The history starts in 1894 when the construction works of the railway line Volos-Lechonia began, in order to get settled in October 1895. The little train united the industrial and the commercial centre with the developing west Pelion, whereas simultaneously it functioned as transport for the East Pelion. It was out of work in August 1971, until after labor rehabilitation of the railway line by the Railway Organization in Greece made its first route 25 years after its withdrawal. In the past years, the railway lines started from the central station of the city, while today its starting point is Ano Lechonia.

Nowadays, one of the smallest railway lines in the world (60cm) hosts the four carriages of the legendary “Moutzouris”. The altitude the little train moves is the ideal for a panoramic view to the Pagasetic. The starting point is from Ano Lechonia, mounts with difficulty, and crosses the overgrown hillsides, with the dense vegetation from planes and olive trees, viewing at the same time the ravines, the galleries and the bridges. In the route, the visitor will meet the stone five-arched bridge Kalorema in the area of Malaki. A bit further, it stops in the traditional settlement Ano Gatzea for 15 minutes, where you can visit the Olive Museum, which is located at the square of the Railway Station. It continues by whistling and filling the route with rich pictures from nature and architecture of old, however elaborated constructions. Reaching the historical village of Milies, where the route acquires a wild beauty, admiration provokes the big, metal bridge of Taxiarchis or De Chirico. At this point, the little train will roll in a circular line, while the bridge is a straight. On the dense, woody hillsides in Milies, the terminal station of the train is located and from the station a cobbled road leads to the village. “Moutzouris” crosses a route of 15 kilometers in almost 90 minutes; it functions from spring to autumn, with a special program of circulation, one daily route on the mountain (it has been declared as a newer monument).

The legend says that in the gorge of Taxiarchis where the train turns to reach Milies, the cave of the wise Centaur Chiron was located. The cave is exactly at the root of the rock where today the little church of Taxiarchis is found. It is said that from the external of the cave there is a path that penetrates the mountain and communicates with the equivalent cave in the region of Malaki or up to the hill of Goritsa at the east side of the city.

Moreover, it is said that the terminal station of the train in Milies is the place where the marriage of Pileas and Thetida took place (Achilles’ parents), as well as the place where the famous battle between the Centaurs and Lapithes occurred for the sake of beautiful Ippodameia.

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Little Train in Pelion: “Moutzouris”

Little Train in Pelion: “Moutzouris”

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