The beginings

The morning train leaves Almamellék towards Sasrét
Fotó: Fodor Illés (2002.05.09.)

MÁV’s Szigetvár-Kaposvár railway line was built in 1899, passing by Almamellék. This simplified transportation in the area and made it possible for Baron Rezső Biedermann, owner of the forests north of the village, to build a narrow-gauge railway line from his lands to the MÁV station of Almamellék. Construction began in 1901, when a 7.2-km-long line was built to Cigányvölgy at Németlukafa. The gauge was 600 mm and the rails used weighed 7 kg/m. The railway transported mainly wood but also potassium carbonate and glass products from burning facilities at Németlukafa. Some agricultural products produced on the open areas in between the woodland were also transported by this narrow-gauge line. Motive power originally was provided, as elsewhere, by the cheapest method, i.e. horses. Passenger trains operated from the beginning of the railway as children from the vicinity rode by train to a school founded by the baron at Sasrét.

„The baron built a school at Sasrét and proprieties included our transportation to and from school. The wooden carriage had handrails around it and benches facing each other. About thirty of us could ride on it. Each carriage had a horse driver, he was the railway staff.”

The narrow-gauge line was extended several times. In 1901, the branch to Szentmártonpuszta was built, followed in 1915 by the 500-m-long line to Terecsenypuszta (branch line number II). In 1925, a 1-km-long branch was built to the hunting mansion of Sasrét which later became part of main line number I. 1935 saw the construction of the branch to Csikórét, which was dismantled in 1940 (1500 meters). Also in 1935, the last kilometer of the Lukafa line was lifted, probably due to changes in the areas of tree felling.