Hellenic State Railways - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hellenic State Railways or SEK was a Greek public sector entity (legal person of public law) which was established in 1920 and operated most Greek railway lines

Railways of Greece

thumb|right|Map of the current Greek railway network.The railways of Greece have a complex history which begin in 1869, with the completion of the then Athens & Piraeus Railway, with parts of it also becoming the second-oldest underground metro system in the world.Greece is a member of the...

until 1970.

History

The Hellenic State Railways took over the standard gauge railway line from Piraeus to Papapouli at the pre-1912 borders, the extension from Papapouli to Platy and most of the former Ottoman railway lines that were within the Greek borders after 1919. These lines were:

Piraeus, Demerli & Frontiers Railway , also known as Larisaikos
Part of the former Thessaloniki & Monastir Railway ( or SM)
Part of Chemins de fer Orientaux
Chemins de fer Orientaux
The Chemins de fer Orientaux was an Ottoman railway company operating in the northwestern Ottoman Empire. It served 2 main lines between Vienna and İstanbul with branch lines to nearby cities. The railway operated between 1869 and 1937...

or CO, between Thessaloniki and Idomeni. The line from Alexandroupolis to Ormenio was transferred to the French-Hellenic Railway Company
French-Hellenic Railway Company
The French-Hellenic Railway Co. was a railway company in Greece which operated the former Chemins de fer Orientaux railway line from Alexandroupolis to Pythio, Ormenio and Svilengrad between 1929 and 1954....

of Evros which was absorbed by SEK much later, in 1954
The section of Thessaloniki-Constantinople Railway ( or JSC) between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis.
The 66 km long Sarakli-Stavros line, a former military line (600 mm) constructed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.
The 50 km long Skydra local railway, a former military line (600 mm) constructed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

and initially operated until 1936 by a company called Local Railways of Macedonia .

After World War II the Hellenic State Railways absorbed most other Greek railways, including:

Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP was a Greek railway company founded in 1882, which owned and operated the line connecting Piraeus and Athens to Peloponnese. The company was nationalized in 1954 and absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways in 1962.-History:The first line section...

(1962), which had already absorbed other minor metre gauge railways.
Thessaly Railways
Thessaly Railways
Thessaly Railways was a railway company in Greece, which owned and operated the metre gauge railway network of Thessaly and Pelion railway from 1884 to 1955, when the company was absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways...

(1955), including Pelion railway.
The French-Hellenic Railway Company (Chemin de fer Franco-Hellenique) of Evros (1954).

Only Ellinikoi Ilektrikoi Sidirodromoi (E.I.S., later ISAP

ISAP

I.S.A.P. is the acronym for the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways , the oldest urban rapid transit system of Athens metropolitan area in Greece. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world, after the Metropolitan Railway, of 1863, now a part of the London Underground...

), operator of Piraeus-Kifissia railway and Piraeus-Perama light railway, and the private mining and industrial lines remained independent.

The Hellenic State Railways existed until December 31, 1970. On the next day all railways in Greece with the exception of private industrial lines and E.I.S.

ISAP

were transferred to Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation.

Network and other infrastructure

During this period very little expansion of the existing network took place, the most notable being:

The Amyntaio-Kozani
Kozani-Amyntaio railway line
The Kozani–Amyntaio railway line is a long railway line of OSE connecting Kozani and Amyntaio in Greece.Construction of the line for the former Hellenic State Railways started in January 1951 and was completed in 1954. It is a branch of the Thessaloniki-Amyntaio-Florina-Bitola line, which began...

branch (1955).
The 15 km long line from Strymon to Kulata
Kulata
Kulata is a village in Petrich municipality, Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria. it has 892 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Manolev. The village is a major border checkpoint on the border with Greece...

(1966), connecting the Greek and Bulgarian railway networks.
Another 25 km long branch line from Nea Zichni
Nea Zichni
Nea Zichni is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, of Central Macedonia region, Greece. Population 15,073 . Nea Zichni is also the name of the administrative seat of the municipality. Population 2,421 .-History:...

(Mirini) to Amphipolis (1931), which was later abandoned and the track was lifted in 1970.
Conversion of the line between Athens and Inoi
Oinoi
Oinoi is a village and a former community in the northern part of West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, of which it is a municipal unit....

to double track.

A contract was signed in 1928 for a new line connecting Kalampaka to Kozani

Kozani

Kozani is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of West Macedonia region. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley...

, but the project was abandoned in 1932 due to lack of funds.

The Greek railway system (both infrastructure and rolling stock) suffered serious damages during World War II (especially in 1943-1944) and did not become fully operational until 1950. However the viaduct of Achladokampos in Peloponnese, destroyed in 1944, was rebuilt only in 1974.

In 1960 the line from Larissa to Volos, of the former Thessaly Railways

Thessaly Railways

Thessaly Railways was a railway company in Greece, which owned and operated the metre gauge railway network of Thessaly and Pelion railway from 1884 to 1955, when the company was absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways...

, was converted to standard gauge and was connected in Larissa with the line from Athens to Thessaloniki.

New station buildings were constructed in Thessaloniki (known as Thessaloniki New Passenger Station or ΝΕΣΘ) (1952), Larissa (1962), Lianokladi (1950), Sindos, Aiginio, Platamon, Florina, Edessa, Agras, Arnissa, Polykastron, Ptolemais and Kozani.

Rolling stock

Until 1962 the Hellenic State Railways used a variety of steam locomotives from various sources. Some of them belonged to the pre-1920 networks, a number were acquired as part of foreign aid programs after the war and a small number was procured.

Conversion to diesel traction began in the early 1960s. The first diesel locomotive

Diesel locomotive

A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

s were delivered in 1962 and included 30 Krupp Y60 shunters (Class A-101), 10 ALCo DL532B (Class A-201) and 10 ALCo DL500C (Class A-301). They were followed by classes A-221, A-321, A-351, A-401 and A-411 for the (standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

) network and classes A-9101, A-9201 and A-9401 for the (metre gauge

Metre gauge

Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

) networks.

Diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s were first introduced in 1936 and became more common in the 1950s and 1960s. Steam locomotives were slowly phased out but were still in limited use in December 1970.

Steam locomotives

The following table shows steam locomotives acquired by the Hellenic State Railways between 1920 and 1969. They also continued to use an assortment of older types of locomotives inherited from the previous Greek and Ottoman railway companies.

Class	Type	Number	Manufacturer	Model	Power	Year
Δα SEK Class Δα SEK Class Δα was a class of twenty 0-6-0T steam locomotives of the Hellenic State Railways in Greece. These were ex-United States Army Transportation Corps S100 Class. They were delivered to SEK in 1946-1947 and were numbered Δα51-70. Two of these locomotives still survive and are undergoing...	0-6-0T	20	Davenport, Vulcan, Porter	USATC S100 USATC S100 Class The United States Army Transportation Corps S100 Class is a 0-6-0 steam locomotive that was designed for switching duties in Europe and North Africa during World War II...	730 HP	1945–1946
Ηδ	2-8-0	3	Batignolles		903 HP	1924
Θγ	2-8-0	27+25	Βaldwin, ALCo, Lima	USATC S160 USATC S160 Class The United States Army Transportation Corps S160 Class is a class of 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive designed for use in Europe during World War II for heavy freight work...	1200 HP	1947, 1959
Κα	0-10-0	13	Henschel Henschel & Son Henschel & Son was a German company, situated in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons....		895	1944
Κβ	0-10-0	52	StEG Lokomotivfabrik der StEG In 1839 the Lokomotivfabrik der StEG became the first Austro-Hungarian locomotive works to be founded and it produced many influential locomotive designs....	ÖBB ÖBB The Austrian Federal Railways is the national railway system of Austria, and the administrators of Liechtenstein's railways... class 57	895 kW	1922–1926
Κγ	0-10-0	20	(various)		895 kW	1929
Λα	2-10-0	40	StEG Lokomotivfabrik der StEG In 1839 the Lokomotivfabrik der StEG became the first Austro-Hungarian locomotive works to be founded and it produced many influential locomotive designs.... , Škoda Works Škoda Works Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...		1156 kW	1925–1927
Λβ	2-10-0	16	North British Locomotive Company North British Locomotive Company The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...	"Austerity" WD Austerity 2-10-0 The War Department "Austerity" 2-10-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced during the Second World War in 1943.-Background:...	1141 kW	1946
Λγ	2-10-0	8	Baldwin Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...		1270 kW	1947
Μα SEK class Μα SEK class Μα was a class of 2-10-2 steam locomotives made by Ansaldo-Breda in 1953. They were numbered Μα1001-1020....	2-10-2	20	Ansaldo Gio. Ansaldo & C. Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:... Breda Società Italiana Ernesto Breda Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, more usually referred to simply as Breda was an Italian mechanical manufacturing company founded by Ernesto Breda in Milan in 1886. The firm originally manufactured locomotives and other railway machinery, but later branched out into armaments and aircraft. In 1962,...		2180 kW	1953–1954

Diesel locomotives (standard gauge)

Class	Type	QTY	Manufacturer	Model	Power	Year
A-101	0-6-0 dh	30	Krupp	Y60 DB Class V 60 The DB Class V 60 is a German diesel locomotive operated by the Deutsche Bundesbahn and later, the Deutsche Bahn AG , which is used particularly for shunting duties, but also for hauling light goods trains. Seventeen locomotives were bought used by the Norwegian State Railways and designated NSB...	478 kW	1962–1967
A-201	Bo-Bo de	10	ALCo	DL532B	772 kW	1962
A-301	Co-Co de	10	ALCo	DL500C	1470 kW	1962
A-321	Co-Co de	7	ALCo	DL543	1470 kW	1967
A-351	Co-Co de	26	Alsthom	CC AD 2100C1	1544 kW	1967
A-401	Co-Co de	10	Siemens Siemens Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG... -Jung		1470 kW	1966
A-411	B-B dh	20	Krauss-Maffei Krauss-Maffei The Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co KG or simply Krauss-Maffei is an injection molding machine manufacturer and defence company based in Munich, Germany...	V200 DB class V 200 DB Class V 200.0 was one of the first diesel-hydraulic express locomotives of the German Deutsche Bundesbahn and - as Am 4/4 - of the SBB-CFF-FFS in Switzerland.-DB Service:...	993	1963

Diesel locomotives (metre gauge)

Class	Type	QTY	Manufacturer	Model	Power	Year
A-9101	Co-Co de	12	ALCo	DL537	993 kW	1965
A-9201	Co-Co de	10	Alsthom	CC AD 1600A1	1175 kW	1967
A-9401	B-B dh	20	Mitsubishi Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...	48-BB-HI	478 kW	1967

Diesel multiple units

The Hellenic State Railways bought their first DMUs in 1936 and acquired larger numbers in the 1950s. Additional metre gauge