{"id":13710,"date":"2022-06-30T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agaaga.khoolbrew.ca\/?p=13710"},"modified":"2022-12-14T12:09:56","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T17:09:56","slug":"voraikos-gorge-and-cave-of-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agaaga.khoolbrew.ca\/index.php\/2022\/06\/30\/voraikos-gorge-and-cave-of-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Voraikos Gorge and Cave of Lakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the highlights in the north of the Peloponnese Peninsula is the Voraikos Gorge, and the Odontotos Railway, a rack railway that parallels the river in the gorge between the towns of Diakopto (on the coast) to Kalavrita (in the mountains). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The drive to Diakopto was about 1.5 hrs from our home in Nafplio, along a good highway. We had tickets for the 9:52AM train.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At the Diakopto Station, there was a little graveyard of old trains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Note the toothed rail in front of the train between the tracks (a rack railway), which allows the train to negotiate steep grades.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The boys checked out all the old trains,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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while Neil observed the local insects. Their eyes cover most of their heads, giving them almost 360\u00b0 field of view. They are carnivorous and have sharp teeth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Odontotos Railway has a gauge (the distance between the two rails of a railway track) of 0.75m, which is the world\u2019s narrowest gauge. For reference, a standard gauge is 1.4 m. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And that’s our train. We’ll travel 22 km in it; the journey will take an hour, and end at the town of Kalavrita.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Important information. Max conventional traction speed: 60 km\/h. Max gear uphill speed: 25 km\/h. Max gearing downhill speed: 16.5 km\/h. Weight: 55 t. Gross weight: 66 t. Braking rate: 90%.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Felix wished he could drive the train – he was fascinated by the controls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Patiently waiting for the driver.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One of the amazing views from the train. Sometimes we’re up high on the gorge, and other times, we’re down at the bottom by the river.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There’s almost always a mountainous view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We travelled through a number of tunnels. If we were hiking the gorge, we’d have to time it so we were out of the tunnels and off the rickety metal bridges when the train came by.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The railway has two types of racks. The regular rack, which allows the train to travel up to 40 km\/hr, and the toothed track on the steep grades, which allows the train to travel up to 15 km\/hr. There are cogs in the wheels that latch on to the rail as the train ascends and descends.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our “wagon is air-conditioned”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Nearing the end of our journey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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