In 1916, during the German military occupation of Latvia, prisoners of war were put to work in installing narrow-gauge railroads via which the Germans exported Latvian timber. A narrow-gauge rail network was built through the forests and across the swamps of the Viesīte area. The track width was round 600 mm, and there was a total of 130 km of tracks to connect Viesīte (the central station) to Nereta, Aknīste, Jēkabpils and Daudzeva. The train was used after world War II to transport timber and passengers. The last trip along the line occurred on August 31, 1972.
You can tour the museum individually or with the assistance of a guide. You’ll see an Mi-635 locomotive, wagons for passengers and cargo, a platform to transport timber materials, and two trolleys.
