What does saint “Ognjena Marija” has to do with trains ?

Today is the day that the saint “Ognjena Marija” is celebrated, in Serbia they call the day that a saint is celebrated a “slava” and every Orthodox family has his own saint. Not only families have a slava, also institutions , organisations, municipalities, schools, hospitals and professions. It is a beautiful Serbian tradition, which is even inscribed as UNESCO heritage.

And of course you guess it, “Ognjena Marija” is the slava for the train drivers and I am invited today to celebrate it with them. How come I am invited?  Well the story starts with the new Vectron locomotives….

Since June this year Serbia Cargo has 8 new Vectron locomotives in service from Siemens. I needed photos from this machine for Nieuwsblad Transport, the newspaper I am writing freelance for so I contacted Srbija Kargo a.d. (=Serbia Cargo). They immediately replied that they would like co-operate : I never received such a quick and nice reply 🙂 .

So a day later I could take a picture of this beautiful machine and did meet, Andrea Spasić, one of the train drivers from Serbia Cargo whom I know already via Facebook (see his Railway photography page here). I go the full tour and so come that I am invited today to celebrate the slava of the train drivers today with the train drivers.

Back to the new locomotives for Serbia Cargo: these Siemens Vectron machines for Serbia Cargo have a maximum speed of 160 km p/h  and will be able in the future to drive in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. They are of course equipped with ETCS (European Train Control System). Beside these 8 machines now in service they will get 8 machines more in December, so Serbia Cargo is ready for the future!

And for all the train drives here in Serbia I say : Srećna slava (=happy saints day) !

And here some data for the train nerds under us 🙂 :
Wheel arrangement Bo’Bo’
Track gauge 1,435 mm
Length: 18.98 meter
Width: 3.012 meter
Height with lowered pantograph:  4.248 meter
Weight: 90 tons
Voltage systems: 25 kV AC / 50 Hz 3 kV DC 15 kV AC / 16.67 Hz 1.5 kV DC
Train power supply: 1,500 V, 50Hz@25kV, 50 Hz 1,000 V, 16.67Hz@15kV, 16.67 Hz 3,000 V DC@3,000V DC 1,500 V DC@1,500V DC
Max. power at the wheel rim: 6,400 kW
Max. power regenerative brake: 6,400 kW
Max. power rheostatic brake: 2,600 kW
Max. speed: 160 km/h

izvor: http://blog.fabian-vendrig.eu/2019/07/new-siemens-vectron-locomotives-for-serbia-cargo/