European Railroad Discussion > Poland, part 8. Train Os77494 to Leszno

The steam schedule was for two round trips daily, Wolsztyn to Leszno, about 60 km each way.  

I was only planning on staying one or two days.  So I would ride both trains the first day.  

5:45 is a couple hours earlier than I usually rise, but I was up and looking around the yards to see the train depart the yards and go up to the station, 1 mile north.  

It was predawn, with very little ambient city light, and only a handful of yard lights for the entire engine shop/yard complex.  

Locomotive 059 started moving around without any fanfare -- not a toot of the whistle or a ringing of the bell, hooked itself up to two coaches, and was quickly off to the station.  

I followed on my bike, locked the bike, boarded, and we were off pretty quick.  I think the engine also ran around the train at the station.  The running around made for a more impressive show at each end of the line.  Though it of course also resulted in the locomotive running "backwards" on half of the runs...  

The train was empty at first, and I was able to enjoy an open window.  

It stopped every 5 minutes or so, some stations were in villages, some were out with nothing but farm fields and roads around, and the train pretty quickly filled up with high school kids.  

Soon my 2x2 seating area had 3 high school kids, with every seat taken and standing room only.  I kept to myself, they all chatted without a care in the world.  

It gradually transitioned from pre-dawn light, to a glow in the eastern sky, to daylight.  

There was one van following the train, stopping at pre-scouted locations for photos, like a field of sunflowers.  

I mostly just enjoyed the sounds of the locomotive, and the wisps of steam passing by the windows.  

Video 1) pulling out of the village of Wroniwa

OpenRailwayMap.org map of area
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?lang=null&lat=52.14002049277643&lon=16.2762451171875&zoom=15&style=standard



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/20 11:27 by gobbl3gook.

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Photos

1) Window reflection selfie, still had the whole car to myself.  With steam power featured in the train number board

2) Schoolkids boarding at Wloszakowice

3) Interesting to see so many station buildings, in a poor state of repair, but still standing.  In the US, there is the financial pressure to demolish buildings to get them off the county tax assessment.  I'm guessing no such motivation here in Poland... 

Next post, Leszno Station

Comments, questions, observations?  

Photos taken September, 2019

Ted in UT

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Great photos and vdeo. Looking forward to see more. That one gal didn't look very happy. Maybe she had to get up too early as well. Haha.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

And no one scolded you for shooting out of the window?  What's the world coming to?

-John