Day 39 The Tram to Opicina
Today, Jeanette had kindly agreed to my proposal to go and visit the Train Museum here but unfortunately it is temporarily closed, which around these parts means it could be another decade or so before it reopens. But in our wanders yesterday we had come across some tram tracks and it was still operating so a tram ride was substituted.
This is the tram to Opicina and it has quite a history. Built by the Austrians back in 1902 when they owned this part of the world, it is still running with its original rolling stock. It’s not a tourist line and you can ride it for peanuts with their normal commuter bus ticket.
The line is around 5kms long.The fascinating part is that it starts out as an electric tram going thru narrow streets, then it backs on to a cable-towed sled and goes up the mountain like a funicular railway, then at the top it picks up its overhead power again and the lights come on again and you rattle off through beautiful forest country with some incredible views of the coastline till you arrive at the depot in the little village of Opicina.
There was an accident in 2016 which closed the line for 9 years. It was just a tram/car crash on a road crossing and they have 5 trams with only two in operation at anytime but I suspect the authorities just wanted to get rid of the system for buses and they used that as an excuse to close.
However, the locals wanted it back and the turning point came when a little girl’s letter to Santa got published in the local news. Apparently all she wanted from Santa for Christmas was the tram back and the surge of public demand created by this got the line reopened in February this year so I was lucky.
Hardys’ Travels 