Split, Croatia - Mid/Late August

[Socimi]

I'll be going on vacation in Split, Croatia between the 12th and the 27th of August, and there are a few questions i'd like to ask:

Now, Split is served by the "Dalmatian Railway" (Line M604), operated by the national railway company of Croatia: Hrvatske Zeleznice (HZ). It's a non-electrified single-track line opened in the era of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Rolling stock on the line (according to Wikipedia and Railfaneurope.net) is made up of:

 

- Class 7123 "ICN" tilting DMUs (identical to DB's BR 612) for Split-Zagreb Express Services

- Class 2044 Diesel Locomotives (GM G26-type built under license in Yugoslavia) hauling UIC-type coaches with the old manually-operated folding doors for local and express services

- Class 7122 DMUs (Ex-SJ Y1s manufactured by Fiat in 1976 and bought after the Balkan Wars) for local services only

 

Plus the occasional freight services hauled by Class 2062/2063 Diesel Locomotives (themselves too GM-licensed built G26s).

 

As the Dalmatian Railway is quite scenic, i was thinking about making a daytrip to Sibenik, taking a train from Split up to Perkovich Station (wich is the junction between the line for Split and for Sibenik) and changing there for a Sibenik-bound local train.

 

From my understanding (and from observation of YouTube videos), the Split-Perkovich local services are operated by Class 2044 diesel locomotives plus UIC coaches and the Perkovich-Sibenik services are operated by Class 7122 DMUs.

 

According to HZ's official website, a daytrip from Split to Sibenik is quite feasible, but i think it'll be better to ask to the Split Station staff once i'm there.

My first question is: are the 7122s still running in their nice red/blue/grey livery or in the ex-SJ orange livery or were all repainted into the quite bad "HZPP" white livery?

 

Split does have a small but interesting "suburban service" running from Split-Harbour station to Kastel Stari station. According to Wikipedia, the service is operated by Class 7122, Ex-SJ Y1 DMUs, but also mentions that new (quite ugly) Koncar-made 7023 DMUs were to be introduced on the line in Summer 2019. 

 

Besides a few videos of test runs, i didn't find any "evidence" of the new Koncar DMUs being in full-service, therefore my second question is: is this service still operated by Ex-SJ Y1s or by Koncar DMUs (either partially or completely)?

The third, customary question (for an Italian railfan) is: is there any restriction (past, present or future) about taking pictures of trains?

Now, i never had any particular trouble in other vacations, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

The fourth question is: are there any railway museums (or other railway-related things) worth visiting around Split?

 

The final question is: being that Split is quite a large town, are there any noteworhty model railway shops?

I was looking in particular for a "souvenir-like" model, possibly an old Mehano "Made in Yugoslavia" one. The Muni Boeing-Vertol LRV intrigues me quite a bit, as it's possibly one of Mehano's quirkiest models, and it should be easily avaible, as it was produced for almost 30 years straight (from 1981 to 2008)!

Edited August 7, 2020 by Socimi
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