Prislop railway

In the winter of 1914, the Russian attack reached the line of the Carpathians. Most of Bukovina and Galicia fell. The supply of Austro-Hungarian units displaced from Bukovina has become critical. The settlements of Dorna Vatra and Kirlibaba on the eastern side of the Beszterce Mountains and the troops defending them could only be supplied on trails leading through the high and extensive mountains. At that time, the railway transport of Bukovina was built only from the north, from Galicia. From the direction of Hungary the ancient “grassland” was not yet passable. The Monarchy urgently had to build a supply railway line.

The Prislop railway was built in the winter of 1914-15 between Borsa and Jakobeny. Because it had to be built very fast, the trail followed the trail of a chariot road through the mountains. It is clear that the serpentine road that led to the Prislop pass at 1416 meters high could be followed only by a narrow-gauge railway line. The gauge of the railway was only 750 millimeters, and the previously built Teresa Valley line was extended with the new branch. Bypass tracks of 400 meters in length have been built in several places on the long section of track. This allowed more trains to travel on the line per day. The excellent work done is praised by the fact that the rail was used in logging as long as in 1998! This year, floods damaged the track, which was no longer restored at that time. The Prislop Railway was built by the 28th Railway Construction Squadron under the direction of Lieutenant Felix Tarbuk. The earthworks were, of course, carried out by prisoners of war, about 5,600.

The gray metal badge of the Brüder Scheneider company in Viennea does not look militant. The importance of the supply or the hardships of its construction are not really reflected on the badge image. It looks more like the propaganda material of tracks in a recreation and fun park.