The Boys and the Zubrnická Railway

Believe it or not, it’s hard to believe that fifty years have gone by since the filming of the movie Wow Boys, based on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! The main characters Michal Dymek, Petr Voříšek, and Petr Starý have all grown up. Director Věra Plívová-Šimková had great luck in choosing child actors, and the old track has remained memorable. Although much of the route was taken out back in the 1970s, the most beautiful section has thankfully been preserved. During the season, you can experience this on a motorbike trip. Historic trains run regularly from April through the end of October on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, along the route Ústí nad Labem – Střekov – Velké Březno – Dentils. Additionally, you can explore the historic Střekov Steam Waterworks, the Railway Museum at the Zubrnice train station, and the Zubrnice open-air museum, all within a short distance from the train station.

Movie Wow Boys

The story of the Wow Boys movie takes place in 1901 in the small town of Levín, where three close friends—Tomáš, Jožka, and the wanderer Hubert—enjoy their childhood adventures.

Tomáš lives with his strict aunt Apolena (Iva Janžurová) and his quiet uncle Václav (Karel Augusta). Along with his buddies, they are always getting into trouble, and together they set off to look for a mysterious treasure that, according to legends, lies hidden in Castle Pokštějně.

The city street scenes were filmed in Litoměřice, but the main train station, where most of the film’s action occurs, is located in actual Levín. This station is just a few kilometers from Zubrnice, and the locals even insisted on keeping the original name for the film, as the filmmakers wanted to change it to Zaječí. The station, which was decorated for the filming, still exists today, but it has been converted into a private residence, and the tracks no longer reach it. And what about Pokštejn? That castle doesn’t exist in our country; filming took place at Rýzmburk Castle near Osek.

The Famous Film Railway

One of director Věra Plívová-Simková’s most acclaimed films is her original adaptation of Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Many will remember the music by Petr Hapka and the lyrics by Zdeněk Rytíř, particularly the hit Don’t Stop and Come sung by Vaska Neckar. Since the railway plays a vital role in the film, you will find it featured in listings of movies and books related to railways on Kudy z nudy.

Did you know that the film faced censorship during the normalization regime? In a socialist society, the concept of a social elite was not accepted, so the song Don’t Stop and Come had to be re-recorded. In the original lyrics, the line about being the “flower and cream of the crop” was replaced to mention “flamboyance and elite,” an alteration that altered the original rhymes significantly.

What about the history of the railway line that winds up to Zubrnice from the Elbe valley? The first train journeyed along it on August 18, 1890. However, in 1978, someone decided that the local line was outdated for “modern” needs, marking the end of regular train service. Fortunately, we have beautiful memories of the line’s past operations, the stunning track, and the surrounding landscape captured forever in the film The Wise Guys, filmed here in the summer of 1975. Over the years, thanks to the Zubrnicka Museum Railway, this film comedy has almost become known as a railway documentary. Back in 1975, it was challenging to find a working steam locomotive along with period carriages, so they finally brought in the steam locomotive 310.134 Vlkava from a sugar factory in Mnichovo Hradiste, a BCi passenger car from Dubnice nad Váhom, and a service car from Prague.

When filming took place, motorbikes were still running regularly from Velký Březno through Zubrnice and Levín to Úštěk, but this line was discontinued three years after the film was shot. The last regular operations on this line were on May 27, 1978, marking the end of its eighty-eight-year history.

Upcoming Station: Lovečkovice (and perhaps Levín in the Future?)

Although train service to Zubrnice has ceased, it’s thankfully not permanent. Many people are passionate about the line’s fate, and eventually, the Association Zubrnická Museum Railway successfully reinstated operations on part of the line. Nowadays, in addition to the railway museum at the Zubrnice railway station (which includes a section dedicated to the filming of Wow Boys), and the historic steam waterworks at the Ústí nad Labem – Střekov railway station, you can also explore a mini-museum at the Lovečkovice railway station. This is part of the Next Station Lovečkovice Campaign, aimed at extending the museum line a few kilometers further. Since it’s just a short walk from Lovečkovice to Levín, who knows? One day you might be able to take the train to the former film station, just like the boys did.

In recent history, the station and railway line were filmed again: in the summer of 2000, the location returned to the year 1968. Director Filip Renč chose this spot to film scenes for the movie Rebels. The railway museum was repurposed as a waiting room, the station was renamed Týniště, and the film premiered in February 2001.

By Train to Heaven Station with Karel Kachyna

• • In our series #světovéČesko, we travel to Slovakia, to the beautiful valley of the Black Váh, where a story similar to that of the line from Velký Březno to Úštěk unfolded. The valley was home to the Považská Forest Railway, whose design began in 1912. It included branches to smaller valleys, extending a total distance of 107 km, and the main line from Liptovský Hrádek to Liptovská Teplička also served passenger transport. The other sections were solely for transporting timber.

• • This railway was closed on December 31, 1972. The historical trains were relocated to an open-air museum, making excursion trains a popular attraction at the Museum of the Liptov Village in Pribylina.

• • On the narrow gauge forest railway in the Low Tatras, there is a similar memory to that of the line stretching from Velký Březno through Zubrnice to Úštěk: steam trains from the Čierny Váh valley are showcased in all their glory in Karel Kachyna’s film Train to Heaven Station. However, the filming in Slovakia carried a somber note: the railway was taken out of service right after the movie was completed.