The Bieszczady Forest Railway (Polish: Bieszczadzka Kolejka Leśna) is a narrow gauge railway built in a sparsely populated, forested region of the Bieszczady Mountains. Construction commenced at the end of the 19th century and completed before World War I. Regular traffic ceased in 1994. Nowadays, a part of the railway is utilized as a tourist attraction. Trains run regularly on weekends from the beginning of May until October, and also on weekdays in July and August. The main station with all the rolling stock is located in Majdan near Cisna. History Construction of a narrow-gauge railway in the Bieszczady mountains started in 1890, when Galicia was under Austro-Hungarian rule. Its main purpose was to make forest exploitation easier, by linking the heart of Bieszczady with the standard-gauge First Hungarian-Galician Railway (Erste Ungarisch-Galizische Eisenbahn) in Nowy Łupków. The first line, 25 km long, led from Nowy Łupków eastwards to Cisna, mostly along the Solinka river valley, and was opened on 21 January 1898. The gauge initially was 760 mm. The railway was operated by kkStB, and there ran two pairs of mixed trains and a number of timber trains daily. In 1900-1909 there were built further private forest extensions from Cisna towards Kalnica, Beskid (part of Smerek) and Roztoki Górne. During World War I the railway was used by the Austro-Hungarian army, and was largely destroyed. In 1918, after Poland had regained independence, the railway was taken over by Polish State Railways (PKP). During the economic crisis in the 1930s, its importance decreased and private extensions towards Kalnica, Smerek and Roztoki Górne were disassembled. During World War II and the German occupation, the railway was taken over by German Ostbahn. It was modernized, and the gauge was changed to the current 750 mm. During East Front fighting in 1944, and subsequent fighting with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the railway was demolished, and tracks and sleepers were removed in many places or damaged by tanks. After the war, the Bieszczady mountains were deserted due to the forced resettlement of Ukrainian population, and PKP railways lost interest in renewing operation. By 1953 the line was handed over to State Forests administration (Lasy Państwowe), and subsequently it was rebuilt to serve as a timber railway. By the 1960s it was enlarged: towards the north-west to Mików (linking it with a former private railway to Rzepedź), and eastwards through Cisna to Wetlina and Moczarne. The