THE BRASOV LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF EXISTENCE,
BUT ITS “ANCESTOR” APPEARED 126 YEARS AGO

    On December 21, 1999, we celebrated half a century of existence of the Bacau Locomotive Depot, but this is not the age of the Brasov locomotive operation centre, which - along with the railway station, the line and railway links to Transylvania and, via Predeal, to Muntenia - originates much further ago in the history of the Romanian Railways: in 1873, in June, the station and “locomotive deposit” were inaugurated in Brasov.
   Of course, the current location of the Brasov depot has nothing in common with the beginnings. Immediately after the end of the war, in October 1945, when virtually all of the railway network was affected, reconstruction of the complex began, and with a new location and a modern design, the building of the new locomotive depot began. The new depot was inaugurated on December 21, 1949.
    Before we enter the “secrets” of this great depot - among the first three in the country in terms of size and volume of activity - we must point out another anniversary: 40 years since the introduction of Diesel propulsion, when steam locomotives were replaced. This depot has been the first electrified depot; in 1965, electric locomotives were introduced.
    The Brasov depot, as all great depots, is organised into three sectors of activity: operation - directly related to the towing of trains, current repairs - those planned for maintaining locomotives in operation, and the industrial sector - where the major repairs take place, with locomotives lifted up from the axles, and general planned repairs every 500,000 km and 1,000,000 km.
    People at the depot have managed to organise their activity so as not to depend on other units, and are able to provide the repairs and of aggregates on locomotives (reduction gears, inverters, compressors, blowers, pumps, etc.), as well as axles - such as reconstructing the wheel rim.
    Returning to the operating sector, where life proceeds at the pace of train circulation, we must say that the Brasov depot ensures, with its electric and diesel-electric locomotives, the towing of trains along eight traffic sections, to Bucharest, Curtici, Oradea, Sibiu, Ciceu, Bretcu, Intorsura Buzaului and Zarnesti.
    The anniversary day began in the Brasov station, where the guests were received. Along those arrived from Bucharest, the most impatiently expected were the “veterans” of the depot and the regional company. The whistle of the steam engine could not break through the moment of memories being recalled at the meeting.
    To mark the moment, the organisers prepared a trip through Zarnesti, on a vintage train owned by the Brasov Regional Company. The train was towed by the 230.224 locomotive, one of the steam engines that once belonged to the Brasov depot. The official carriage was host to the meeting and the discussions between the numerous guests - former depot heads, engineers who began their careers here.
    At the Zarnesti turn, the vintage train entered directly into the depot and stopped at the very place where the unveiling of the commemorative slate was to take place.
   After a moment of remembrance for those who have worked in this depot, but are no longer among us, followed the speeches delivered by the organisers and those invited. The first depot head, when it had just moved to the new location, shared to those present his memories of that time. He was followed by other colleagues from the steam age, mechanics who worked on 142.000 locomotives, engineers who took part in converting to Diesel power, and among those who electrified the first depot and railway portion in the country: Predeal - Brasov. Often, the stories caused rounds of applause, to pay homage to the merits of the predecessors in developing Romanian traction.

Dan Dragos Aldea
Daniel Secarescu