Tag Archives: Polish State Railways

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Low Sun on an Electric Coal Train.

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PKP at Brzeszce, Poland on the 18th of August 2006.

 Poland is a great place to make railway photos. There’s tremendous variety and something new at every turn.

Polish National Railways class ET41 electric with coal train at Brzeszce,Poland. Exposed on Fujichrome using a Nikon N90S with f2.0135mm defocus lens.
Polish National Railways class ET41 electric with coal train at Brzeszce, Poland. Exposed on Fujichrome using a Nikon N90S with f2.0135mm defocus lens.

I made two trips to Poland in 2006, largely to photograph freight trains. Denis McCabe and I were exploring coal lines in Silesia when we found this location where lines cross near Brzeszce. The north-south line was an unusually busy route. We didn’t need to wait long between trains.

For this image, I opted for a cross lit shot. Taking this angle with a medium telephoto from the ‘dark side,’ allowed me to emphasized the front of the locomotive, while including interesting elements such as the long train of coal cars and the overhead Warren-truss bridge in the distance.

The engine driver is illuminated nicely too, which adds a human element often missing from modern railway photos.

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Tomorrow: Wires at Sunrise!

 

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PKP Class SU45 at Sunrise, Chojnów, Poland, April 29, 2002.

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Early Morning Sun on a Classic Diesel.

In April 2002, I was on my way from Zagan, Poland to Dresden, Germany with John Gruber and some other friends. Shortly after sunrise, we changed trains at Chojnów, where rich low sun allowed for some dramatic images of PKP (Polish National Railways) trains. PKP was operating a variety of interesting locomotives, and I’m partial to the distinctive shape of the SU45 diesel.

Polish diesel locomotive.
Exposed with my Nikon F3T fitted with Nikkor 24mm lens on Fujichrome slide film.

My journal entry at Chojnów made at 6:34 am on that day includes this observation: “We awoke at 3:30 am to catch the 4:49 am [train] from Zagan—beautiful morning light [at Chojnów], but the station is decayed and graffiti covered.”

After I made this photo, we boarded a train destined for Gorlitz (and Dresden). Breakfast in the WARS dining car was memorable: “The girl at the counter cooked us scrambled eggs in a frying pan—class act!”

Exposed with my Nikon F3T fitted with Nikkor 24mm lens on Fujichrome slide film.

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Polish Steam Working Disused Track-Part 2

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PKP 2-10-0 catches the light in April 2002.

2-10-0 locomotive
Exposed using a Nikon F3T with 24mm lens and R2 red filter on Fuji Neopan 400, and processed in Agfa Rodinal Special.

As I mentioned in Polish Steam Working Disused Track (Published on March 6, 2013), eleven years ago I rode a enthusiast’s excursion from Wolsztyn to Zagan in south eastern Poland led by PKP (Polish National Railways) 2-10-0 Ty3-2. This trip covered a variety of disused lines southwest of the Wolsztyn steam depot.

On that day, the train stopped more than 25 times for photography. This image was made near the end of the run. We were at a remote spot, not far from Zagan. The track was fairly derelict. After we got off, the train pulled ahead making for some nice effluence from the engine. Spring was in bloom and I framed the World War II-era 2-10-0 in the blossoming branches of a hedge.

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Polish Time Machine

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Polish scene with horses and railway tracks.
A horse-drawn wagon crosses the line at Nowa Weis, Poland. The semaphores have ‘x’s’ on them indicating they are out of service. Exposed on 120 black & white film with a Rollei Model T.

One my favorite images from the April 2002 Polish adventure is this timeless scene of three middle-age men on a horse-drawn wagon crossing the line at Nowa Weis. I caught this on film shortly before sunset with my Rollei. It was on PKP’s (Polish National Railways) secondary line that runs southeast from Wolzstyn to Leszno across through unspoiled pastoral countryside. The largely steam operated and under-maintained railway, added to a rural charm that harked back to another generation. For me it was like stepping back a half century, or more.

See yesterday’s post:  Revenue Steam in Poland, April 2002 

Also: Derelict Steam Locomotive Poland, May 2000

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Revenue Steam in Poland, April 2002

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Regularly scheduled revenue steam-powered passenger train in rural Poland in April 2002.
Regularly scheduled revenue steam-powered passenger train in rural Poland in April 2002.

As a follow up to yesterday’s view of a 2-10-0 on disused track, here’s a view of a regular revenue train from that same visit to Poland in April 2002. On a scheduled run from Poznan to Wolsztyn, PKP Ol69-111 passes German-style semaphores on approach to a rural station. At this time, several of the daily passenger Poznan-Wolzstyn trains routinely operated with steam, with Ol69 class 2-6-2s being the most common type on them. This was a secondary main line, and  although weedy, the track was in reasonably good shape. Chasing the trains on the road was a challenge.

I made this image with my Rollei Model T on 120 black & white film, hand processed using my preferred recipe. The combination of traditional subject matter and the classic camera with 75mm Zeiss Tessar lends to a timeless view. Only, the rake of East German-built double-deck passenger carriages might seem incongruous to un-trained eyes. In fact, these cars were standard in the late era and consistent with Polish passenger practice. In this picture they are dressed in a olive drab livery, however some were later painted in a dandelion yellow, which truly seems out of character behind steam.

Check Tracking the Light tomorrow for more on this theme!

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