File:03.11.14 Găneasa 82.0385 (15591121927).jpg

No smoke without fire! As can be seen on other photos prior to this, I spent a large part of my day on 3 November 2014 being hauled by 82.0385 on its two coach train. After a couple of hours stop at Râmnicu Vâlcea, train R2076 made good progress to Piatra-Olt running on time from each booked stop. Shortly before arriving at the penultimate stop, Găneasa, the train came to an abrupt halt. Very quickly the conductor in some state of panic asked everyone to jump off the train. Smoke was pouring out of the engine compartment and flames could be seen inside as well as on the trackbed underneath the loco.

Fortunately we had stopped next to a track along side a field so there was no danger. The driver and conductor managed to use fire extinguishers both in the two carriages plus the loco itself. However, that failed to put out the fire completely. In the meantime the 15 or so passengers including myself stood by and watched. At first I avoided taking any photographs as I did not want to upset or offend the train crew. However, once the locals started taking pictures with their mobile phone cameras, I joined in.

The train crew summoned assistance from (presumably) the nearby depot at Piatra-Olt. It was some while before a rescue locomotive came out. In the meantime the fire brigade was called out from nearby Slatina. In true tradition, the locals gave up waiting. Despite a complete linguistic breakdown, I ended up accepting a lift by car through to Piatra-Olt from a local, the journey taking no more than 10 minutes. This meant I had a short 3km or so section of line not covered, but did mean I got to make my next planned train.

I never did see the rescue loco bring in the charred remains of 82.0385 and its two coaches into Piatra-Olt. Shortly after heading from Piatra-Olt I checked on the CFR "real time running" tool on their website and it pulled in a few minutes after I left.