Vorokhta. The «Karetnyi» Bridge – a narrow-gauge railway landmark and one of the viaducts of the Hutsul village

The Carpathian Mountains, emerald primeval forests and mountain villages conceal many exceptional curiosities and unexpected gifts. At the starting point of the route up to Chornohora from Vorokhta via Zavoiela, where the mountain stream Nyzhnii Bakhonchyk merges with the unruly Prut, a narrow-gauge bridge from 1895 has survived.

 

Vorokhta. The «Karetnyi» Bridge. 1895.

This railway rarity is located in the southern part of the Hutsul town, about 4 km from the station. You should travel along the H 09 motor road in a south-easterly direction to the «Karetnyi Bridge» signpost, turn into a lane of the residential sector and gradually descend to the confluence of the Carpathian blue ribbons.

 

Vorokhta. The descent to the Nyzhnii Bakhonchyk and the viaduct

Caring hands have built a wooden crossing over the stream, which at the same time serves as a viewing platform.

 

Wooden bridge over the Nyzhnii Bakhonchyk stream

The stone arch over the Bakhonchyk no longer serves its purpose and, together with its supports, is densely overgrown with forest.

 

Vorokhta. The stone viaduct of the narrow-gauge railway

An icy shell has bound the flow of the water stream, and silvery icicles have emphasised the expressiveness of the transport structure.

 

An icy shell on the artificial waterfall 

The vaults firmly hold the curved outline, through which, as through a portal, the sun's rays shine.

Stone structure

The wind and the circulation of the current beneath the ice-hole create wondrous sounds, lending the bridge mystery and uniqueness. Experts on narrow-gauge railways have studied the history of the viaduct; online there are many publications about the railways of the Carpathians and photographs from the Polish period.

 

Vorokhta. Photographs of the narrow-gauge railway from the Polish period 

To transport timber, a branched narrow-gauge system was built in the Carpathian region at the end of the 19th century. An information board in Ukrainian and English and in Braille sets out the chronology of the section, 6 kilometres long, from the sawmill in Vorokhta to Ardzheliudzha.

 

Vorokhta. Information board near the viaduct

In 1906–1907 the Vorokhta narrow-gauge railway stretched through the forests to Zaievolia, and later to Foreshchanka, and already measured 14 kilometres. The little carriage was probably called a kareta (coach). In coal mines, the wagon used to carry miners from the shaft to the coal faces is still called a «kareta» to this day. In the interwar period tourists travelled by train to the terminus for 1.1 zlotys and then headed for Hoverla or Kukul. For economic purposes and to transport workers and travellers, a Krauss locomotive named Rosenberg, number 3409/1896, was used. After the Second World War the need for timber grew for the restoration of industry and for construction, so the number of locomotives increased – motor locomotives and a PT4-type steam locomotive were added. The wear of the rolling stock and the unprofitability of the enterprise contributed to the closure of the narrow-gauge railway, and the project to extend the line to the railway station remained on paper. Since 1965 the line has not been in operation and has been dismantled. Only the remains of the embankments and the «Karetnyi Bridge» are reminders of the existence of the narrow-gauge railway.

Vorokhta. Remains of the narrow-gauge railway embankment

In 2024 Vorokhta entered the top 100 tourism villages in the world, and the viaducts do not escape tourists' attention, yet the condition of the transport structures is neglected.

 

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region there are examples of preserving narrow-gauge history, where popular attractions have been created for cultural development and travel. In 2000, in the village of Vyhoda, Kalush district, the Vyhoda narrow-gauge railway resumed operation. The Carpathian Tram runs amid fairy-tale mountain landscapes, and an interactive museum has been opened in the former estate of the lumber-mill king Baron Popper. In Mykulychyn, Nadvirna district, a small section of the narrow-gauge branch has been rebuilt, on which a wagon-museum of the narrow-gauge railway's history has been installed. The Vorokhta railway landmark, too, deserves greater attention in this popular Carpathian village.

A local resident's comment on the video: «This bridge was destroyed long ago. It was beautiful, decorated with a plinth which "good people" stripped away for the foundations of their houses, and the bridge was left like some kind of cripple, like an invalid, and became overgrown with thickets, probably out of shame. The narrow-gauge rails also went to make fence posts for various farmsteads».

Vorokhta. The «Karetnyi» Bridge