It is no secret that I love trains and train travel, and our primary mode of transportation in Romania has been using the state-owned rail system. I particularly enjoyed passing by remote stations where the stationmaster appears with a handheld red/green paddle. At scheduled stops we wait for the raised green paddle indicating that we may officially proceed. Even the most remote, desolate stations devoid of any life, apparently are required to be manned by a uniformed paddle waving attendant.
While the train cars were a bit dated, the trains did, for the most part, run on time. On one occasion, however, we boarded a train that failed to leave the station at its scheduled departure time. An agitated conductor eventually appeared informing us in broken English that the train “No Go”, “Kaput" "Train Kaput”. After a few hours, we secured seats on another train which had its own issues, namely, doors that did not always close between stops. Now I saw this as a great opportunity to ride through the Romanian countryside like a boxcar hobo. So, a very special thank you to the CFR (Caile Ferate Romane) for a very exciting ride. Yahoo!!!
A short video clip from the open train door on our ride from Sighisoara to Sibiu:
P.S. The photo of the Locomotive at the top of the page was taken at the Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum (graveyard), a fine collection of rusty iron.
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