Railways - Czech Republic: Books - History and Rolling Stock

Czech and Slovak Railways : Locomotives, Multiple Units, Metros and Trams

This is the complete guide to railway and tramway rolling stock operating on the railways, tramways and light rail networks of the Czech and Slovak Republics. It includes:
- A brief historical background to the railways of the Czech and Slovak Republics.
- Detailed fleet lists of all locomotives & multiple units in service with national operators, CD and ZSSK.
- Brief details of the rolling stock used on international services that are timetabled to pass through the two countries.
- Fleet information for Czech and Slovak private passenger and private freight operators.
- A general overview of the organisation and structure of the railways in the Czech and Slovak Republics.
- How to get to there from the UK.
- Information about tickets and rail passes.
- Detailed maps of the Czech and Slovak railway networks.
- An explanation of the respective classification and numbering system and the European Vehicle Numbering scheme.
- Livery information.
- Depot allocations.
- Technical data for every class of locomotive and multiple unit. *The departmental railcar fleet.
- Detailed fleet information for the tramway and light railway networks that operate in major towns and cities.
- Full lists of operating main line steam locomotives, plus steam, diesel and electric locomotives and multiple units that survive in preservation.
- Information about museums and museum lines with contact details and line lengths.
- Over 90 colour illustrations.
- An extensive list of locomotive and multiple unit builders
- A list of common railway-themed terms in Czech, Slovak, German and English

This book has been compiled and updated by the editor of Today's Railways UK, Robert Pritchard. It is the result of many years of original research and countless visits to the Czech and Slovak Republics. It is the most comprehensive guide to railway and tramway rolling stock operating in these countries.

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Czech and Slovak Railways - Three Decades of Change, 1990-2020s

The Czech Republic and Slovakia emerged as independent countries in 1993, as joint successors of the former Czechoslovakia. Having once been a single country, with a single national railway operator, the change was significant, although both countries, and their railways, still have a lot in common.
Loco types have changed through modernisation and rebuilding, and both countries have retained very different narrow-gauge systems. Both countries have invested in modern fleets, and rail freight has boomed thanks to globalisation and EU membership.

Spanning three decades, this book explores the history of both countries and their railways, and features over 140 pictures, most of which have never been published before.
The book concludes by looking at the ambitious plans for new high-speed networks, connecting both countries, and most of their neighbours by the late 2030s.

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Die Knödelpresse - Die Baureihe 180

To "close the electrical gap" on the Dresden-Prague railway line, the DR, together with the Czechoslovakian State Railways (CSD), procured a total of 35 multi-system locomotives, which were to be used on both the 3 kV direct current network of the CSSR and the 15 kV alternating current network of the GDR. The 20 locomotives for the Reichsbahn were given the series designation 230, the CSD classified its 15 machines as series 372. The two railways each received a prototype locomotive in 1988, but series deliveries did not begin until 1991.

With the founding of DB AG, the former Reichsbahn machines were designated series 180 and used together with their Czech sisters in the Elbe valley. With a top speed of 120 km/h, the 180 series was only partially suitable for passenger transport, so a conversion to 160 km/h was considered. The Czech State Railways converted six machines to the new 371 series, while the DB stuck with the conversion of the 180 001.

Since the machines represented a fragmented type in the DB's vehicle fleet, they were soon handed over to DB's freight transport. The first locomotive was retired in 2002 and all machines were completely taken out of service at the timetable change in 2014.
The Thuringian Railway Association has the 180 014 in its museum collection, the remaining locomotives were transferred to the Czech Republic, where they will be used again by private railways after being refurbished.

This image archive presents the technical development of this former DR series and shows its use in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. A look at the Czech variant is also included.

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Edel-Stahl - Analog-Fotografie

Museum locomotives delight not only passengers, but also photographers along the route. One of the latter is Joachim Kraus, who regularly seeks out the most beautiful photo spots to capture the steam, diesel and electric locomotives. As a fan of classic analogue photography, he makes elaborate hand prints of each of his subjects.

This illustrated book contains his most beautiful photos, which bring us back to numerous museum locomotives in Germany and the Czech Republic, some of which have not been in use for quite some time. This unique combination offers one thing above all: pure nostalgia.

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Triebwagen von Tatra aus Koprivnice / Nesselsdorf

Author Hynek Palát sheds light on the motives and development history of rail motorization at CSD, for which the Tatra company provided important impulses with its plant in Koprivnice / Nesselsdorf: from the tower railcars for both track gauges to the "Slovak Arrow" and everyday use in the form of the M131.1 "Hurvínek".
The rail vehicle division ended here in 1950, when the entire production of branch line railcars was concentrated in Studénka / Stauding by decision of the party and government.

Compared to the Czech original edition, the chapter on the company's railway history has been greatly expanded and now also historical photographs of railcar use are included (including on the Reichsbahn).
The sections on the narrow-gauge M11.0 and M21.0 series have also been supplemented with additional illustrations. And anyone who wants to know how a Mylius transmission works will find what is probably the best German-language description in the book.

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