28th Feb - 4th March 2012 Poland

ET41-037A leads its sister unit into Krzys from the north. 04.03.2012.

Prezwozy Regionale SM42-523 is stabled
for the night at Poznan. 01.03.2012

Following our first enjoyable and successful trip to Poland in 2011 James and James headed back to Poland to attempt to tick off the same aims that we didn't achieve the previous year - some snow, and EU06's. We were not successful on either of these fronts and the weather was far from the bright winter sunshine we had experienced previously!                                                                                  Having based ourselves in Katowice the previous year this time we would be staying in the east of the country based in Wroclaw and Poznan.

Tuesday 28th February 2012:

We had arrived into Wroclaw late afternoon the previous day and after a quick visit to the station and a fairly confusing tram ride (it's not easy when you have no map and don't know where each route goes!) made our way to the hotel. 

ET22-282 stands atop a line of 10 other classmates at
Legnica on a wet 28th February 2012. 

Tuesday dawned cold and murky but not cold enough that the murk turned white as we had perhaps hoped! Today was a two stop affair as we headed towards the German border. The first of these stations was Legnica, a large station with lots of promise and presence with its sizeable overall roof. The station was typical of the run-down look of many Polish stations at the time, particularly in the wet weather with water pouring from many places it probably shouldn't' have been. 

You go abroad but you can't avoid them! EWS
66153 working for DB Cargo Rail Polska. 28/02/2012.

Despite many tracks and even bumping into a Polish enthusiast the traffic here was sparse. In the few hours we spent at Legnica we saw just a couple of loco movements but did at least have some shelter from the elements.                                                                                              The most interesting feature here was a long line of mostly (if not all) stored ET22's alongside the station. 

SU46-011 in PKP Cargo colours has attached to the front of EC248 'Wawel' from Wroclaw to Hamburg as it prepares to take the diesel line via Forst.

By the time of our train to the next location of Wegliniec we were more than happy to be on the move. The moment we stepped off the train we were greeted by a familiar sight - an EWS class 66 in the shape of 66153 light engine working for DB Cargo Rail Polska, still looking very much like we were used to as an EWS loco in the UK. 

Also attracting our attention was an attractive red and white liveried 'Ludmilla' 232-105 belonging to East West Railways. The loco had it's lights on and a driver in the cab so we settled into a position ahead of it waiting for it to depart. 

An incredible line up of traction in the inclement weather! Left to right SU46-048, 232-105 (East West Railways), ST43-137, SM42-1251, 3E-007 (PTK ET21), SU46-011.

ST43-137 crawls out of the yard at Wegliniec.

One of the highlights of our trip to Wegliniec was always going to be the passage of the daily EuroCity 248/9 'Wawel' on it's trip between Hamburg and Wroclaw which was, at the time, booked to take the diesel line across the border via Forst. The train arrived from Germany behind SU46-011 and continued forward into Poland with an EP09. The German bound train did the opposite arriving with electric traction and then being taken forward with the same SU46. 

Green pairing ST43-238 and SU46-014 have just attached
to a train in the yard at Wegliniec to head towards Germany.
Conditions were getting very bleak and the light was now
fading fast as we waited for our train back to warmth and dry. 

This activity together with a great many interesting 'older' freight locos distracted us sufficiently from the rain which was the only thing preventing this from being an absolutely mega day!                                                                                                                            Eventually however after several hours the light started to fade and our clothes began to soak through- and 232-105 which we had been observing since arriving was still sitting with its lights on and driver in the cab looking just as ready depart as when we had arrived! With a DMU due back to Wroclaw it was time for us to make our escape, heading into the relative shelter of the leaky station canopy we looked back at the rain we had been standing in. We must have been mad!

Wednesday 1st March 2012:

EU07-174 at Wroclaw Mikolajow brining in our train  to Poznan and beyond.

ET22-1162 passes Wroclaw Slotysowice 1.3.2012

This morning it was time to explore some more local spots within Wroclaw. Our first location was Wroclaw Slotysowice which disappointed with only a couple of freight trains, a green ET22, a LOTOS Traxx and an SM31- a class of loco I had not previously seen up close that did at least make it worth the visit. Trackwork appeared to be taking place here which may have limited further traffic.                                                                  

SM31-168 shunting at Wroclaw Slotysowice 1.3.2012

After seeing significantly less freight than we had hoped it was time to drop back to Wroclaw Mikolajow to pick up a nice green EU07-174 (before it was a 'heritage repaint') to transfer us to Poznan. Unfortunately this was a painfully slow journey due to upgrade works on the line via Leszno which saw single line working in force for large chunks of the journey with very slow line speeds as a result.

ET22-729 prepares to depart Poznan with a Prezwozy
Regionale service towards Leszno. 03.03.2012

After checking into our accommodation we came back to the station with the aim of taking a short ride on the evening steam departure run as part of the Wolsztyn Experience which at the time had two daily trains between Wolsztyn and Poznan. We arrived to find Ol49-59 in charge of the train, remarkably billed as Europe's last scheduled steam operation. Soon we got chatting to the English guests who were 'footplating' on the loco, and then to the Polish loco crew. They asked if we were travelling, which of course we were, and it soon became apparent that in exchange for some zloty they would let us ride in the cab of the loco. After initially dismissing the idea we did the maths. The 50 zloty being asked was less than £10 and riding in the cab of the massive Ol49 was certainly going to be more exciting than being on the cushions! 

Ol49-59 at Poznan on 1st March 2012, steam leaking abundantly as it prepares to work the evening train to Wolsztyn.

Quickly we worked out how far we could go down the branch to Wolsztyn and still get back and then settled down to enjoy the spectacle of mainline steam in the dark of the cool Polish spring night. The knowledge of the crews became immediately apparent, being able to tell just from the lie of the track their exact location and breaking points.                                                                                                                                                                      We were sad to leave the crew when we arrived at the tiny halt of Tloki (even more so when we realised just how tiny and remote this stop was!) and listened to the loco depart into the distance. We had a short wait for our vastly inferior DMU back to Poznan, but what an experience the evening had turned out to be. Probably the best 50 zloty I had ever spent!

Green machine ET22-099 at Poznan with a late night regional service. 01.03.2012.

Thursday 2nd March 2012:

EN57-714rb and ET22-748 in a very traditional scene at Inowroclaw. 02.03.2012. 

EU07-215 Poznan 3.03.2012

After a few photos around the station in Poznan in the morning, including the returning steam service it was time for another excursion today- but first a bit of an issue. James and I had agreed which train to meet on for our transfer to Inowroclaw, but with reduced information around the station due to re-building I had some difficulty finding either him or the train- I ended up getting on the train hoping to find him on board. I quickly realised that he wasn't. Where had we gone wrong? Well- I had got on the right train... just in the wrong direction! My train had already called at Inowroclaw and was now heading down towards Leszno! 

I bailed off at the first stop, Koscian, and had to wait a little while for a train that would take me back to Poznan where I could then try again to reach Inowroclaw! At least there was a tiny bit of company at Koscian- ST43-371 was stabled in the yard and was duely photographed. 

ST43-371 in the yard at Koscian. 02.03.2012.

It was certainly a little later than planned when I arrived into Inowroclaw behind ET22-748. Unfortunately I had missed an original PKP ST44 (I am still yet to see one working in any guise for PKP) and after another disappointing session with only a couple of trains seen it was time to continue our journey on to our final destination for the day; Bydgoszcz. 

Freshly overhauled M62-7038 is shunted out of the works at Bydgoszcz by shunter SM42-261 owned by PESA. 02.03.2012

A line up of locos within the PESA works at
Bydgoszcz with ST45-011, ST44-1242 and
M62-1708 for Rail Pokska taking their pole
positions.02.03.2012

As well as the possibility to see freight, and the disappointment that once again very little turned up, Bydgoszcz is also home to the lage PESA railway works. As well as constructing DMU's of questionable quality the works here also specialises in overhauling locos including many older diesels for both PKP and private operators- what is even better is that a lot of the action can be seen through the fence from the station platform. The only problem here is the fence- so being inquisitive we wandered down to the rail gates and took some photos through the holes in the fence which came out much better. To our surprise the gates opened, and a few snaps later a member of staff appeared. He spoke only Polish but beckoned us in... were we really going to get a look inside the loco works!?

Ol49-59 at Poznan 02.03.2012.

No. Was the definitive answer. It turned out that PESA were not keen at all on us taking photos through their fence and after being invited into their office the strict instruction from an English speaking staff member was that we must delete our pictures and they would watch us doing it. Not having been in the situation before I didn't have a lot of choice and had not prepared for this- maybe it is a good thing now that I can't quite remember what was on the card from the works before the delete button was pressed. 

A bit scarred from the experience we made the best of what we could from the platform. Perhaps for operational reasons, or perhaps because they felt sorry for us (I strongly suspect the former) the shunters then proceeded to shunt around a good collection of the locos in the yard outside the works, parading them out of the gate in front of us, and our cameras, which of course were no problem if they stayed on the platform. Among the treasures were a number of M62's, German 'Ludmillas' and Polish ST48, ST43 and ST45 locos freshly overhauled into their new freight format from SU45's. 

Friday 3rd March 2012:

Pol Meidz Trans M62-1199 powers through Poznan Staroleka. 03.03.2012.

Konstal 105Na trams in service
outside Poznan station. 03.03.2012

Our final full day in Poland saw us spending more time in and around Poznan. After starting again on the main station we once again set off in pursuit of freight, knowing that we would not see any through the main station. We made the trip by tram to the station at Poznan Staroleka, another beautifully run down small Polish station to the south of the city. 

No rewards for guessing the location here as EN57-1769rb makes its call. 03.03.2012

ET22-1164 passes Staroleka light engine. 03.03.2012.

It didn't take long for us to realise that this had been a good decision. Finally we started to see some freight traffic at the sort of levels we had hoped for. What made it even better was warning of trains coming from the north. First the level crossing at the end of the platform would activate, followed by the loud rumble which indicated a freight train crossing the large viaduct immediately before the station. Only as the train hit the level crossing and curved into the station would we see what our cameras had heading towards them. 

The highlight of our time here was a particularly deep rumble which heralded the arrival of Pol-Miedz-Trans M62-1199. We had already seen one of their re-engined M62's which was pleasing in itself, but this time it was the smokey real-deal! 

As we left to head back to the main station something so far unknown on the trip also manifested - some sunlight!

Finally some sunshine! SU45-079 in Przeworzy Regionale colours waits to head its peak hour service to Leszno. 03.03.2012

SP32-202 waits outside the station at Poznan to
form the Fridays only train to Gorzow. 03.03.2012.

Back at Poznan Glowny it was time to enjoy some passenger diesels, very much towards the end of their decline in Poland. By this time, there was just one booked diesel departure on a weekday, the 15:34 Poznan - Leszno with an additional Fridays only service to Gorzow at 16:27. One of my main aims for the trip had been to see and ride behind an SU45, a very uniquely Polish diesel powered by a Fiat licenced engine. Once a common sight right across Poland's regional routes there were just a handful in traffic by this time and the runs out of Poznan were the best bet to score one, both trains being booked for SU45 haulage. 

The usual hopes of an EU06 manifest as our first freight at
Poznan Staroleka appears behind green EU07-195. 03.03.2012

The first of the two trains, the Fridays only Gorzow produced an SP32, in itself not easy to score and a tempting choice for a ride, but in the end I stuck to my guns and took SU45-079 in its attractive and unique red Prezworzy Regionale livery on the Leszno train. The stock was one of the now very rare articulated double decker sets, and with a bit of effort it was just about possible to get a window open enough to enjoy the sounds of the loco.

Saturday 4th March 2012:

ET22-017 pauses at Krzyz with a regional service to Szczecin Glowny. 04.03.2012

 

EP07-395 with a full IC rake of coaches
has arrived into Szczecin Glowny. 04.03.2012.

The final day of the trip dawned sunny! This meant another dash to the station in an attempt to re-take all the cloudy pictures we had from the rest of the week! 

Ol49-59 had also been cleaned and now looked particularly shiny in the sunshine. It was still early morning when James and I parted ways- he was booked on the direct flight back to London from Poznan which left around midday, while I had elected to take a more circuitous route home with an evening flight from Berlin, and there was a particular objective on the way.

EC179 is powered by 232-379 on the approach to Szczecin Glowny. 04.03.2012

EP08-010 Szczecin Glowny. 04.03.2012.

My journey out of Poznan began with ET22-017, the lowest number I had seen on the trip. This took me to Krzys where I had an hour or so to enjoy the sunshine before dropping back onto another green machine, EP07-395 to continue on to Szczecin Glowny. The reason for coming here was to get a ride with a DB 232 'Ludmilla' while I still could- by this time they had just one daily return passenger working, the final section of EC178/179 'Berliner' from Prague to Szczecin which was worked by the diesel for the final few miles across the German border from Angermunde into Poland. 

There was time to wander round, photograph a few trams and get into position for the inbound working which produced 232-379. All that was left now was to board the EC and get my Ludmilla in the book. Later in the year the train would be cut back to Berlin and bring the end to regular 232 workings in Germany. 

144-004 arrives into Angermunde with an RE3 service. 155-031 and 143-124 lead lines of former East German electrics in the yard. 04.03.2012.

186-135 has charge of the overnight train to
Kiev ready depart Berlin Hbf. 04.03.2012.

I wouldn't have much time in Germany so while the loco was changing at Angermunde I opted to connect onto a loco hauled regional service into Berlin rather than wait for the class 101 to take EC178 forward. 

In Berlin there was just time to take in the impressive Hbh with its dual level tracks before I had to think about getting to the airport. By this time the new airport at Berlin Brandemburg should have been in full operation, but delays which would continue to plague it for many years meant that the old airports at Tegal and Schonefeld were still in operation. With it's rail connection I opted for Schonefeld, I had assumed I would not depart from it's tarmac again- little did I know! 

114-018 stands at Berlin Schonefeld Flughaven. 04.03.2012.

Conclusions:

232-397 ready to depart from Szczecin for
Prague on EC178. 04.03.2012.

Another enjoyable trip to Poland when it was easy to find locos in the old liveries and there were still a number of older diesels around, at least if you looked in the right places! This winter we were blessed with neither the snow we dreamed of or the great light we had experienced the previous year (or the EU06's for that matter!) and this would be my last winter trip to Poland for some time. I would next cross the country just a few months later on my Trans-Siberian trip, by which time it was Summer and the gloomy Poland I knew looked an entirely different place.

Ol49-59 calls at Lubon on the outskirts of Poznan
with the morning service to Wolsztyn. 03.03.2012

By the time of my next serious 'railway' trip to Poland the blue livery of PKP Cargo had truly taken hold, the days of ET22's on passenger were behind and even some of the loco hauled long distance trains had succumbed to units.                                                                               Finishing the trip with the German 232 was a real highlight, perhaps in a large part because the weather had finally turned good! Despite the grey, a great trip all in all and my last truly visiting the Poland of old.

The desolate and dilapidated station at Wegliniec on a cold winters day.

A fairly normal gala - full steam ahead at the Mid Hants!

All aboard! The Mid Hants railway is open again as Schools class 30925 'Cheltenham' prepares to depart from Alton with the 17:00 to Alresford on 1st May as part of their 4 day Spring Steam Gala.

With the UK finally starting to get back to something approaching 'normal' as we vaguely remember it following the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is time also for many of those things that we used to enjoy to start to come back to life. 

Urie S15 506 climbs towards Medstead & Four Marks working
the 10:30 from Alresford to Alton.

For me this means railways- aside from my journeys to work trips over the last year to enjoy riding on a train have been few and far between, and I realised that is a vastly better situation that many have had who have not been near a train at all. 

The heritage sector has been particularly badly affected by Covid-19 with heritage railways loosing the majority, if not all, of the 2020 season. Some lines were able to present an offering over Christmas with Santa Specials and 'Christmas Light' trains which brought in some revenue but for all it has been a bleak 12 months. 

Now in the spring of 2020 the railways have by and large survived and it is time to look towards a better season with heritage railways starting to open their doors once again. Many will have restrictions in place, at least for now, involving mask wearing, one way systems, reduced catering and often reserved seating. The Mid Hants 'Watercress' line however opted for its Spring 2021 steam gala to attempt to offer something as close as they could to the 'normal' experience. Not fancying having an individual seat reserved on one train for the day, and longing for the free days of gala's past I paid up with great anticipation of a good old day out!

Visiting from the South Devon Railway, GWR 'Prairie' 5526 makes a fine sight after departing Alresford with the midday service to Alton. The train is captured in a suprise patch of sunlight and viewed from the air. 

There were of course a few caveats- masks would have to be worn at all times inside the train, one way systems were in place (with doors marked for entry or exit) and the whole event was run at reduced capacity of approximately 40%- though was not sold out. 

Pannier 4612 was a guest at the gala from the Bodmin &
Wenford Railway. It was employed on shuttles between 
Alresford and Ropley throughout the weekend.

Aside from these minor changes I have to say, the Mid Hants put on a pretty normal gala- and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Passengers were able to do all those little things that we have longed for over the past year; picking the train we wanted to board, opening the door ourselves, choosing a vacant seat, getting off where we saw fit. Yes, the queues may have been a little longer at the toilets and I couldn't get a beer on board, but these things can be lived with. I was even pleased to see that masks were not compulsory on stations (outdoors) and of course the staff were, as promised, cleaning touch points on the trains at each end of the line. Indeed if it were not for the masks I could almost have forgotten this was a Covid gala altogether- the only near disaster was almost missing Pannier tank 4612 visiting from the Bodmin & Wenford railway when it's train was declared full to capacity- another of my party had fortunately already secured a table while I was in the aforementioned queue for the gents!

It was clear to see that the staff and enthusiasts were all pleased to be back- as were the photographers by the lineside who had seemed to arrive in their droves, making parking on the narrow lanes difficult at times. While a gala organised like this might not be everyone's cup of tea just yet it is great to see the Mid Hants proving that it can be done. Hopefully it won't be too long now until all events have that normal feeling once again. 

Across the fields 30925 is viewed descending the bank between Medstead and Ropley.