Imagine sitting beside a double-track main line, halfway up a mountainside, enjoying the sight and sound of a pair of 751s grinding past on a heavy stone train. A few minutes after they’ve disappeared another pair of 751s come round the corner, this time one at either end of a long mixed freight. Shortly after they’ve gone, yet another pair of 751s appear, pulling a train of steel coil and then a single 751 follows the rest on a pick-up goods. That was Hrhov, at the east end of the Zvolen - Kosice main line, this afternoon between 13:50 and 14:32 and, before you check, this wasn’t written on April 1st. All the trains ran pretty well as expected except that, apart from the pick-up, they were diagrammed for 736s, not 751s.

I began the day at Podkrivan, between Zvolen and Lucenec, then drove east to Hrhov, stopping briefly at Gemerska Panica, south of Plesivec, for a shot of R932. After a splendid afternoon at Hrhov, I went back south to Gemer, north of Tornala, for the last couple of shots. After a day that started with a pair of 756s and peaked with three pairs of 751s at Hrhov, what better way to end than with a 751+752 double header on freight and a pair of 754s on R933. An excellent day with weather to match.

I stayed at the Hotel Kras in the centre of Roznava (the station is around 3km away, well beyond the outskirts).

Podkrivan

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
742.295	Mn83301	06:19 Zvolen nakl.st. - Lucenec Pick-Up Freight	08:05
756.004 756.007 banked by 736.010	61304	01:16 Kosice - Zvolen nakl.st. Freight	08:23
813.012	Os6207	08:10 Zvolen os.st. - Lucenec	08:47
754.069	R930	06:06 Kosice - Zvolen os.st.	08:57

Gemerska Panica

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
754.005	R932	09:05 Presov - Zvolen os.st.	11:14

Hrhov

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
736.015 736.012		WB Oil Tanks	12:44
813.028 813.021	Os6404	12:09 Kosice - Jesenske	13:18
751.129 751.196		WB Stone Hoppers	13:50
751.206 banked by 751.xxx		WB Freight	14:04
736.022 736.024		EB Freight	14:05
751.173 751.076		WB Steel Coil	14:18
751.113	Mn81160	11:10 Velka Ida - Plesivec Pick-Up Freight	14:32
813.021	Os6407	14:05 Plesivec - Kosice	14:42
751.113		EB Light Engine	15:05
754.033	R934	15:27 Kosice - Zvolen os.st.	16:07

Gemer

Loco	Train No.	Train Details	Notes
751.026 752.020		NB Freight	17:24
754.069 754.014	R933	15:53 Zvolen os.st. - Presov	18:04