Railway section Červená skala – Margecany
Červená Skala- Margecany
The railway section Červená Skala – Margecany is a single-track railway, which is one of the most beautiful in Slovakia. It passes through the Slovak Paradise National Park, the beautiful nature of Volovské Hills, Montenegro, Ružinská Dam, Low Tatras, Muránska Planina, Stratenská Valley, Hnilec Valley and Palcmanská Maša Reservoir. The total length of the track is 95 km and was built as the last section of the Central Slovak transversal, which was to connect the Košice-Bohumin railway with the Pohronská railway.
History
In the spring of 1931 construction of railway section Červená Skala – Margecany began and the track was put into operation 5 years later, in the summer of 1936. Due to the mountain character of the region, it was a very difficult and complicated construction, which was conditioned by strategic and economic and social reasons.
Nearly 10,000 workers who worked on the construction site lived and worked under very bad social conditions. It often resulted in strikes. The building became the most powerful scene of protests against low wages and poor social conditions during the first Czechoslovakia.
Against the strikers many times brutally intervened gendarmerie, which was also shooting. A total of 6 workers lost their lives during construction.
Technically most interesting railway objects
The most technically interesting railway buildings in Slovakia were built here, especially in the vicinity of Telgárt. Nine tunnels were built on the line – Telgártsky, Hronský, Besnický, Jarabský I, Jarabský II, Stratenský, Hamrický, Mlynecký and Gelnický and about 410 bridges, overpasses and pipelines.
Chmarošský viaduct
The most remarkable construction of this whole line is the spiral loop near Telgár. It has a total length of 2.3 km, the only one in the former Czechoslovakia, where the track overcomes the 31 meter height difference. The radius of the tunnel arch is 400 m with a gradient of 12.5 ‰. In this loop is laid the longest tunnel of this line, Telgártsky tunnel 1239 m long. Just behind the Telgart tunnel, the track crosses a valley of 22 m high and 86 m long Telgart Viaduct with a slope of about 17 ‰. It was the first segmented arched structure made of reinforced concrete.
The Telgárt Viaduct consists of two stone arches. They have a span of about 9 m on each side, the central part is spanned by an elegant arch with a span of 32 m.
Another interesting building is the 18 m high Chmaroška Stone Viaduct with nine stone arches. At the altitude of 955.5 m, the highest point of this track is located in the Besnice tunnel.