Steam & Excursion > Today in Wolsztyn Poland

I’m in Wolsztyn, Poland today.  I rode the daily train to Leszno and back today, twice.  

I highly recommend coming here to visit.  It’s only 200 kilometers from Berlin, and is easy to access by rail or by car.  

Long-term steam fans will know about Wolsztyn, and lament that it is a much smaller operation than it was just 10 years ago.  For the uninitiated, here are a few basics:

* as I understand it, this is the last operating daily passenger service in the world.  

* also, from what I read on the internet, the service will end on December 19 of this year.  So this is your last chance to see non-charter, non-special daily passenger steam.  

* cost $4 round trip.  About 50 kilometers each way.  Track is in fair condition, speeds range from 25 to 35 mph.  Makes about s dozen stops. 

* I was offered a cab ride from one of the crew for a fee.  Accepted.  

* I am staying in the railroad “hotel”at the museum site.  $13 for private room with shared bath, $18 for private bath. Not advertised, I just asked one of the workers at 8:00 last night, he filled out paperwork, I settled in for 2 nights. 

* 2 locomotives under steam today, 59 and 69.  I was on the train with 69.  59 was on a student special about 15 minutes behind us.  

* museum grounds are open to exploration.  Trains move without bells or whistles.  Look both ways. Very minimal light at night. 

* there’s an active tower next to the museum, with a long set of those “rifle” type switch throwing handles.  Works all the switches at the south end of town.  You can see the operator walk back and forth as trains come and go. 

The world outside the US if we’ll worth visiting.  4 years ago I had never been to Europe.  This is now my 4th visit.  Poland is a pleasant, peaceful place, very affordable.  If you fly in to Berlin, you can be in Wolsztyn in a couple hours by train.  

Ted in Wolsztyn 
en route from Denmark to Albania

p.s. Is there a workaround for posting photos from an iPhone to Trainorders.com?  
I get a “we only upload JPGs, not JPEGs” error message from trainorders.  (Or I’ll post photos sometime this winter when I’m back home and have caught up on everything else...)


 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/19 12:51 by gobbl3gook.

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I was hoping they had rebuilt the Lesno line by now.  The southern part was good for 50+mph last spring.   The Posnan line on weekends was 60+mph.  Those OL49 are incredible engines.  Sorta the GP7 of steam engines.  Thanks for sharing.   Many, many fond memories. 

I will never get to see this power. Thank you for giving us this nice neat power.! I hope you will be sharing some more videp, soon.wag216

I just watched today, didn’t ride.  Plenty of humidity in the air today for a good steam display. 

Semaphore was up when the train came in, but didn’t go back up for departure.  So they’re st least partly operational. 

Heavy rain when returning for coal and water after the morning run.  

Switches and semaphores are operated manually, by cable, from the tower.  Intriguing system, I would have thought there would be too much friction or stretching in a 500m cable to operate a switch.  But, seems to work fine.  

Again, Poland is s wonderful place to visit.  A dinner at a nice restaurant  of grilled trout, with a shot of vodka and a bottle of bubbly water costs US$8.  A met one of the railroad hotel people today who speaks English, so it’s probably possible to do a telephone booking in advance.  Wolsztyn has 3 other museums of interest, I visited all today between trains.  

Ted in Wolsztyn 

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>>>Semaphore was up when the train came in, but didn’t go back up for departure.  So they’re st least partly operational. <<<

Those signals only control inbound movements, so would not go back up for departure.  As of last spring, the Lesno line was still train order and manual block until just outside Lesno.And yes there are meets.   Posnan line is now CTC. 

Amen on the price of meals.  Good hearty meals, that most Americans enjoy.  Not much on your plate you don't recognize.  No fast food places in Wolsztyn, but plenty in Posnan station.  An entire food court. 

Wolsztyn did not have 24 hour convienience stores until this year.  A Circle K of all things!

Nice!

Ted, thanks for posting and thanks for the heads up on when they cease steaming...Safe Travels and look forward to your pics and comments.