A new boiler for VVT’s Slask

Abroad, Polish engines are valued for their rugged construction. This is TKt48-188 at the Vapeur Val-de-Travers in the Swiss Jura mountains. (Click to go to VVT website.)

In Poland, when a Chabowka or Wolsztyn operational engine has a boiler which cannot be repaired, it is regarded to have reached the end of its operational life. If lucky it may become a pretty monument, if unlucky it will be canibalised for spares and then cut up. Anywhere else in Europe, when a good engine wears out boiler beyond safe or economical repair, a new boiler is constructed. The VVR railway in Switzerland are currently building a new boiler for their “Slask” shunter.

The VVT also have a second Polish engine, Tkp 16 a “Slask” shunter. They are currently building a new boiler for it. (Click to see more pictures of the boiler under construction.)