RMweb Premium 5944 Posted February 23 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 23 My last trip to Poland was in December 2013. It was meant to be the last day of Wolsztyn - Poznan workings before the timetable change (I think they were swapping back to Leszno) but Ol49-59 failed and got dragged away for repairs, and 69 was broken, so the last day was a DMU! I went photting instead near Poznan. One ET22 hauled coal train overtaking another. EU07-096 approaching Poznan with a trainload of Fiat 500s. The same train a few hours later in slightly better conditions at Zbąszyń! The loco had run round though. The last one of any interest was TEM2-225 on an empty log train. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 After the Easter Monday session at the loco depot, the rest of the day was spent riding around on the trams....... The last day of the trip consisted of using the railrover for a morning run (EN57's again) to Trzebnia and back to see what freight traffic was moving on the Krakow to Katowice main line, Trzebnia also being the junction for another couple of lines........ Then it was back to Krakow and another visit to that footbridge....... ...before going out on the trams again.......... One thing I did discover whilst riding around on the trams was a model railway shop, so I got off at the next stop and went to have a look inside. I'd previously found a model shop selling plastic kits in the City centre and bought some things there, but this model rail shop also sold books and I was able to pick up a couple of rather useful publications that came in handy on future visits to Poland.... At that time they had only recently been published (2004) and retailed for the equivalent of about £5 each. There was a steam loco one as well, but I didn't bother with that one. From a look on the internet, the tramway one only seems to have been updated once since then, but the railway versions have been updated several times. TBH I've found the best one for information (without many photos) on the current scene - particularly the multiple private operators - is the ST Publications one, published in that well known Polish town of Wigan ! Back at Krakow Gl for a final look, I saw this freshly painted EP05........... ....and that one is now preserved as the remaining operational member of the class, being used occasionally on regular services, as I saw it in use as such in Warsaw in 2018. A final shot of one of the recent Bombardier built NGT6 cars....... ...and it was time to head back to the Airport for the flight back to Stansted. As the trip had all gone to plan and I'd survived with the lack of language knowledge, I decided to do another of those PKP Railrover tickets later in the year based in another City, but the next holiday I'd booked was back to Berlin for the ILA show in May 2006......... 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 (edited) On 23/02/2024 at 06:22, Johann Marsbar said: I don't recall seeing that railcar there in 2006 and it doesn't feature in my 2004 copy of Atlas Lokomotyw. Appears from their website to be an SBx type railcar used on the Warsaw to Lodz service in from 1935 onwards. The same with the diesel (ST43) and electric locos - none present when I visited previously in 1976! . Edit: Faulty memory - EU07-001 and EP02-07 were present at Chabowka in September 2002. Edited February 24 by EddieB 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 The shed (at Krakow-Prokociem) also serves (or at least did) as the base for operational electric locomotives nominally preserved at Chabowka. I was hoping to catch the in-service EU06 class allocated there during a later (November) 2002 visit, but all were out in service, being preferred to the home-built EU07/EP07 (better reliability - the entire class was withdrawn shortly after as being smaller in number and non-standard). The preserved ASEA EP03 was inside the shed - I managed to negotiate entry at the security gate by showing the illustration from one of those "Atlas" books - very useful! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 8 minutes ago, EddieB said: The shed (at Krakow-Prokociem) also serves (or at least did) as the base for operational electric locomotives nominally preserved at Chabowka. I was hoping to catch the in-service EU06 class allocated there during a later (November) 2002 visit, but all were out in service, being preferred to the home-built EU07/EP07 (better reliability - the entire class was withdrawn shortly after as being smaller in number and non-standard). The preserved ASEA EP03 was inside the shed - I managed to negotiate entry at the security gate by showing the illustration from one of those "Atlas" books - very useful! It was most probably lurking in one of the sheds when I had a wander around on that April 2006 trip. I was told after getting home that they seemed very friendly staff there by other people who had been given full guided tours of the place after making themselves known. I did find that some of the "security"/gatehouse staff at tram depots still appeared to be stuck in the Communist era at certain locations though, even in the early 2000's...... It was worse later on in Bulgaria though! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 May 2006 saw a 5 day break in Berlin, the dates chosen to fit in with the Public open days at that years ILA show, held at Berlin Schönefeld Airport, though I also managed to add a few other attractions into the time I was there. On the first day, I flew from Stansted to Schönefeld Airport on the early morning Ryanair flight and after purchasing a Berlin ABC zone day ticket, headed off to Potsdam around the Outer Ring line, eventually ending up at Saarmund where I spent some time photographing passing trains...... I then headed into the centre of Berlin, where this construction work was underway at Alexanderplatz on a new tram routeing...... .....before heading out to Friedrichshagen which was where I was staying in a small Hotel. The area was served by the BVG tramway which, at that time, was still mainly using their refurbished Tatra cars..... The next day was a Friday and the one I was heading off to the ILA, but I took some early morning shots around Friedrichshagen first of all....... ...which also included the Schöneiche tramway with its ex Heidelburg cars........ ....before heading into Berlin to catch the train out to the ILA. A special service had been put on for the duration of the show to get visitors out to the Airport and this used a special platform on-site that was only used for the ILA shows. The service was free of charge as well, the stop in central Berlin being at Lichtenburg, where one of the 218 worked services is seen........ ...and again out at the ILA Airport platform.......... On the Sunday at least, one of the 218's had been replaced by something else, as you will see. The weather for the show was fairly indifferent and there were some very heavy downpours, which is when some of the exhibitors display tents came in very handy, but the flying side of things went ahead without much in the way of interruption. A reminder of things from the (then) recent past....... ......and a look into the future, with the A380 making one of its first public displays...... 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Morgan Posted February 26 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 26 Two years earlier I took my son to the Air Show, Berlin: Being involved with the management of the Tornado and Eurofighter had its perks. He actually managed to land safely: 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 34 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said: Two years earlier I took my son to the Air Show, Berlin: Being involved with the management of the Tornado and Eurofighter had its perks. He actually managed to land safely: I see that they had a 119 out on the shuttle trains that year as well. From memory, it failed on the Sunday in 2006, but with that and various goings on in the Lichtenburg area on the Sunday morning, that day of the trip certainly had a "retro" feel to it....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 A few of the more unusual exhibits at ILA 2006, starting with this small Russian eraknoplan............. ...and they also had a jet powered flying boat on display amongst the extensive Russian exhibit area......... No doubt there will be zero Russian presence at the 2024 ILA...... For something older, this pre-war Dornier flying boat, upgraded and fitted with new engines took part in the flying programme...... ...as did this "new build" ME 262 - an aircraft type I never thought I'd ever see flying.......... The DDR era airport terminal buildings can just be seen in the background above the rear fuselage of the 262, as can some of the rather distinctive apron lighting towers. Then it was time to head back into Berlin..... On the Saturday I bought a Berlin-Brandenburg Lander ticket for the day and headed off to Szczecin, where a Konstal 105N is seen outside Glowny...... The Atlas Tramwajow that I had bought the previous month came into its element on this trip as it included a full route map of each system so you knew where the depots were. In addition, the MZK local transport network was now included in the Lander ticket, so first point of call, after covering the long route to Goclaw, was Golecin depot..... The works car was in use as the depot shunter that morning, displaying rather obvious body sag....... ...whilst an all-over advert pair of 105N cars passes the depot..... The depot there gave the impression - or rather the frontage did - that it was a post-war rebuild on a presumably bombed out Stettiner Stadtwerke depot site, though some of the associated trackage gave the impression it hadn't seen much attention since 1945! The road surface there must have been "interesting" for road vehicles with a mixture of original cobbles, concrete slabs and tarmac. Everything was going well on my system tour until there was some sort of traction supply failure when it all ground to a halt......... The headlights are still illuminated, but we sat there for about 15 minutes, well long enough for me to get off the 102Na and take this photo. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 1 hour ago, Johann Marsbar said: A few of the more unusual exhibits at ILA 2006, starting with this small Russian eraknoplan............. ...and they also had a jet powered flying boat on display amongst the extensive Russian exhibit area......... No doubt there will be zero Russian presence at the 2024 ILA...... For something older, this pre-war Dornier flying boat, upgraded and fitted with new engines took part in the flying programme...... ...as did this "new build" ME 262 - an aircraft type I never thought I'd ever see flying.......... The DDR era airport terminal buildings can just be seen in the background above the rear fuselage of the 262, as can some of the rather distinctive apron lighting towers. Then it was time to head back into Berlin..... On the Saturday I bought a Berlin-Brandenburg Lander ticket for the day and headed off to Szczecin, where a Konstal 105N is seen outside Glowny...... The Atlas Tramwajow that I had bought the previous month came into its element on this trip as it included a full route map of each system so you knew where the depots were. In addition, the MZK local transport network was now included in the Lander ticket, so first point of call, after covering the long route to Goclaw, was Golecin depot..... The works car was in use as the depot shunter that morning, displaying rather obvious body sag....... ...whilst an all-over advert pair of 105N cars passes the depot..... The depot there gave the impression - or rather the frontage did - that it was a post-war rebuild on a presumably bombed out Stettiner Stadtwerke depot site, though some of the associated trackage gave the impression it hadn't seen much attention since 1945! The road surface there must have been "interesting" for road vehicles with a mixture of original cobbles, concrete slabs and tarmac. Everything was going well on my system tour until there was some sort of traction supply failure when it all ground to a halt......... The headlights are still illuminated, but we sat there for about 15 minutes, well long enough for me to get off the 102Na and take this photo. The ME 262 reproduction must have been on one of its first public outings given the date. Fasinating stuff. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 23 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said: The ME 262 reproduction must have been on one of its first public outings given the date. Fasinating stuff. Bernard I just had a look and it had only undertaken its first Test Flight in April 2006, making its Public flying debut at the ILA that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 The other tram depot I found in Szczecin was a large inter-war (presumably) constructed one out to the west of the City at Pogodno..... They had started to refurbish some of the Konstal cars which included the fitting of new ends....... Though some older stock was also on view (just), as seen in this slide scan....... The N class works car had a cut down rear end section, whilst the red and cream passenger version in the shed is one of their preserved cars used on Tourist services. They also have a 1926 Stettiner Straßen-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft Bremen built car painted in the pre-1945 cream livery which I've never seen, unfortunately. Back at Glowny, the statutory EU07 photo...... ...along with my train back to Angermunde...... There were still a few remnants of the original platform canopies about then, but the place seens to have been totally rebuilt since I was last there and only one section now remains of the old ones. This 155 on a freight was stabled at Eberswalde on the way back to Berlin..... The Sunday started off rather damp, as seen on this photo of the 119 in use on one of the ILA shuttles...... The Reichsbahn theme was to continue in the Lichtenburg area where I would be spending the morning, with a 232 in one of the platforms there....... ......plus one of the former DR electrics in Scandlines livery which seemed to be fairly permanent residents there........ However, where I was heading for was a short distance to the west of Lichtenburg station, adjacent to Nöldnerplatz S-Bahn station, one of the attractions there being a stabling point that you could access fairly easily at that time.......... ...though in 2006 there was more to the area in the way of rail attractions than that.......... 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 I'd done some online searching beforehand to see if there were any events of interest on in Berlin during the time I was there and discovered that there was an open day at what was then a preservation site adjacent to the stabling point previously pictured. There was in 2006 (and still is, though I'm not sure what use it's in now) a 1/4 roundhouse and turntable - the remnants of a much larger complex - and a steam preservation group were based there, along with it being used as a maintenance base for various private shunting locomotives. The last time I went to anywhere near the shed at least 10 years ago, it then appeared to be in use as an arts centre. The preservation group had 3 class 52's present, one in steam , ready to work a railtour, and one of the others in light steam, plus there were quite a number of diesels that may have been owned by this group, or may have been pending restoration for private use, all of which had DDR origins. There were also some preserved passenger coaches and freight wagons parked around. Some of the mainline private operators stabled their locos there as well........ The preserved steam...... ...and the others....... "Oh Parker, what have they done to my Rolls Royce....." "I don't think that's the registration number m'Lady...!" More of the residents tomorrow..... 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 A few more from the roundhouse and stabling siding areas...... This one could have been taken a good 25 years earlier than it was....... Note the preserved DR goods stock just visible in the background of this photo of the 155.... As well as the locos, some of the private operators operating a variety of units on passenger services out of Lichtenburg used the stabling sidings there...... As one of the Class 52's was being prepared to work a railtour that day, after leaving the site, I headed back to Lichtenburg station to see it come in to the platforms, before catching an S-Bahn train out to the next station, Friedrichsfelde Ost, where I was able to get a photo of it passing through...... It was a rather interesting consist, with a bogie carriage, four 4 or 6-wheeler passenger coaches and then a long rake of preserved goods wagons behind it. I'm guessing it was heading for somewhere on a lesser used line that the carriages would be detached and some freight stock only photos could be taken as part of a photo-charter. No sooner had the 52 gone though than the 119 on the ILA shuttles appeared........ 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mol_PMB Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 On 28/02/2024 at 06:51, Johann Marsbar said: ......plus one of the former DR electrics in Scandlines livery which seemed to be fairly permanent residents there........ They may have been stabled there every day, but at night-time they worked the German leg of the Berlin-Malmo (and vice versa) sleeper train. A few pics from my only trip on it (southbound) - the first one being arrival at Berlin: 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 Last selection from Berlin today..... Next port of call was the Berliner Parkeisenbahn at Wulheide which originally opened in 1956 as a DDR Pioneer Railway. Gauge is 600mm and there seem to be lots of route variations that can be used by the trains - the layout is mainly a series of joined loops - as I've been on it twice and taken different routes each time! I didn't take a ride on this occasion as I needed to be elsewhere fairly quicklyy to travel on something else which I'd found out about online - namely a vintage tram tour. There was no pre-booking on the tour and the start point was the tram stop adjacent to Köpenick S-Bahn station, so I headed off to that location and discovered that most of Berlin had decided that a vintage tram trip might be a good thing to do that afternoon! Thankfully there were two tram & trailer sets in use on the tour and I managed to squeeze onto the more "modern" of the trailer cars and we set off for Alt-Schmockwitz where there was a short break to visit the adjacent depot where some vintage trams were being restored. The tour cars were this Cöpenick tramways tram (1903) & trailer (1906) set....... ...and a 1929 Berlin tram & trailer........ The last day in Berlin saw another ABC Zone day ticket, whilst I mainly concentrated on riding/photographing the Berlin tram routes..... I would return to Berlin again later in the year for a slightly longer break. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 Having been tempted by what I had seen on the previous Novembers day trip to Bratislava, I decided to have a short break in June 2006 in Slovakia, based in Bratislava but with a Eurodomino 3 day rail ticket for ZSSK. I don't know if those tickets are still sold, but they seemed to be the best way of getting a railrover for the Country then, though there might have been a cheaper locally purchased alternative. There certainly was for the Czech Republic when I was there later in 2006. The first day - after the early morning flight from Stansted - was spent travelling around Bratislava itself and I bought a 7-day local transport ticket at the transport office outside the main station, as only singles and day tickets were obtainable from the rather basic airport ticket machine at that stage. Bratislava Hl.s.... Some general tram and trolleybus photos from the day..... Back at Hl.s with some OBB stock in evidence on services from Vienna..... The hotel I was staying at (more of a large guest house) was some distance out of the centre, though it was on a trolleybus route that at least passed close to the station. Services started early as well, so I was able to get off on my travels with the rail ticket early each day. I'd worked out a number of different routeings around the western part of the Country - the east was a bit out of reach with a base in Bratislava - starting on the first day with a run on a railcar to Komarno, near the Hungarian border, where this 240 is seen at the nead of the train I was about to board for the run to Kuty, via Bratislava.... 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 Kuty was quite a busy place and I think the "platforms" and their width /location would give ORR heart failure in this country, but no problem in Slovakia! For my onward journey to Trnava I had this EMU as the traction....... and at Trnava, this tank engine was plinthed by the station...... ...and I then travelled back to Bratislava via Galanta to cross off another couple of rail lines on the Quail Map for the day. The following morning, I boarded an express to Zilina to have a look at and take a few rides on the local trolleybus network....... ...with a fair bit of action seen at the station as well whilst I was there waiting for my train back as far as Trencin........ 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 From Trencin I caught a railcar and trailer set along a (very) secondary route to Chynorany where there is a junction with another secondary cross-country line that runs from Horna Stubna to Leopoldov. The railcar set is seen at Chynorany, just before the motor car ran round the trailer....... There appeared to be a loco shunting an industry a bit further down the line, so a short walk produced this LTE MaK....... Whilst the line was of a secondary nature, most of the trains appeared to be loco-hauled and this 3-coach one came in from the Horna Stubna direction........ THat wasn't the train I was waiting for though, and after a while another 750 came in from the Leopoldov direction with another service and waited for my Loeopldov bound train to arrive..... Semaphore signalling was still in use on some sections of the route...... I think the train I was on actually ran through to Bratislava (without trying to find my notes), so these photos were taken out of the window en-route...... Interestingly the shunter retains its CSD running number and also a small red star above the front radiator grille ! Back in Bratislava, major works to the city centre tram tracks were underway at that time, with the streets being repaved as well........ 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 The next day I took a rest from the rail ticket and spent the day travelling around Bratislava. The guest-house I stayed at was quite high up above the main city and was reached by this trolleybus route..... At a much lower level, off to the left, was the main loco depot and roundhouse, but there didn't appear to be any access points in to there when I went exploring early that morning, but I did take up position by the main lines in that area for a few photos..... ...before heading off to the main station for a while..... Much of the day was spent riding around on the tram/trolleybus network........ ...and I did manage to locate a few of the depots in my travels. This withdrawn Skoda Sanok articulated trolleybus was at one of the depots..... As it was parked with a couple of preserved Skoda T 9r vehicles immediately behind it, the vehicle may have been destined for preservation. One of the tram depots had this works car present...... ...while this driver trainer was seen late in the day at another depot...... 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 On the final day of the Eurodomino ticket I did a circular tour through the centre of the Country via Banska Bystrica. Bratislava that morning........ Next place of interest was Zvolen, where this immaculately turned out 754 was working my train on to Banska Bystrica...... It seemed to be the "Depot pet" judging by the fact it was named and had an image of the local castle above the bodyside numberplate...... After getting on the train, I took this loco, still in its original CSD green/cream out of the window....... A general shot at Banska Bystrica...... ...a location I'd chosen to go to due to the local trolleybus system, only to be confronted by this outside the station....... Apparently the towns bus operation had been taken over by another Municipality and they had replaced the trolleybuses with motorbuses! This had happened a month or so before my visit and the inhabitants of Banska Bystrica were not happy with this change, so much so that the transport operation was eventually returned to local management and the trolleybuses were eventually reinstated. At least I had a 750 for haulage from there to join the electrified main line at Vrutky............. ....from where I caught a service back towards Bratislava as far as Trencianska Tepla, this 131 double unit being photographed from my train at Zilina..... The reason for heading to Trencianska Tepla was the 760mm gauge electrified line to Trencianska Teplice, worked by these bogie railcars....... The 5.4 km long line was opened in 1909 and the three railcars used date from 1951/2, although they were "modernised" in the 1980's. It was part of the ZSK network at the time of my visit though it's now apparently run by a Municipal non-profit company. 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 This single unit railcar was in the platform when I got back to Trencianska Tepla..... With an early evening flight home the next day I limited myself to the Bratislava area again and the following is a selection taken on my travels before heading out to the Airport....... That will conclude the postings on here for about a couple of weeks, but I'll return with images on the July 2006 Polish trip, based in Wroclaw, after that short break. 16 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted March 11 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 11 31 minutes ago, Johann Marsbar said: That will conclude the postings on here for about a couple of weeks, but I'll return with images on the July 2006 Polish trip, based in Wroclaw, after that short break. Thank you for posting all these; fascinating stuff! I thought I did quite well for European travel earlier this century, but I'm quite jealous of the places you got to! Looking forward to the next lot, as and when.... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 28 minutes ago, 31A said: Thank you for posting all these; fascinating stuff! I thought I did quite well for European travel earlier this century, but I'm quite jealous of the places you got to! Looking forward to the next lot, as and when.... 2006 was a bit OTT as regards trips into Europe as I had 9 holidays (2 or more days away) there that year, plus 3 day trips as well !! I'd decided to see some more of Europe at that time and my trips to the USA were having what turned out to be a 5-year break at that time (2004-2009), though a Canadian one did sneak in during 2007. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Seeing your pictures of Bratislava’s trams reminds that I once read that prior to WW1 it was possible to catch a tram from the then Pressburg all the way to Vienna. It’s not all that far (30km IIRC) and back then it was all part of the Habsburg domains, so no borders. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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