Bon Accord Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Despite the current lull in timetabled steam, Wolsztyn still has a heavy body of charter work this Summer and this was the reason for my visit a fortnight ago. Loco wise, there's something of an ongoing drama at the moment with OL49-69, the PT47 isn't quite finished overhaul yet and so Wolsztyn turned out OL49-59, which is now getting rather rough and requires overhaul. The route was Poznan-Gniezno-Torun-Bydgoszcz and return (the latter took me a couple of attempts to pronounce) and was an all day affair, with the train leaving Poznan about 0800 and returning midnight ish. Polish railtours are quite different to those in the UK, as so many more 'normal' people are involved, this being evident at the wayside stations we stopped at whose populations turned out to greet the train with brass bands, historical re-enactments, food fairs and the like, all very jovial. Even though steam in Poland is still a recent memory (and in some places still current), like the UK, the goodwill and interest of the public towards steam is enormous. For this run, there were four of us sharing the driving and firing with the Polish crews, three regulars and a new chap from the West Somerset - he had something of a shock to see just how different an OL49 is to a Western engine! There is no turntable available at Bydgoszc now, so we had to return to Torun via a circular route, whereupon we ran round again so that we were facing the right way for the the last leg back to Gniezno and Poznan. It was whilst running tender first that it became apparent just how rough No.59 actually was; she was noticeably missing a beat (oddly not apparent in forward gear), plus we had the usual dramas of an uncooperative Westinghouse pump and a T/A whose casing was leaking so much steam it was causing severe forward visibility problems. Whilst I was driving on the run back to Gniezno we had some drunken joker pull the communication cord, however being Poland this was quickly sorted out with some bad language and off we went again. The next day we had a jolly on the narrow gauge at Gniezno, courtesy of Howard at the Wolsztyn Experience as there wasn't much else to do. Having a loco and stock and an entire line which are effectively yours to play with all day is something unheard of in the UK, but two of us (myself and a fellow Wolsztyn crony) had just that on the Sunday. I had 'done' the narrow gauge 5 or 6 years ago but it was great fun to do it again. The band at Chelmza. Water stop at Unislaw, this station not only had a band but also a DJ and food fete. Another at Unislaw. One of the Polish crew - Stanislaw - trying to seal the T/A cover. His compadre on this leg was Eric, who Wolsztyn regulars will remember as the Polish version of Arthur Daley. Another reception committee, this time at Ostromecko. Our trusty steed during the layover in Torun, with Henrik and Piotr drawing coal forward and Eric offering 'advice'! OL49-59 at Gniezno about to depart on the final leg back to Poznan, whereupon the Polish crew would be relieved and the loco would make the journey back to Wolsztyn. An OL49 is roughly comparable to a Black Five in terms of power. Out on the narrow gauge at Gniezno the next morning, ready to play silly sods, our steed for the day being PX48-1919. Trying not to wake the neighbours on a Sunday morning... On the return leg to Gniezno, it was time to stop for a refreshment and bite to eat, so everyone decamped to the usual local establishment. Yes that is a main road between pub and train. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Bydgoszcz = Bid - gosh - ch. This method of pronunciation was how I appeared to speak, (perfect), Polish during my wedding speach..... I call it "Anglicising" ;o) Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Bydgoszcz = Bid - gosh - ch. Gazuntite! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Bydgoszcz = Bid - gosh - ch. This method of pronunciation was how I appeared to speak, (perfect), Polish during my wedding speach..... I call it "Anglicising" ;o) Cheers. Sean. I've a crib sheet of certain Polish words spelt phonetically and it's been invaluable over the years, as has a now rather dog eared and soot stained Lonely Planet phrase book! My conversational Polish is still quite basic, but I can get by on a day to day basis without too much drama, and thankfully a good few of the Polish lads have a reasonable smattering of English. It's when things get technical that it all goes wrong - trying to get across "I think we have a hotbox" after a morning of drama on the PT47 a few years back was definitely lost in translation, particularly as at the time 'Bum' (one of the local characters) was fretting about the number of leaking stays pouring water into the firebox! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Some great photos there Jim. I thought I heard some steam running around Poznan the other weekend and this explains it I've found the Poles seem to throw themselves wholeheartedly into anything a bit different and join in and this certainly shows in the photos. Amazingly, I visited Gniezno once and completely missed the fact that there was a narrow gauge railway there. (I'm sure there was some underhand misdirection by Mrs SM42 to cause this) In terms of the language I find Piwo (beer, to those who don't know) a very useful word, especially if combined with duze (large). The word I have most trouble with; Wszyscy (everyone) I have to sort of sneek up on this word to be able to say it. Think too much about it and I've no chance. Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Bydgoszcz = Bid - gosh - ch. This method of pronunciation was how I appeared to speak, (perfect), Polish during my wedding speach..... I call it "Anglicising" ;o) Cheers. Sean. The ending sound of Bydgoszcz is exactly the sound we use to say 'pushchair'. Dont let the 'szcz' spelling put you off too much. It is said that God invented Polish, when he dropped the contents of his Scabble box. A mix of English and Polish is 'Ponglish'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Wszyscy = f - shish - t - si. That's according to Mrs Penguin as even I wasn't sure about that one..... ;o) Since our Penguin chick has arrived, Mrs P is speaking a little more Polish around the house so I am sneakily picking up a little more myself! Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Jamieson Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I notice that some time back Eddie mentioned Pikus, the shed dog at Sroda. Although he was an ever present feature of the depot during the early to mid '90s, I'm afraid I also failed to record him on film. However I'm sure his kennel does feature in a couple of pictures - must look them out! Bill Here's a shot taken on 7th April 1997 showing the kennel in front of Sroda shed. No sign of Pikus though - perhaps after an overnight snow shower he has retreated into the relative warmth of the shed. And here's one taken five days later of Px48-1726 waiting to depart Zaniemysl on the 18:20 to Sroda. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hi everybody, I have just returned from 9 days interrailing in Poland, dodged a few thunderstorms but had a great time travelling around behind the 07s and managed a few interesting photos along the way. This is a rather sorry looking SU45-245 on the old depot just south of Poznan Glowny and taken from a passing train. ET22-253 rotting away on Szczecin Port Centralny Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hi, 2 more photos of my beloved 07s! EP07-1051 in British Railways 1960s blue stands at Warszawa Gdanska after arriving from Wroclaw. 15-05-14. EP07-174 sits in the sidings at Poznan Glowny and will later work the 1035 to Szczecin as EP07-1058 arrives with the 0514 Wroclaw-Szczecin. 10-05-14. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Top photo's GD. Those ET22'S at Szczecin have been there at least 3 years and every time I pass, jotting down the numbers, I always seem to include them too. If I can find my jotter, I'll post the identities of the others. Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Top photo's GD. Those ET22'S at Szczecin have been there at least 3 years and every time I pass, jotting down the numbers, I always seem to include them too. If I can find my jotter, I'll post the identities of the others. Cheers. Sean. Thanks, and here is a photo at Szczecin of an SM42 with no numbers! Looking at the photos I wildly snapped whilst accelerating past behind a chocolate 07 the ET22s were 1137, 461, 1083, 1055, 544 and 1072 although I may have missed a few. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Lovely pictures GD! They sure must have a vandalism/theft problem I'm guessing, the way those diesels have all their windows with pieces of plate welded over them!!! Those ET22's, are they Romanian built? I ask because those bogies look just like the ones on a class 56 or on a Greek "Craiovia" diesel, which I'd love to model one day! Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Lovely pictures GD! They sure must have a vandalism/theft problem I'm guessing, the way those diesels have all their windows with pieces of plate welded over them!!! Those ET22's, are they Romanian built? I ask because those bogies look just like the ones on a class 56 or on a Greek "Craiovia" diesel, which I'd love to model one day! Cheers, John E. Thanks John, I think the ET22s are Polish built by Pafawag in Wroclaw, somebody will know better than myself on the subject. They look really old but I believe they are from the 1970s, maybe over a 1000 locos? I have noticed that most of Poland has many disused locos lying about, both steam and modern rusting away, I don't think they like to scrap anything! Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Thanks John, I think the ET22s are Polish built by Pafawag in Wroclaw, somebody will know better than myself on the subject. They look really old but I believe they are from the 1970s, maybe over a 1000 locos? I have noticed that most of Poland has many disused locos lying about, both steam and modern rusting away, I don't think they like to scrap anything! Dave Yes, the ET22s were built by Pafawag between 1969 and 1989. In total there were 1,206 built - 1,183 for Poland and 23 for Morocco (ONCFM E-1000). The Poland total includes a 160km/h regeared prototype built as a passenger loco in 1973 (EP23-01), which was converted to the standard series in 1979 (ET22-121). (I think I've posted a photo - possibly higher in this thread - of the loco stored/preserved at Jaworzyna*). *Edit: Message #69 in this thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Top photo's GD. Those ET22'S at Szczecin have been there at least 3 years and every time I pass, jotting down the numbers, I always seem to include them too. If I can find my jotter, I'll post the identities of the others. Cheers. Sean. I think the SU45s and assorted SM42s at Poznan Glowny have been around for a few years too. The plates over the windows are quite recent though I think. I only notcied them for the first time at easter What the intention is I don't know. I have been told that once a railway line is closed the infrastructure has to remain in place for 10 years, so I wonder if there is a similar rule for rolling stock. Andy I'll see If I can dig out some EP/EU07 pics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 As promised some EU/EP07s First off a couple from Krakow Plaszow last September Poznan Glowny 2011 (note the building behind the loco can be seen in EddieB's pictures from the 70s) and 2009 Torun April 2009 And finally, again from last September. Guess where Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Nice variety of liveries there, how about this livery as applied to EU07-043 pictured at Poznan Glowny on 14-05-14? Not too sure myself! I saw another similar liveried 07 at Szczecin a few days later but I can't recall the number now. A full list of loco's and liveries is available on this excellent website mkseba.xaa.pl although it is in Polish. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 That looks like one of the liveries carried by, (IIRC), some of the M10 class. I'll try double check my notes, but I'm talking about a diesel class, some of which belong to a fuel company called Lotos or Lotto or similar. Just re-read that post and realised how vague it looks! I'll try and clarify it soon...... Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Lotos is the company you are thinking of Mr Penguin. Looks a bit too yellow though. Here are some purpley examples at Torun Glowny, April 2009 Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 It was indeed Lotos SM42. The class of loco I was thinking of was the M62M Co Co. Can't recall what exact livery I've seen them in, but definately recall a Blue one and also a Yellow one, but if I've seen one in Yellow and Blue, well, my memory escapes me now..... Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Ahh, Penguin, the M62 , aka ST44 (Russian built I believe and hence the nickname; Gargarin) I've seen these in traditional green, Lotus and PKP Cargo blue from memory. Yellow sounds like it may be a PKP Energetyka loco Things are certainly getting very colourful in Poland. I recall Lotos being being blue and greyish beige colour as well as orange and dark brown. Of course they could have changed. For sheer colour though you have to go a long way to beat Pol Miedz Trans; orange, green red, chocolate and light grey stripes. Andy Edited for poor Polish spelling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Ahh, Penguin, the M62 , aka ST44 (Russian built I believe and hence the nickname; Gargarin) I've seen these in traditional green, Lotus and PKP Cargo blue from memory. Yellow sounds like it may be a PKP Energetyka loco Things are certainly getting very colourful in Poland. I recall Lotos being being blue and greyish beige colour as well as orange and dark brown. Of course they could have changed. For sheer colour though you have to go a long way to beat Pol Miedz Trans; orange, green red, chocolate and light grey stripes. Andy Edited for poor Polish spelling. Definately not the PKP Energetyka livery Andy. I've seen those running around in a Red/Yellow livery. No, this one was Yellow with Lotos written along the side. I remember it as I had to ask Mrs P what "Lotos" was, (I thought it must be a National Lottery funded loco for some reason.....) Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Hi all. Just a "heads up" for anyone who may be over in Poland on 22/06/2014 Pociag Leon, (Locomotive Leon), will be hauling an excursion from Swidwin to Bialogard leaving Swidwin 1654 arrives Bialogard 1730. Leaves Bialogard 1753, arriving Swidwin 1844. Pociag Fregata will run a similar excursion on 28/06/2014, leaving Swidwin 1441, arriving Kolobrzeg 1630. Leaves Kolbrzeg 1730, arriving Swidwin 1845. both locomotives will be taking water at Swidwin, suggesting the excursions "may" come from further afield. www.turkol.pl for your tickets. Unfortunately I'll be land locked, but if anyone does make it, let me know. Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I'm really enjoying this thread, many thanks to the contributors. I really like the Eastern bloc eloks - I 'wasted' half an hour watching class 87s and 86s in Bulgaria... They look rather swish in the smart Europhoenix liveries I think.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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