rd, in Birmingham, 17 British railway experts and enthusiasts gathered to form the Sibiu-Agnita Railway UK Supporters’ Group (SARUK), most of which having attended last year's centenary celebrations at Agnita.

After an initial briefing on the project, with David Allan (group Chairman) passing on news from Mihai Blotor (Friends of the SAR Cahirman) and Bill Parker of the Flour Mill reporting based on his long term involvement, officers were elected and a constitution was agreed that enables them to act in support of the project, provide expertise and source funding.

The first steps towards achieving their goals include matching Bill Parker's donation for the restoration of the water tower in Cornățel, sourcing a motorised rail vehicle which the Friends can use to go up and down the line and sponsoring a Friend to take part in this year's Fedecrail Youth Camp in Poland. Furthermore, the group plans to organise both visiting and working parties to the SAR, to help raise the project profile and the Friends' morale.

The picture shows the group assembled at Burlington Hotel in Birmingham.

25 February 2011

The centenary celebrations, held on 25 and 26 September 2010, were honored by a visit of railway preservationists from the UK, actively involved in the restoration of British heritage railways.

So impressed were by the enthusiast and dedication of those involved in this restoration project that, under the leadership of David Allan, chairman of the Welsh Highland Railway Heritage Group and director of the Ffestiniog Railway Heritage Ltd, they decided to form a UK branch of the Friends of the SAR.

With the objective of raising funds for various projects, advising the Friends, promoting the project and contributing to their credibility when dealing with officials, the group aims to gather as many members as possible, both from amongst the UK rail enthusiasts and foreigners involved in projects in this area of Transylvania, to produce a biannually newsletter and to plan visits for those interested.

The first edition of the newsletter has already been issued and can be viewed here, while the first meeting of members is planned for the second half of March, to officialize the body and discuss various aspects. Invitations to join have been sent both by means of the internet and through written specialized publications, the capture showing an article in the March 2011 edition of The Railway Magazine.

We greatfully thank our UK friends and hope for a successfull and long cooperation.

13 December 2010

In recognition of the voluntary efforts towards saving, preserving and restoring the Sibiu-Agnita narrow gauge railway, on 9 December, in Bucharest, at the 2010 Club Feroviar Awards, the Friends of the SAR Association was handed the Excellency Award for tradition in rail transport.

At it's 5th edition, the event is organized every year by Club Feroviar and the Romanian Railway Industry Association, rewarding important achievements in the rail industry. Thus, this year the Friends of the SAR stood beside heavy names of the national rail industry, such as Remarul 16 Februarie Cluj-Napoca, Promat Craiova, Porr Romania, Alinso Group, Wiebe Romania or Bucharest Municipality (tramways). The nomination and rewarding of the association is as surprising as this is the first time a volunteering initiative is invited and welcomed among the railway elite, in Romania.

The diploma and trophy were handed to the association President - Mihai Blotor, by Mr. Ștefan Roșeanu, Senior Partner of Club Feroviar, preceeded by the laudatium of Mr. Dinu Drăgan, head of the Romanian Railway Authority. The efforts of our volunteers were personally appreciated and congratulated by most of those invited, at the same time offering support, theirs and of the companies which they represent, towards achieving the association's aims.

“Sincerely, I wouldn't have expected our efforts to be noticed and appreciated at such a high level. This reward honors us and proves that we are on the right path. Thank you Club Feroviar and Romanian Railway Industry Association for your support!”, said Mihai Blotor.

11 November 2010

The Friends of the SAR Association has today signed a contract to buy the former railway goods warehouse in Agnita. This is a wooden building covering 190 sqm which was built at the same time as the Sighișoara-Agnita railway, in 1898. In late 60's the tracks between Sighișoara and Agnita will be lifted and the warehouse, located at the Sighișoara end of Agnita, now without rails, gradually loses its importance, though continuing to act as storage space. Becoming private property in the 90's seems to seal its faith, plans being made to transform it into a sheperd's hut on the nearby hills or to use the wood for old like furniture. As a result, in 2008 it will be stripped of walls and tiles, the structure left exposed to the weather.

The warehouse was taken into consideration by the Friends in early 2010, when it became obvious that a rolling stock repair workshop needs to be built in the station at Agnita, the building making perfect candidate with only minor alterations. This not only conveniently solves the workshop issue, but also saves part of the railway's authentic patrimony.

However, until the first restored carriage will leave the former warehouse there are still lots of things to do, starting with dismantling and continuing with transport, identifying a location, reerecting and fitting it with equipment, but this is the first step towards the first construction on the new Sibiu-Agnita railway.

14 Oct 2010 - Centenary celebrations in Agnita on 25 & 26 September

We did it! After overcoming any number of difficulties, on Sunday, 26 September we celebrated 100 years of the Sibiu-Agnita railway, bringing the train back to Agnita 9 years after the line closed.

The first day of celebrations, Saturday, 25 September, was shared with the annual ‘Transylvanian Brunch’, so the guests enjoyed fresh local food and traditional recipes, served on the station platform. There was also an interesting exhibition in the now derelict station building, courtesy of artist Saşa-Liviu Stoianovici.

However, the main attraction lay on the tracks - the beautiful Budapest-built steam locomotive no. 764-243, at 99 only one year younger than the railway, and kindly provided by Mr Georg Hocevar. Although the carriage, one of the last to run on the line, and only just saved from scrapping two years ago, did not arrive until the evening, the engine looked wonderful in the sunshine, and later the pair looked stunning in the evening light.

Sunday started off with speeches. Firstly the mayor of Agnita, Radu Curcean, and Mihai Blotor, president of the Friends of the Sibiu Agnita Railway, introduced the guests to the railway and the beginning of the restoration project. Radu Bellu, historian of Romanian railways, pointed out the main dates in the long history of the entire Sighișoara-Agnita-Sibiu railway. Bill Parker - project advisor and supporter - explained the philosophy behind the restoration project and congratulated those undertaking the work, while Georg Hocevar described the troubled history of his locomotive.

They were followed by the international guests, including Andrew Scott, CBE, Director of the National Museum of Science and Industry in London and formerly Head of the National Railway Museum in York, Stephen Wiggs, chairman of the New Europe Railway Heritage Trust (which has supported the project), Jessica Douglas-Home, chairman of the Mihai Eminescu Trust (which gave major support to the project and helped sponsor the event) and Stuart Thomas of the Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley railway in Wales which hosted 3 of the SAR volunteers last year.

After the speeches, the platform became the stage for traditional song and dance performances, while the train ran continuously through the afternoon, packed with children of all ages, back and forth on the 1.5km of track which the volunteers had cleared. Meanwhile, the station buzzed with stories of those who remember the train in its heyday, and some of them were recorded on tape and film by a number of journalists, as had also been the case the day before.

The steam engine left at the end of the day, but the carriage remains to mark the new beginning of the ‘Mocănița’, our little railway line.

This event could not have taken place without the involvement and help of local authorities, companies, individuals and volunteers, as well as international organizations and individuals. Chronologically, our thanks go to:

• Radu Curcean, the mayor of Agnita, who had the idea of restoring the railway, started the project and remains actively involved;
• The Mihai Eminescu Trust of London & Sighisoara, for lobbying and for funding much of the work;
• The New Europe Railway Heritage Trust in London, for continuing support;
• Bill Parker of the Flour Mill, for advice and encouragement, sponsoring the Friends with tools and equipment and funding the Coveș building restoration;
• The Sibiu Department of Culture, for helping ensuring that the railway was declared a historical monument, thus saving the tracks from being scrapped;
• The Friends of the Mocănița, all volunteers, for dedicating their time and effort to maintain and improve the railway and for working hard to make this event happen;
• Lucian Dumitra, for saving the four carriages from the scrap merchants;
• The Agnita Volunteers Service, for actively helping the Friends in their work;
• Chirion Stănuleţ, who not only stored the carriages in his yard but allowed the volunteers to work on them there;
• The Agnetheln Mobilă Tapițată SRL company, for sponsoring the carriage restoration project with quality chair covers;
• Employees of the Agnita town hall, for their efforts in clearing the station grounds for the event;
• The locomotive mechanics, without whom we could not have unloaded the locomotive;
• Raluca Oros and the Grafit Gallery for some wonderful engravings which were given to our guests;
• ... and many other friends, railway enthusiasts and local residents who rushed to help when things got stuck.

23 Sep 2010 - 100 years of narrow gauge railway on the Hârtibaciu valley

To mark 100 years, on 27 Sep, since the first train on the Sibiu-Agnita narrow gauge railway, the Agnita Town Hall, the Mihai Eminescu Trust and the Friends of the SAR Association are inviting both nostalic and curious to join them Saturday, 26 Sep, at the railway station in Agnita, to celebrate the centenary.

Between 11 AM - 3 PM, the station platform will host cultural and artistry shows, while children can enjoy a bicycle trolley on a secondary line. The organizers managed, especially for this occasion, to bring back the train on the Hârtibaciu valley, 9 years after the line closed and trains ceased to operate. Thus, from the main line of the station, a steam locomotive and a passenger carriage still under restoration will provide trips for guests on 2 km of line towards Sibiu, up to the area called "the Bârghiș swamp".

Although the distance is short and the carriage is still undergoing restoration, it is still a lot, considering that everything was done voluntarily, in their spare time, by the young enthusiasts of the Friends of the SAR Association, helped with logistics by the Agnita Town Hall and financially by the Mihai Eminescu Trust.

The Sibiu-Agnita railway is in fact only half of the original Sighișoara-Agnita-Sibiu railway, but tracks were lifted between Sighișoara-Agnita in 1965. The construction began in 1895 from Sighișoara and three years later trains start operating to Agnita. Extending the line to Sibiu succeeds only in 1910, when the Cornățel-Vurpăr branch, known as "the hunter's line", is also put into use. While large quantities of sugar beet are transported in the 60's and logs in the 80's, the early 90's find the line in a steep decline, resulting first with the closure of the Cornățel-Vurpăr branch, in 1997, and then the whole line in 2001, due to lack of funds for locomotive repairs. In 2007, to save it from being scrapped, the line and buildings are listed as historical monument, while another success is made in 2008, with saving four passenger coaches from scrapping. The same year brings the concessioning of the whiole railway, thus the restoration process slowly takes off, mainly to harness its tourist potential, and whoose protagonists are those mentioned above.

16 Aug 2010

Between 30 July to 8 August, two junior members of the Friends of the Mocănița Association took part in the Fedecrail Youth Camp 2010 in Budapest, Hungary. Claudia and Bogdan joined 25 more young people coming from nine other European countries in this fourth youth camp organized by the European Federation of Museum & Tourist Railways.

While engaging in professional training and doing work on the Children's Railway and then the Hungarian Railways Museum, their programme also included numerous spare time activities, such as the sightseeing tour of Budapest, a ride on the Danube at night through the capital city, watching a movie in the tunnel at the Children's Railway, bathing in lake Balaton, visiting the fortress of Visegrad or riding historic trams in Budapest and Szeged. The working part of the trip consisted in painting a railway bridge, platforms and pavements, working on the water cooling system of a diesel engine and painting a more than a hundred year old goods wagon at the railway museum, after removing the old paint. At the farewell party, held on the eve of the final day of the camp in one of the circular locomotive sheds at the railway museum, the organizers declared the camp a success and invited all participants to next year's youth camp which will be held in Poland.

We are proud to have had our railway represented proudly by the two junior members, amongst other European heritage railways which are years ahead of us, and we are keen on participating again to future camps. For both Claudia and Bogdan this was a vacation to remember, having had a lot of fun and making many friends, while at the same time introducing the SAR into the real world of European heritage railways.

We wish to thank Mr. John Jones, who insisted that we take part in this year's Fedecrail Youth Camp. A more comprehensive article about the camp can be read on the Budapest Children's railway webpage.

13 Jul 2010
Recently the Romanian Organization of Scouts relocated their headquarters to Nocrich, half way between Sibiu and Agnita on the railway, and have expressed a major interest in getting involved, together with the Friends of the Mocănița Association, in the restoration of the SAR.
Today marked their first action on the railway, 30 highschool girls of their summer camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) having cleared vegetation and soil on 100 meters of track just outside the Nocrich station. As a reward, we were glad to offer them our bicycle trolley for a speed tournament on the length of track they've uncovered. They really enjoyed the tournament, everybody getting to ride the trolley and, most of all, having the satisfaction of seing the purpose of their work, while enjoying it. We wish to thank Mr. Nicu Romaniuc, the camp organizer, who made everything possible.

1 Apr 2010
The exterior restoration works at the small railway building at Coveș, started last autumn by a team of local workers, were completed on 1 April, 2010.
Since the railway closed the building had fallen into disrepair, been taken over by various gipsy families, and become the subject of vandalism and theft, despite being listed as a historic monument, like the rest of the railway. It has now been restored to the standards and livery of the Hungarian railways of 1910. Minor work remains to be done, but the re-birth of the building proves that the "wheels are turning" and acts as an incentive for those involved and hopefully as a magnet for others.
Our thanks go to the Mihai Eminescu Trust, who provided materials and previously set up and trained the team of workers, to the Friends of the SAR for overseeing the works and providing tiles for the roof, and in particular to Bill Parker of The Flour Mill Ltd in England, who funded the work. Meanwhile, he has also supplied the Friends with new sandblasting equipment, much needed for the carriage restoration.
The building is close to and very visible from the main road leading from Agnita to Medias and Sibiu. It demonstrates to all who pass by that the railway is not dead, "but sleeping".

14 Dec 2009
Given that the 27 Sept 2010 will mark the railway's 100'th anniversary, at the request of the SAR's Friends Association an agreement was made between them, the Consortium and the Mihai Eminescu Trust to cooperate in order to mark both the centenary and the reopening of the line, on the weekend of 25-26 Sept next year. While the Friends Association's members will volunteer to do the necessary works, the MET will fund most of the project and the Consortium will help with logistics. The plan is to restore one of the passenger carriages which were saved from scrapping last year and to clean-up / repair the track as far as possible starting from the Agnita station towards Beneşti. Since the Consortium does not own any locomotive yet, a steam engine will be borrowed for the event.
On Saturday, the Agnita station will also host next year's last Brunch event.

29 Oct 2009
Noticing the advancing works on the road at Cornăţel, the mayor of Agnita was asked by the friends association to enquire about the planned situation of the nearby level crossing, on the branch line between Cornăţel and Vurpăr. Upon discussing with the works supervisor it became clear that the level crossing was supposed to be dismantled, with no regards of the line's status as historical monument. Fortunately the level crossing was saved, at least for the moment, an agreement being made not to do works on the road for 25 meters each side of the level crossing.

24 May 2009
Between 4 - 15 May three members of the SAR's Friends Association were in Wales for a change of experience with railway restoration projects there. After a two day tour of London we went to North Wales to visit the Festiniog and Welsh Highland railways. Seeing both lines from the observation coaches, discussing with people involved in the restoration projects and the vast historical knowledge of our host - Mr. John Keylock has given us a good idea of how such a project should be managed. Indeed these two railways are an example to follow for any heritage narrow gauge railway.
We then went to Carmarthenshire in South Wales, where we helped the recently started Burry Port to Gwendraeth Valley Railway restoration project. Apart from helping their members on scraping the rust and painting the boiler of their Pontyberem steam locomotive, painting level crossing gates, working on trackbed drainage and helping the Swansea Vale Railway to dismantle their tracks, we also made very good friends there, learned together which are the first steps in a railway restoration project and, most importantly, developed a tweening between the two projects - BPGVR and SAR, both at the same stage of their development. Looking backwards, this is a perfect example of EU's benefits - tweening similar projects at its opposite borders.
The whole trip was a great leap forward for our association, and we wish to thank New Europe Railway Heritage Trust and its Chairman - Mr. Stephen Wiggs, who came up with the idea and also made it happen. We can only hope that soon we will be able to return the favour to all those involved in our visit.
Read more about our visit to BPGVR on the BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/local_history/pages/gwendraeth_rail.shtml

16 Apr 2009
Members of the Friends of the Mocănița Association have started spring cleaning works at the Cornăţel station. The plan is to remove last year's dried out weeds, cut the trees which have grown too close to the tracks or buildings, and treat the station and as much track as possible, towards Hosman and Casolt, with herbicide. The treatment was made possible by a donation from the Mihai Eminescu Trust Sighisoara, which continues to support our efforts.

25 Nov 2008
The 4 carriages which were saved earlier this month were transported today to a secure place in Agnita. They were loaded in flatbed lorries and travelled on the Hârtibaciu valley once more after 8 years, stopping in every community to increase the villagers hope that the Mocăniţa is slowly returning. To make things better, the carriages entered Agnita and 'ran' on its main street for the first time since 1965, when the rails were lifted and the station moved 3 km outside town towards Sibiu.
The carriages are now safely stored in Agnita, waiting for their renovation.
We wish to thank Mr. Lucian Dumitra and Mr. Ion Chiri for their efforts in loading/unloading and transporting the carriages, as well as all those involved.

14 Nov 2008
The diesel locomotive which was also saved from scrapping was lifted up and transported today. From now on, it's new home will be the Central Works of Criscior, in the Apuseni mountains, property of S.C. Calea Ferată Îngustă S.R.L.

5 Nov 2008
Of the 5 diesel locomotives, 6 carriages and one heating wagon which SFT (the state tourist railway company who owned the SAR's rolling stock) decided to sell for scrap earlier this year, we managed to save only 4 of the carriages, due to unreal asking prices and various acts of corruption.
One of the diesels and the heating wagon were saved from scrapping by others, and will probably soon be moved from Sibiu.
However, the SAR is lucky, since SFT's decision affected all state-owned narrow gauge railways in Romania (including the Turda-Abrud and Târgu Mureş lines) where far fewer items have been saved, and those that have are going for use elsewhere.
The 4 carriages, which were damaged by the scrap men before we were able to save them, are now being secured and cleaned by the Friends of the SAR Association, and plans are being made for their restoration.
We wish to thank the Mihai Eminescu Trust for their valuable contribution towards acquiring the carriages.

1 Aug 2008
Finally, after months of discussions and lobbying, a contract has been signed with the SAAF - the current owner of the SAR, for a 25 years concession of the line to the Consortium. Even though the contract only refers to the line, with no additional buildings or assets, this is a major step forward since it enables us to write an EU funding project for the restoration of the SAR.
Others have already been invited to join the Consortium, such as the local councils along the railway and the Sibiu County Council.
The struggle goes on to save the rolling stock from scrapping.

31 May 2008
Even though some of its members were already active, today marked the first action of the SAR's Friends informal association. Our goal is to secure and improve the static assets of the railway while waiting for EU funding for the restoration of the whole line.
We are all young people, some of us still students, who are willing to work as volunteers for the benefit of the railway and are now focusing on the Cornăţel station, one of the most affected by theft, which we are hoping to slowly bring back to its former appearance. More details here.

12 February 2008
The "Consorţiul pentru dezvoltare intercomunitară Sibiu-Agnita" (Sibiu-Agnita intercommunity development Consortium) was formed with the sole purpose of taking over the railway. The Consortium is a public right type of organization, thus being able to receive state owned assets.

15 August 2007
Today the first meeting of the Consortium formed to represent the interests of the SAR took place. Among the things discussed, the most important were the future legal form of the Consortium (since now it is just informal) and the proposal to ask the Sibiu County Council to join.
So far the members of the Consortium are the Hartibaciu Valley Association, the "Mihai Eminescu Trust" and the Sibiu Department of Culture.

12 June 2007

Years of hard work have been rewarded yesterday, when the Sibiu Culture Department announced in a press conference that the Sibiu-Agnita Railway, along with the branch line to Vurpar and the station buildings and bridges from the Agnita-Sighisoara section is now officially declared a historical monument.

This means that the line has been saved from scrapping and makes possible its revival.

We wish to thank everybody involved in this operation, especially Mr. Marius Halmaghi and the head of the Sibiu Culture Department, Mr. Crisan.

7 April 2007
An official letter was sent to the CFR Infrastructure Dept. regarding the selling price of the narrow gauge maintenance rolling stock which they own.

2 April 2007
A BBC crew filmed a working steam narrow gauge train in front of the depot in Sibiu, as part of a documentary regarding saxon life in Transylvania. The documentary will be shown on BBC 1 channel on 29th April, as part of the Countryfile show.

20 March 2007
An official letter was sent by the New Europe Railway Heritage Trust and Fedecrail to the Romanian Minister of Transport and Tourism requesting the transfer of the railway to the local community.

17 January 2007
Our representatives met with the chief executives of both SAAF and SFT to discuss a possible short distance narrow gauge operation in Sibiu during this summer, as part of the Sibiu - Capital of Culture 2007 program.