Mocănița pe Valea Vaserului

History

The narrow-gauge Mocănița began operating in 1933, built to haul timber down from the forests of the Vaser valley after rafting the logs downriver became too inefficient — a second stretch of track was added between 1950 and 1954. As road transport took over logging elsewhere in Europe, most forest railways like it were dismantled through the mid-20th century, but Romania's slower industrial pace let the Vaser line keep running years after the rest had closed. It's now believed to be the last fully functioning forest railway left in Europe, having stopped hauling timber altogether and switched to running as a heritage steam tourist line, with around seven vintage locomotives still in service.