site.btaSeptember 23, 2002: Bulgaria's Last Steam Engine Sets Off for Sofia

The last steam engine in the history of Bulgaria's rail transport set off from Boychinovtsi Station (Northwestern Bulgaria) on September 23, 2002. All tests have proved that the engine is fully operational. Its maximum speed is 140 km/h. It has featured in numerous film productions and is known as the Bulgarian version of the Orient Express, BTA's Archives and References Directorate said.

Here is BTA's Bulgarian-language report on the journey:

Last Steam Engine Sets Off from Boychinovtsi Station

Boychinovtsi, September 23, 2002 (BTA) - The last steam engine in the history of Bulgaria's railway transport left for Sofia at 10.28 am. The historic event was witnessed by dozens of staff and passengers. The steam engine, which was used until around 1970, was restored by the 40-year-old mechanic Bono Stefanov, BTA learned from Stationmaster Ivancho Petkov. (...) The engine is driven by Stefanov and assistant engineer Velyo Marinov. It is running at 60 km/h. The engine arrived in Mezdra around noon and filled up on water and fuel.

Shortly afterwards, BTA reported that the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) had launched a new tourist attraction - a steam engine and vintage carriages.

BDZ Launches New Tourist Attraction - Steam Locomotives and Vintage Carriages

Sofia, September 25, 2002 (BTA) - BDZ Director General Vladimir Dunchev told reporters: "We want to harness the enthusiasm of tourists and the possibilities of what was the main means of transport in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Similar trains are used as a tourist attraction in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, so I hope that tour operators in Bulgaria will be able to tap the large number of tourists visiting Bulgaria in recent years." Dunchev stressed that the carriages are in no way inferior to the famous Orient Express, which runs through Bulgaria. Talks are underway with Danish and Austrian tour operators. 

The steam engine demonstrated today was built in 1943 in Germany's Schwarzkopf factory in Berlin. The BDZ paid rent for it to Germany until September 1944 and then to the Soviet Union as the locomotives were war trophies.