Railway “ČIERNOHRONSKÁ ŽELEZNIČKA”
Čiernohronská Railway is a narrow-gauge forest railway, built in 1908 for the purpose of timber transport. Out of the total length of 132 km of tracks once used by the National Forest Agency volunteers managed to save 20 km of tracks in the years 1983 – 1992. These were turned a tourist attraction.
Today the railway runs daily from the main station in Čierny Balog in three directions - Vydrovo, Dobroč and Šánske - from the Easter Holiday until mid-September. Over the summer holidays steam locomotives run daily. During the rest of the year it is possible to order an extraordinary train with an accompanying program.
The history of the Čiernohronská Railway began in 1909. It was in regular operation until 1982. By a decision of the Slovak Socialist Republic government (note of the interpreter: once a state within a federation of the Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic) the entire railway was to be erased by 1985. On the New Year's Eve of 1982, the operation was definitively stopped and all railway equipment was destined for scrapping. In 1982, the Čiernohronská Railway became a state cultural sight. In 1983, the tradition of volunteering camps called TREE OF LIFE was launched at Čiernohronská Railway. On the 1st of May, 1992, the Čiernohronská Railway resumed operations between Čierny Balog and the Valley of Vydrovo (“Vydrovská dolina”) and just a year later from Čierny Balog to Hronec. Since 1995, the owner and operator of the Čiernohronská Railway was a local association of municipalities - the “Mikroregión Čierny Hron”. Starting in 2001 the carrier - transport operator is “Čiernohronská železnica”, which is a non-profit NGO providing community services.
In the vicinity of Čiernohronská Railway one finds many tourist attractions, such as the Open-air Museum of Forestry in Vydrovo or Dobroč forest. In the winter months you can go skiing to Urban’s hill. Not far from Čierny Balog you will also find many places to spend the night and excellent food.
