timetabled steam is back!
After more than three years, all trains out of Wolsztyn will be steam this summer.
ENTHUSIASTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD SHOULD SHOW SUPPORT AND NOT LOSE IT A SECOND TIME HOWARD JONES
National TV, senior railwaymen, the local mayor and a priest were all out of bed early on May 15 to celebrate the return of regular steam to Wolsztyn. After a ‘pause’ of over three years, what is now the world’s last regular main line steam passenger service restarted from the Polish town at 6.25am. Hauling the first train on the 29-mile run to Leszno was 1953-built 2-6-2 No. Ol49.59; the same engine that took charge of the final trains on March 31 2014 (SR427). The return of regular services is the culmination of efforts by a number of parties, including politicians, charter promoter Turkol and the footplate holiday organisation the Wolsztyn Experience. Steam now runs under the aegis of a new foundation jointly owned by local and regional government, the Wolsztyn chamber of commerce and previous operator PKP Cargo. Under the new timetable, steam is expected to haul two WolsztynLeszno return trips Mondays to Fridays, and two out and back services between Wolsztyn and Poznan (50½ miles each way) on Saturdays. However, this pattern will be disrupted over the summer by engineering works - a side-effect being that for a time all passenger trains to and from Wolsztyn will be steam-hauled. Permanent way renewal means that between June 12 and mid-July the Saturday Poznan trains are to be replaced by an extra day on the Leszno line, giving steam services on this route from Mondays to Saturdays. A further change comes once infrastructure work on that line starts in mid-July; steam will then run seven days a week over the 17½ miles to Zbaszynek. Trains return to the Leszno line from August 16, before the ‘standard’ pattern, including Poznan, is restored at the end of the month. Wolsztyn currently has two working locomotives, No. Ol49.59 and 2-8-2 No. Pt47.65. A second 2-6-2, No. Ol49.69, is having its wheels replaced. As yet, there is no permanent solution for rolling stock, the coaches for the initial trains being hired in from Turkol. “It is back - but it’s not back for good unless people use it,” the Wolsztyn Experience’s Howard Jones told Steam Railway. “Enthusiasts from all over the world should show support and not lose it a second time.”