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Ninety seconds on Mocănița Vaser Valley Railway
Sixty kilometres from Sighet, in Vișeu de Sus, steam engines still haul historic carriages up the Vaser valley on one of the last steam forestry railways working in Europe. The ride takes the whole day, so plan it as a trip of its own.
The engine at the head of the train burns wood, not coal, fed with waste wood from the sawmill. Before departure the drivers load the wood and oil the engines in the smoke at the station.
Two kinds of carriage make up the train, some enclosed with windows and some open at the sides. They are plain and historic, kept for their history rather than their comfort.
The line follows the Vaser river up a narrow valley through spruce forest and crosses a wooden arch known as the Maramureș Gate. The whole valley lies inside the Munții Maramureșului Natural Park.
The railway was built in the 1930s to carry timber out of this valley, not passengers, and the tracks you ride were laid for log trains.
Once under way, the train climbs slowly and stops now and then so the engine can take on water from the river. At each water stop you can step down and look around.
The first stop is short, but hot gogoși, Romanian doughnuts, are sold beside the track, which helps if you brought no food. Phone signal drops out along most of the route.
The train runs on to Paltin, at kilometre 21.6, where the tourist trains turn. This is the long stop: Paltin has benches, pavilions and an open-air restaurant, and you can walk down to the riverbed or into the forest with a picnic. The Mocănița Special ticket includes lunch here.
Stay close to the station at Paltin, because the stop has a set length and the train then heads back down the valley to Vișeu de Sus.
If you have the choice, sit in an enclosed carriage in the cooler months. The open carriages give the clearest view of the valley in summer but get cold once the train is moving, so bring a warm layer either way. You keep the same seats for the whole round trip.
Book on the official site and pay by card. Summer dates fill easily, so book ahead. In season an unclaimed reservation lapses at 09:00 on the day of travel.
A written cancellation at least 72 hours before departure gets a full refund, and 24 to 72 hours before gets a partial refund.
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The official pages this guide was checked against.
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