My impression is that their days have been thought to be numbered for all the nearly 30 years that I've known about them; so far they have survived, with occasional gaps, but they presumably become harder to sustain as the world modernizes around them, so who knows how long they will last? It's a rather smaller-scale operation now than it used to be, but no doubt still worth visiting. I haven't been there for many years, so I'll leave it to others to provide up to date advice.Hello All
I am looking to visit the Wolsztyn - Leszno line and the steam services there. Has anyone done this and have any tips/advice etc? I read that their days are numbered - does anyone have any information as to how long they have left?
Thanks
Was in Wolsztyn last Friday and steam services on Weekdays between Wolsztyn-Leszno are suspended, that's all the information locally we were verbally told and had a single car DMU Railbus to Leszno instead of our intended and advertised steam trip on Koleje Wielkopolskie website
Thought there were three locos that could work? I had Ol49-59 last time I was there (was 2018, though!).
Unfortunately, the Ol49-69 will not run from June 30th to July 8th due to technical reasons. Only railcars are in use.
For anyone interested in such things, pioneering bacteriologist Robert Koch lived there for several years in the 1870s, and made some of his important discoveries during that time. There's a small museum in his house, which appears to be one of three parts of the local museum (together with the work of local sculptor Marcin Rożek, and a collection of vernacular buildings; I haven't been to the latter two) -- information (in Polish) at https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzeum_Regionalne_w_Wolsztynie and https://muzea-wolsztyn.com.pl/.Wolsztyn is a nice town too - quite pretty and certainly worth a visit in its own right IMHO (in case that is a factor for anyone who is not intending to spend all day on the steam runs) - nice bars and places to eat and good places to stay too. Very friendly and welcoming local people.
From Wolsztyn Depot Website (translated from German)ATTENTION! From next Monday, September 4th, the Pt47-65 will go to Leszno twice a day, Monday to Friday :
September 3, 2023
and Saturday (from September 9th) on route 357 to Poznan :
- 77670 / 77535 Wolsztyn 06:07 - Leszno 07:23 / 7:50 - Wolsztyn 09:13,
- 77544 / 77827 Wolsztyn 11:43 - Leszno 12:53 / 13:44 - Wolsztyn 15:07,
- 77213 / 77202 Wolsztyn 12:40 - Poznan 14:43 / 16:24 - Wolsztyn 18:59.
10/12/2023:
The timetable is changing from today. The Wolsztyn locomotive depot will service the following connections:
If you follow the onward link, it says:This site gives a different timetable and implies steam running to Leszno has ceased, being replaced by a shorter run to and from Zbaszynek:
Which is correct?
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The Pt47-65 steam locomotive is standing on the sewage canal. Tomorrow it will be lit, and from Thursday it will resume services to Zbąszynek. The trip to Poznań will take place in a week, on Saturday, January 13 this year.
02/01/2024
The Pt47-65 steam locomotive is standing on the sewage canal. From January 4, trips to Zbąszynek.
01/01/2024
It was running three weeks ago as went out for it. Know that doesn't answer your question but a recent article suggested further locos being resurrected and it appears one is either undergoing or is about to undergo an overhaul.Is the steam likely to be running in the summer? And will it be on those afternoon diagrams seen in recent days according to the linked site a couple of posts up
There have been summer holiday periods when there was no steam as staff were on holiday IIRC - possibly pre pandemic.Is the steam likely to be running in the summer?