Despite what you may read or expect, only four former Bulgarian locos are now storming around for private operators across the 25kx network of Czecho, Slovakia and Hungary. Many locos carry ‘BDZ’ 44 or 45 numbers and registrations, but this is all entirely fake as they are ex-CD 242s. Only the four 43’5 are in use (as ‘new’ 242s) – all 44 and 45 which have been exported since have been scrapped and only the registration used on a former CD loco, this is purely to get around restrictions placed on the sales from CD which were (clearly unsuccessful) attempt to prevent CD Cargo being further cherry-picked of profitable traffic by private bandits.
The operational former Bulgarian locos are:
43523 is now 242288 operating for IDS
43543 is now 242543 operating for RailTrains International
43544 is now 242287 operating for Lokotrans
43555 is now 242555 operating for Lokorail. Loco currently stored outside ZOS Vrutky with collision damage from 03/18
IDS 242288 passing through Devinksa Nova Ves, Slovakia
A rather sorry looking 242555 dumped on ZOS Vrutky, Slovakia, Sep 2018
Here is an example of an ex-CD loco, 242218 in this case, carrying a fake Bulgarian number and registration as it pretends to be “45148” in the hands of LTE who lease it from ZOS Zvolen
Spot the difference. IDS operate the former BDZ 43523 (left) and former CD 242263 (right) seen here parked at Hodonin. Note the BDZ loco carries a 242 number and vice versa!
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