Rack railway Tisovec – Zbojská
The rack railway trail Tisovec – Pohronská Polhora was launched in 1896 for the needs of the developing metallurgical industry. Today it is a single place in Europe, where you can fully enjoy the long-forgotten experience of a wide-gauge rack railway ride in a steam train. You can admire unusual views from the windows of a historical train, which passes through the beautiful nature of the “Muránska planina” National Park.
Technical parameters
The railway passes through challenging mountainous terrain with a total elevation of 314 m. Thus, there are several unique artefacts built along the line, such as the tunnel with a total length of 786 m, several 10 to 15 m long notches in the rocks, several to 6 m high embankments and retaining walls, 8 smaller bridges and 2 to 36 m high arched viaducts known as the “Pod Dielom” viaduct and the “Čertov most” (Devil's Bridge). The line crosses an ascent of 48 per mille from the Tisovec-Bánovo to Zbojská and 52 per mille from Pohronská Polhora to Zbojská, so a cog was built on this section.
Rack Railway Museum
You can learn interesting facts about the history of the Tisovec - Zbojská - Pohronská Polhora rack railway directly at the Tisovec railway station. The Rack Railway Museum next to the Tisovec railway station building is open for visits each day when steam train rides stop over from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. It is open always during the stay of the steam train at the station.
In the museum, history of the rack railway and its rescue are presented in written word and images on hanging panels. The exposition itself consists of a diorama from a transportation office and a corner of railway tracks and buildings. There is a demonstration of the railway superstructure, including the original cogwheel equipment, basic tools for its measurement and maintenance, a model of wooden support for the tunnel in its construction. Another corner includes vehicles equipped with various tools, locomotive speedometer, uniforms and model rail track.
