I seem to recall that a couple of decades ago, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway did actually plan to run, with their ex-BR railbuses, a service aimed at being a genuine public transport service for people” needing to travel from A to B. It would appear that those plans came to nothing, for whatever reason; but such services on those preserved lines where it would make sense, are indeed something to applaud and hope for.

I’d love to see a regular year round service of dmus on lines like Severn Valley, Keighley and Worth Valley or Bodmin – having a junction station with the main line makes it possible, and it may yet happen.

Going to a Polish connection, the great thing about Smigiel is for me not the occasional steam so much as still having a genuine freight service and diesel railcars that still provide public transport. May this last.

Usually this is accompanied by a cavalier attitude to public rights of way. Heaven forbid that these should obstruct private profit! Where you once walked freely as of right, you will in future only go if you pass muster with unaccountable security goons who will eject you if you don’t look like a good spender.

Good old rip-off Britain.

Yesterday morning at my station, an amusing incident. The train to town is 12 mins late, no sign of it. Eventually, down the line, through the mist, I can make out an equilateral triangle of three lights, heralding an approaching train.

The signal crossing lady (who also does the occasional PA) announces the following on a crackly old Tannoy:

“The delayed 07:42 to Warsaw will shortly be arriving at Platform 1″ (na peronie pierwszym). Consternation among regular passengers. Given the complete lack of signage on the station (apart from one single board saying ‘Warszawa Jeziorki’), people look around. Will the train come into on the other platform, rather than the usual one? After all, she never normally announces platform numbers.

It comes in on the normal (up) platform. So now I know which one is Platform 1.

If TVN thought things are bad at Jeziorki, they should have gone one station further in – W-wa Dawidy. Here, there’s no signage AT ALL. At Jeziorki, there’s a level crossing with barriers. At Dawidy, the level crossing doesn’t even have lights – and this is with the busy ul. Baletowa. The shelters are all kicked in, no glass, the platform paving is all cracked and irregular (in the UK the personal injury lawyers would be having a field day!)

What we have in Poland is a government that sees transport investment as = road investment. Also a reorganisation model that takes the worst from the UK fragmentation of the rail industry… and then makes it even worse!

In Folkestone there is the opportunity to develop a historical facility around / incorporating the existing station, with marina for small boats on the inner or the larger seaward side.

The idea of demolishing the Railway is surely just 1950s / 1960s regressive thinking ??

I am a member of the R L Association already, but wish you all every success, and you may forward this message to Planners / Councillors etc if you think it will help.

Timothy J L Collier
Kettering

Everybody seems to be cash strapped in Poland. PKP, the local Town Council, and of course TOZK itself.

I urge PKP to understand that TOZK is not a commercial business.

I wonder why the input of UK know-how does not lead to a real tourist attraction. The collection policy leads to an extensive pile of rolling stock. You will paint it once, maybe twice and then it slowly becomes a scrap line.

I certainly do not want to blame the friends of TOZK. But they will be eaten by economic reality if they not try to be self supporting certainly in running the business. This year I have seen no “open door” days, steaming for the public visitor or whatever. How are they going to survive ?

Plenty of questions to be answered.

Rik Degruyter
Stoomcentrum Maldegem
Belgium

Impression received is that, in contrast — when Western enthusiasts started to visit Poland in strength, from about the start of the 1980s, this system was not one of the top-favourite narrow-gauge venues. It can be supposed, combination of the landscape through which it ran, being on the dull side even for a country whose scenery is not one of its principal assets; and its being on the 750mm gauge, early-highly-standardised re motive power and rolling stock; and a strong diesel presence from early on (though steam not completely ousted till start of the ‘90s). Interest increased, when there came to be little else on the Polish n/g still operating “real service for real users”; but as recounted, that all ended early in ’08.

Perhaps it is because I grew up reading about British lines that had been short of money, struggling with worn out equipment or facing closure from their standard gauge owners. To me, a proper narrow gauge railway is expected to look as though it is working hard to survive. Somehow, pristine, superbly maintained, modern, corporate liveried trains and stations just don’t fit into my vision of classic narrow gauge.

In recent years, I have been persuaded, with some difficultly, that that the Austrian narrow gauge lines are worth a look. However, I still look at it as a place to drop into for a few days on the way to or from somewhere more interesting. My knowledge of the railways, their history and the equipment that they use remains sketchy, to say the least, and I find it very hard to motivate myself to do anything about it. Our interludes in Austria have been enjoyable but I fear that I am never going to become fanatical about the railways. Austria does provide an interesting contrast with the run down Polish lines and may help to give an indication of what some of the narrow gauge railways of Eastern Europe looked like in their heyday. However, if you are looking for someone with a passion about and knowledge of Austrian railways to write about them, please look elsewhere. I’m sure that there are many people out there who are better placed to give the Ybbstalbahn the coverage that it deserves.

Background? Yes you are right I should give some background. The official vision as to what will happen to Poland’s railways is the Master Plan dla Transportu Kolejowego published by the Ministry of Infrastructure. This is available as a pdf download.

“I gratefully accept many European countries’ concern with the future of our local narrow-gauge railway. I want to say that its fate is also important for the local authorities and the inhabitants of Śmigiel. That is why I want to deny the rumour concerning the intentions of burdening the current owner, I mean ‘The association of local rail transport’ (SKPL) a special tax. Moreover, I would like to present the legal situation of our narrow-gauge railway.

Since April 2009 the Commune of Śmigiel has become the owner of the property on which ‘The association of local rail transport’ works, offering its service. As in other European countries, the situation is similar in Poland; the owners of the properties are obliged to pay taxes. This obligation, concerning the property on which narrow-gauge railway was working to the end of March 2009, was supposed to be fulfilled by the Polish National Railway. However, since April 2009, the owner of the land and buildings of the local narrow-gauge railway has become the Commune of Śmigiel. In this case, according to Polish law, the owner has got the duty of paying the tax concerning the property, if the act of owning stems from the agreement with the owner. Here, the owning of the property results from the agreement of lending, so the tax, according to the act about taxes and local payments, must be paid by the haulier. I mean, ‘The association of local rail transport’. The mayor of Śmigiel is obliged to exact this tax. Moreover, he does not have any legal opportunities to exclude from the tax obligation, as it would be illegal. The owners of ‘The association of local rail transport’ have known that information since April 2009.

As I have mentioned, the future of our narrow-gauge railway, taking into account its historical character, is surrounded by special care of the local town council. That is why, in case of a possible resignation of the current haulier, the most important matter will be the maintenance of tourist and passenger transport. Moreover, we do not resign form doing the earlier planned renovation. In this situation, I would like to calm all people, who are worried with the fact that the local narrow-gauge railway may not survive.”

“Whatever else”, this is a courteous response – and the first reply I have ever had, from any letter of protest which I’ve written to any administrative body in Poland. I plan to reply, equally politely – reckoning that usually, diplomatically “correct” conduct is preferable to going at it “with fire and sword”. Have to feel – chiming in with other comments on BTWT – that if local authority truly wishes to keep the n/g line in action for genuine passenger-and-freight service, there would be “ways and means” – at however many removes, the legally-required tax could be levied, and the money ultimately given back to SKPL “or whoever” – but perhaps things are actually not that simple… I just hope that Śmigiel’s local authority may truly mean at least some of the above, and that the line may in some way or shape, survive beyond the end of this year.

During a visit during early September there was no sign of any repair work taking place. A local newspaper seemed to suggest that the options were either for the takeover of the line by a private operator or a local authority scheme to handover part of the line to the preservation group that already run the far end of the railway, turn part of the middle of it into a cycle track and keep the route from Waidhofen to Grosshollenstein in operation.

However, later newspaper articles paint a gloomier picture with talk of the majority of the railway being turned into a cycle track and the line’s public transport function, apart from about 6 km at Waidhofen, being taken over by buses, which would be cheaper, more convenient and faster than the ramshackle trains.

Supporters of the Ybbstalbahn have pointed out what is happening at the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn and suggested that a similar course of action should be followed. However, some local politicians say that the curtcumstances are different and that closing the Ybbstalbahn and providing a replacement bus service is the way to go. It’s not only Poland where narrow gauge lines are facing an uncertain future.

My cousin there (a keen ships-and-the-sea buff) is well-informed about the 4/5 May 1942 air raid, and the role of the “Blyskawica” in countering it. He took me along to see a couple of locations in Cowes, where those happenings are commemorated. One of such – named since the 60th anniversary commemorations in 2002, “Francki Place” (after the ship’s captain), with plaques installed on “60th” occasion – is at present, unfortunately obscured by immediately-adjacent construction works going on (with the actual plaques temporarily removed); but in another spot on the Cowes sea-front, there are two plaques honouring the Polish ship’s role on that night.

My cousin tells of a late acquaintance of his, who at the time of the raid, was working in J. Samuel White’s yard. This chap was sketching out lines on a steel plate, when a bomb fell through the roof right above him, hit the steel plate, bounced off it without exploding, flew back through the roof, and in the end demolished a couple of houses a little way away. In WW2, your doing civilian stuff at home, didn’t exempt you from near-death escapes – or indeed, from “buying your plot”…

Re daft shenanigans in Communist times: seems a bit surprising that short-lived attempt to rename the works after Stalin, happened as late as 1953: year of the old — gentleman’s — death. A parting tribute, maybe, in acknowledgement of his tireless work to better mankind’s lot…

Re the competition prize. I’ve had problems in contacting John (my e-mails were bounced back as spam), but I have now written to him from a new e-mail account. I would prefer – if at all possible – for John to personally receive the Zubrowka by hand and to have a photo of the event for BTWT.