Čiernohronská Forest Railway

The Čiernohronská železnička is a narrow-gauge line originally built in 1908 to haul felled timber out of the forests around Čierny Balog, and it is one of the last such forest railways in Slovakia still operating trains rather than sitting as a static museum piece.
Most of the year it runs as a scenic heritage line with steam and diesel locomotives, but in winter it adds themed services, including a Christmas-season train that has become a popular family outing from across central Slovakia.

At its peak in the mid-20th century the network had over 130 kilometres of track feeding timber to sawmills in Hronec. Logging railways like it were phased out across Slovakia as road transport took over, but a preservation effort beginning in the 1970s kept a core section of the Čiernohronská line running as a heritage attraction, now covering roughly 12 kilometres of the original route.

Trains depart from Chvatimech station near Čierny Balog and run up the Vydrovská valley, stopping at a small open-air forestry museum along the way that displays original logging equipment and rolling stock.
The winter Christmas train runs on a reduced schedule with heated carriages, timed for weekend afternoons and typically ending at a station decorated for the season with mulled wine and local food stalls for arriving passengers.