Ćiro – a look at the history of the railway

Ćiro is synonymous with the old narrow-gauge railway that connected the interior with the sea, and in Ploče it has a special, almost emotional status. The steam locomotive is not just a monument; it is a reminder that Ploče, as a modern port and city, was actually built around the railway. Without the railway that connected Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Adriatic, Ploče would never have become the city it is today. The narrow-gauge railway (760 mm) on the Sarajevo – Mostar – Metković – Ploče route was the lifeblood of the entire region.

The section to Ploče was completed in the middle of World War II (1942), although the railway’s true importance blossomed in the post-war period. The ride on the Ćiro was slow, dusty and noisy, but incredibly scenic. The passage through the Neretva Canyon was considered one of the most beautiful railway journeys in this part of Europe.

There are various theories about the name Ćiro, but the most popular is that it was a popular name for train drivers or the locomotive itself that “Ćiri” (peeks out) around a bend. Regardless of the origin of the name, it has become a universal nickname for all narrow-gauge trains in the former state.

Ćiro entered Ploče for the last time in 1966, when the narrow-gauge railway was replaced by a modern standard-gauge railway. Ploče has preserved its own example (series 83), which today serves as a perfect backdrop for photographs, but also as a silent witness to the time when the “black diamond” (coal) passed through the city.

This locomotive, designed in the early 20th century (around 1903) for the needs of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian State Railways (BHŽ), was not just a machine; it was the pinnacle of engineering adapted to the harsh terrain of karst and narrow canyons.