Based on requests for heritage rail, my desire to see more Polish routes in-game, and apparently nearly everyone's (including DTG's) desire for steam trains, here's a hypothetical for when the latter finally comes to TSW - Europe's last-running steam train on a regular mainline passenger route. BASIC INFO: Route: Wolsztyn-Leszno Length: 46km Duration: 84 minutes Rolling Stock: PKP Ol49, PKP Pt47, Pafawag 120A Setting: Present day Wolsztyn is in the west of Poland, between the German border and Poznań. It's a fairly boring town with an uninteresting history, but here you can find Europe's last steam locomotive roundhouse working as originally intended - not just keeping beloved engines of the past alive, but maintaining working machines that still serve their original function. Roundhouse in Wolsztyn (pic: Parowozownia Wolsztyn) The depot runs a museum which shows off historical locomotives and wagons dating back more than a century (it began service in 1886), with landmarks from Polish rail history represented, but the stars of the show are three fully-functioning and operational locos that share duties on a weekly heritage run to Poznań, but also a twice-daily return journey which runs to Leszno and back on a journey of 46km, serving regular, modern stations. At 84 minutes' journey time, it's only a little longer than the railbus which operates the route in the afternoons! It seems quite surreal, but if you search on the Polish national company website, you will find timetables with infographics advising that it's pulled by steam power. The line hasn't been running continuously, though it had survived a surprisingly long time, until 2003, when owners PKP Cargo redesignated it as a historical site. They maintained a staff there, however, and used the place to maintain old steam locos from Poland and Germany, running services for tourists who began to visit from around the world. Eventually, a group of English enthusiasts helped their Polish colleagues set up a permanent staff to expand these operations, and together with the regional government agreed to re-establish regular services as a historical and cultural site of interest. As it runs on a standard, provincial line, the route is not filled with beautiful, historical stations and dramatic scenery - Western Poland is not ugly, but somewhat plain, so the landscape is tall ash and pine trees on flat or gently rolling inclines; therefore the primary source of interest here is operating this actually-existing passenger route with a 70 year-old engine. You can find pictures of the route at the end of this post. I know the steam-heads among you will be dying to know what you'd be driving on this route, so have at it - first, we have the Fablok Chrzanów-built Pt47. At 23.85m in length and 105tn, this 2-8-2 loco was a heavy, fast machine designed for the toughest routes in the country, reaching up to 110km/h (68mph) with its 13500kg of force. Pt47-65 (pic. Parowozownia Wolsztyn) Next, the most common type of loco you'll see at the Wolsztyn depot, the Ol49. Two examples of this model, 59 and 69, are the usual traction on the daily passenger routes. Also built at the Felix Dzherzhinsky (!) Locomotive Factory in Chrzanów in the early 1950s (with four being exported to North Korea where they presumably also still function somehow), these were the last new model of steam loco to be produced in Poland. Designed with low axles for routes with poor track conditions (yes, post-war economising in communist Poland meant it was easier to build a train for bad tracks than replace those tracks), it has a smallish cylinder size and a 2-6-2 axle formation, making it slow to accelerate and with relatively weak traction effort (9600 kG), it wasn't suitable for longer, heavier trains. On the little passenger services of Wolsztyn-Leszno, however, it is ideal. Ol49-59 leaving Wolsztyn (pic. Marek Mróz, via Wikipedia) Again, I know much of this is pipe dreaming, for the reasons of steam not being in the game, Poland being low on the list of priorities for new TSW routes, and Simrail also promising steam (though they haven't mentioned a specific route yet). If nothing else, I hope this encourages people to come and visit this increasingly rare attraction. It had a rough couple of years, being cancelled entirely during the early days of COVID-19, but is now back up and running and a great experience. To give you a final taste - here's a video of parts of the route, and last of all - Poland being the unofficial home of driving your car into trains, we have of course run unofficial tests on 'vintage steam train vs SUV' - you'll have to look at the pictures in the link to find out who won. Wolsztyn PKP station, where the route begins (pic: Travelarz via Wikipedia) Boszkowo station, typical of the intermediate route stations (pic: Wojciech Czombik via Wikipedia) Leszno PKP station, terminus of the route (pic: Lucaok, via Wikipedia)
Excellent idea and the DTG version can complete with the Simrail version if Present there. You might need to know that this used to be part of Germany Pre Potsdam conference when the Oder Neisse Line was demarcated. For the 1930s version of the route uses PZB Indusi 34 version
Great idea for à steam start ! À steam in modern days. I remembrer of steam trains parked at Chojnice station in 90s. But i dont think they worked even in those times. Good mémoires.
Thank you comrade Xi, just for you here's some pictures of the museum at the depot that I took today.
I agree. It reminds me of most of the steam engines here in the USA. They were also painted all black with the exception of a few.
