On September 19, 1948, a youth rally was held in Sarajevo to celebrate the inauguration of the first part of the Sarajevo – Krupac pioneer railway, from Švrakin Selo to Donji Kotorac, measuring 4,200 meters in length. Several thousand Sarajevo pioneers participated in the rally, enthusiastic about the construction of the first facility, which would serve them for recreation and learning. The railway was built through the dedicated efforts of Sarajevo youth brigades, members of the People’s Front from Švrakin Selo, Donji and Gornji Kotorac, and the expert leadership of the railway authorities. The first train, decorated with flags and greenery, departed from Donji Kotorac toward Švrakin Selo, with representatives of the pioneers aboard. This small train, traveling along a narrow gauge track of 0.60 meters, was greeted at the final station with loud cheers and applause. Special greetings were extended to the pioneers and pioneer girls who were performing railway traffic duties on ‘their’ railway for the first time. Future railway workers, including station masters, train conductors, telegraph operators, engine drivers, ticket clerks, conductors, inspectors, switchmen, and traffic militia, stood in a ceremonial formation, dressed in new stylish uniforms adorned with railway insignias.
After the welcoming speeches of the party leaders for the city of Sarajevo, which were attended by the Secretary of the Presidency of the government, ‘comrade’ Džemal Bijedić, a telegram read by Sarajevo pioneer members was presented. It was sent to Marshal of Yugoslavia, brother Tito, and among other things, it stated that on behalf of the pioneers of Sarajevo and the railway pioneers, they send their warmest greetings from the opening of the first Sarajevo pioneer railway, with a promise to conscientiously perform their duties and continue to develop professionally. After the telegram was read, those present at the rally enthusiastically cheered and clapped, greeting the slogans: “Long live the first pioneer railway in Bosnia and Herzegovina!”!, “Long live Brother Tito, our beloved pioneer friend!”!, “Long live the Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia!”!
After the rally, representatives of mass organizations and local authorities were invited to get on the train to honor this important event with their presence. With a signaling signal of “Departure,” given by the whistle of the train dispatchers and raised shovels, the procession led by a small locomotive began gently towards Donji Kotorac. All passengers received original cardboard train tickets costing two dinars.
During the journey, the pioneers and pioneer girls would cancel the tickets using conductor’s pliers, supervised by the vigilant eye of the conductors—reviewers and the railway children’s traffic police, with the scouts watching over them. The built track went through a sparsely populated but very romantic area of Sarajevo Field, near Mojmila Hill and the green valley towards Kotorac. During the war, Švrakino Selo was completely burned down and destroyed by the occupiers. The first stop of the ceremonial train was at the station in the Dobrinja settlement. After a brief pause, waving brigade flags and red pioneer scarves, the train continued its journey to Donji Kotorac.
Design and Construction of the Pioneers’ Railway
The Sarajevo Pioneer Railway started from the new workers’ settlement of Švrakino Selo, continued across Sarajevo Field where it connects the villages of Bijelo Polje and Vukovići, and ends in Donji Kotorac. Between these stations, there is a stop at Dobrinja. The railway was built from July 1 to September 19, 1948. The railway stations, equipped with necessary official premises and supporting infrastructure, were located in buildings provided by the General Staff of Youth Brigades. Both stations had two tracks for “turning” the locomotive for the next run. Additionally, a temporary locomotive shed was built, featuring a workshop for maintenance and minor repairs of the rolling stock.
The rolling stock consisted of two steam locomotives of the JDŽ 99.3-002 series, brought from the railway depot in Titograd, and JDŽ 3909 (0-2-0, Deutsch Krone), along with one service and four passenger cars. The technical overhaul of the locomotives and the steel platforms with wooden frameworks and complete interior furnishings of the passenger wagons were carried out at the Central Railway Workshop in Sarajevo.
Otherwise, the track is planned to be 14 km long and, once built, it will be the longest pioneer railroad in Yugoslavia. The gauge width in the project is 0.60 meters, with a maximum incline of 11‰. There are plans to construct a “pull-out” track from the Alipašin Most station to the beginning of the completed track in Švrakinom Selo, to allow continuous extraction of locomotives, passenger, and freight cars, both for the needs of Švrakinom Selo settlement and for uninterrupted operation of the pioneer railway. Additionally, there are plans to continue building the track from Donji Kotorac to the quarry, and ultimately to the planned station in Krupa.
In Krupac, a quarry was opened where limestone was produced and crushed for the needs of constructing public buildings, infrastructure works, and for building the first workers’ settlements on the outskirts of Sarajevo. In 1947, the expansion and construction of new neighborhoods began, organized by the City People’s Assembly and led by the People’s Front: Grbavica, Aneks, Hrasno, Pavle Goranin Settlement (Švrakino Selo), and others. During that year, along with the organization of youth actions, the first Sarajevo settlement after World War II was built in Švrakino Selo, which soon was named after the national hero Pavle Goranin.
The Sarajevo Pioneer Railway was discontinued on December 3, 1949. Based on the timetable changes from May 15, 1949 (the 5th timetable modification), a telegram numbered 87/c dated December 3, 1949, was issued, stating that from that day all traffic on the Švrakino Selo – Donji Kotorac pioneer railway line ceases. The locomotives were transferred to Semizovac to serve the shunting of gravel trains. Specifically, a 600 mm gauge track was built from the Semizovac station leading along the right bank of the Bosna River. Gravel was extracted from the river, loaded into ‘mine’ wagons, and transported to the unloading ramp in Semizovac, opposite the military barracks. The gravel was used for constructing a new road segment from Vogošća towards Semizovac and further towards Srednje and Olovo.
During the construction of the Grbavica settlement, with the help of the Sarajevo Railway Directorate, a single “withdrawal” track was built, width 0.76 meters, starting from the Old Railway Station, crossing the main road, a wooden railway bridge over the Miljacka River (near the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, op. a.), to the terminal station in Grbavica, or to the building of the Main Headquarters of the Youth Brigades. This track played a significant role in transporting construction materials for the needs of the settlement. Rapid industrialization gave the city of Sarajevo a new appearance and outlines, as public buildings, schools, health centers, and everything else necessary for life in the settlement were also constructed in the new neighborhoods where families, mostly employed largely in industry, received housing.
How the Pioneer Railways of the Former Yugoslavia Were Built
Construction of the first pioneer railways began in May 1947 in Belgrade and Zagreb. Since the Zagreb pioneer railway was the first to be completed, before the Belgrade one, on August 31st, and was handed over on September 1st, 1947, it is considered that the Zagreb pioneer railway was the first children’s railway in Yugoslavia.
The Pioneer Railway in Zagreb was built in its most beautiful part – Maksimir. The starting point of this railway is from the station bearing the name of the national hero “Jože Vlahović,” then it goes through a park for 700 meters. Upon exiting the park, it crosses a bridge over the Stefanac stream, continues upstream to the “Stjepan Skrnjig” stop, and in the same direction to the terminal station bearing the name “Hrvatska Narodna Mlada,” or “People’s Youth of Croatia.” The total length is 2,600 meters, the track gauge is 0.60 meters, and the maximum gradient is 19 ‰, which is located 1,000 meters from the start profile of the railway.
The rolling stock consisted of: one new locomotive of the ’59’ series produced at the Đuro Đaković factory in Slavonski Brod; one official and three 4-axle passenger cars of the Cs type, renumbered to the Cag series 502 – Zagreb, 8 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, with 20 seats and 20 standing places. The cars were equipped with electric lighting and steam heating. The entire rolling stock, ready for service, was made at the Railway Workshop in Zagreb. The track was discontinued on September 21, 1953.
The second railway built was the “Belgrade Pioneer Railway,” which was completed and handed over by the responsible Ministry of Transport on September 20, 1947. Later, this railway would be handed over for use to the management of Pioneer City starting April 15, 1951. The track gauge width is 0.60 meters, and the length of the route is 5,085 meters. The railway departs from Banovo Hill, with the starting point being the Kosmaj station, which had three station tracks and a turntable for locomotives. From Kosmaj station, the railway curves sharply southward, ascending at a gradient of 10‰, passing through the Zlatar stop at 2.6 kilometers, then entering the Sutjeska station right next to the Pioneer City itself. From this station, the railway passes through the Fruška Gora stop and continues along the ridge above Kneževac and Rakovica. Above Rrakovica itself, the railway ends at 5 km at Jastrebac station, one of the most beautiful stations on pioneer routes. This station has three tracks, a locomotive shed, a triangle for turning locomotive tenders, and a pull-out track used to bring locomotives and passenger cars to the Pioneer Railway from Rrakovica station.
The rolling stock consists of three locomotives in two complete passenger sets, each with 10 cars. The locomotives were from the JDŽ series 99.4-010, 99.4-029, and 99.4-083, leased from the Đorče Petrov locomotive depot in Skopje. Traffic on this route ceased at the end of 1952 and was officially discontinued on January 30, 1953.
Young Pioneers Railway in Ljubljana
The third pioneering railway was built in Ljubljana. Construction of the track began on March 13, 1948, and was completed and put into operation on June 13 of the same year. The total length of the track is 3800 meters with a track gauge of 0.76 meters. The starting point of this railway was in the southern part of the Ljubljana suburb – Vič, specifically from the station called “TV 15,” which was named after the historical field connection from the time of WWII. The track leads to the suburb of Koseze, where (at profile 2.7 km) there is a station called “Jelenov Žljeb” and ends at Podutika, with the final station being Trgovski Gozd.
The rolling stock of this track consists of one JDŽ series 178-003 locomotive and five four-axle passenger cars from series Cas numbers 201 to 204, equipped with electric lighting, steam heating, and automatic air brakes. Additionally, the train set included one service car from series DFa number 250. According to some sources, the pioneer railway in Ljubljana was discontinued on April 11, 1954. The railway track with infrastructure was dismantled at the end of September of the same year. The buildings were handed over for use by youth organizations, while the basic and movable assets were transferred to the Ljubljana Railway Directorate, or to the narrow gauge Poljčane – Zreče line. Also, in the Slovenian city of Maribor, a plan was made to construct a Pioneer Railway, where the route would run along the left bank of the Drava River. The project was designed so that passengers could travel from the foothills of high Pohorje all the way to the famous Maribor Island resort on the Drava River, where at that time an enormous electrical power plant was located. The surveying and earthwork along the left bank of the Drava began on June 27, 1953. However, construction was soon abandoned for financial reasons.
Children’s Railway in Kruševac
The fourth pioneer railway was built in Kruševac, which, from a technical perspective, represented a significant step forward. Namely, it is the only pioneer railway in which a diesel motor train operated instead of a steam locomotive and traditional passenger cars, which the pioneers of this old town proudly used. The track was put into operation on May 1, 1948, and was circular, approximately 700 meters in length. The gauge width was 0.60 meters, with rails taken from a narrow forest railway on Veliki Jastrebac. The motor train consisted of driving wheels with two trailers. The construction included a steel frame with a rotating chassis and an upper box covered with sheet metal, built at the “14 October” factory in Kruševac. The power unit (engine and gearbox) was taken from a “Praga” truck. The track ceased operations during 1958.
Youth Railway in Skopje
The pioneer railway from Skopje was built along the route from City Park to Dolno Nerezi. Construction of the track began on June 25 and was completed and put into operation on July 21, 1948. The track is 5,500 meters long, with a gauge width of 0.60 meters, and is entirely horizontal. The route runs east-west and was mainly constructed in the city park, thus simultaneously connecting Skopje with its suburb of Đorče Petrov. The starting station is named “Stiv Naumov,” and the terminus is “Borko Talevski,” both built in a record seven days. Passing stations included Hristijan Karpos (zoo) and Blagoj Sosolcev (equestrian club). An extension of the “Dolno Nerezi – Matka” section from the Borko Talevski station, passing Đorče Petrov, to the final station Glumovo, spanning 600 meters, was put into operation in June 1952.
The rolling stock consisted of two locomotives of the JDŽ 99.4-005 and 99.2-00x series, then two open wagons built in the Đorče Petrov workshop, and four passenger cars of the Cas series ‘gifted’ by the Railway Directorate from Zagreb.
Pioneers Railway in Sarajevo
The sixth pioneer railway, from Švrakino Selo to Donji Kotorac, was built in Sarajevo with a length of 4,200 meters and was put into operation on September 19, 1948. The Sarajevo pioneer line started from the new workers’ settlement of Švrakino Selo and extended across Sarajevo Field, connecting the villages of Bijelo Polje and Vukovići, ending in Donji Kotorac. There is a stop at Dobrinja between these stations. The line was discontinued on December 3, 1949.
Pioneers’ Railway, the second in line, in Zagreb
The seventh pioneer railway in Zagreb, called “Dubrava – Slanovac,” was built and opened for traffic as the second pioneer railway in Zagreb. Construction on this track started on May 14 and was completed on November 14, 1948, when it was also put into service. The track begins from the suburb of Dubrava, ascending along the Budrovac Stream, then past the Pioneer City in Granešina, where the station “Pioneer City” is located, continues to the Miroševac stop, and concludes in Slanovac. The route is 5,920 meters long, with a track gauge of 0.76 meters, and the maximum gradient is 18.5 ‰.
The rolling stock consists of one locomotive of series 185-032 and four passenger cars, including two carriages of series Cas No. 205 and 206, built in 1907 and 1912 (reconstructed old carriages, owned by the former k.u.k. BHStB type salons), and two of series Cas No. 310 and 311. Additionally, the park includes one service carriage of series DFa No. 251 and two freight cars JDŽ No. 231 and 208. Later, locomotives from series 82-002, M-3, and M-20-752 were engaged on the track. The entire rolling stock that was made operational was assembled by the Railway Workshop in Zagreb. The railway was closed for traffic on September 7, 1964.
Young Pioneers’ Railway in Kragujevac
The first pioneer railway line in Osma was built in Kragujevac, from Veliki park – Vašarište to Šumarice, extending 3000 meters, with a track gauge of 760 mm. The starting station was located where the Mechanical Faculty is now, and it headed towards Šumarice, crossing diagonally the road from Kragujevac to Gornji Milanovac. Later, it followed the route of the so-called circular road, and ended at the terminal station “Lovački dom,” which was situated where the today’s “Šumarice” hotel stands. The track was constructed through the daily voluntary work of members of the People’s Front and brigadiers of youth brigades made up of students from all high schools in Kragujevac. The railway was officially opened on May 1, 1953. The rolling stock consisted of one locomotive and several narrow-gauge passenger cars. The line operated for a year or two, bringing joy and attraction to children, and then ceased operations due to high costs.
A pioneer railway was also built in Bitola (no available information, under investigation, ed.), and the planned construction of pioneer railways was in Bor, Niš, and Novi Sad, which were never realized.
The idea of building pioneering tracks was ‘uncritically‘ and ‘idealistically‘ transferred from Soviet socialist practice, where ‘attractive’ centers for children and youth were built to educate them in a new (socialist) spirit. This idea does not diminish the good intentions and nobility embraced by the pioneers and youth of former Yugoslavia at that time.
Through various pioneer – railwayman courses organized in places where pioneering railways existed, about 2000 young railway enthusiasts up to 15 years old have passed. The first traffic regulations for working on Pioneer Railways were developed, along with manuals for traffic, transportation, and telegraph services. Under the guidance of Pioneer organizations and railway experts, all pioneer railways received a solid cadre, which railway administrations count on in the future to entrust serious tasks in managing railway traffic.
Sources and Literature:
List “Oslobođenje”, September 19, 1948, *The railway line Švrakino Selo – Donji Kotorac, no. 505, page 3, was officially opened for traffic.*
List “Kragujevac Light” May 1953, http://kaldrmaskragujevac.rs/pionirska-pruga-u-sumaricama/, access 30.11.2020.
Book, “One Hundred Years of the Yugoslav Railway,” Collection of Articles on the Centennial of the Yugoslav Railways, Belgrade, 1951.
Book, Fani Rižnar, “Pioneer Route” – Images from the Life of Narrow-Gauge Railways in Ex-Yugoslavia (1879-1982), Pioneer Railways. Also, Book, Slobodan Simonović, “Encyclopedia of Kruševac and Surroundings,” 2011, article, p. 132.
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