At noon, on 3^rd July 2017 at Old Powązki Cemetery we paid respect to late Jerzy Jasiuk – for many years the director of Warsaw-based Museum of Technology. He died in a fatal accident on 25^th December 2016. We lost a great friend of our association, a great propagator of science, enjoying well deserved respect, devoted to the case of rescuing of technical heritage. Well remembered for his broad knowledge regarding famous constructors and their inventions, sharing his knowledge e.g. during his own radio programmes.

Jerzy Jasiuk, BEng (1932-2016) – graduate of department of land construction at Technical University of Warsaw. For more than half of his life he was involved in conservation of historical objects, mostly the technical and industrial heritage. For 40 years he was a director of Museum of Technology, which he dreamt of becoming a facility of national rank. Thanks to his initiative, many historical objects were saved for future generations and became branches of the Museum; just to name the a few: Chlewiska, Nowa Słupia, Sielpia in Zagłebie Staropolskie, defunct factory Norblina in Warsaw. During his time, the Museum of Technology significantly expanded and grew in number of exhibits and unique collections.

The Museum was not the only area of his activity. One need to mention his well prepared and interesting lectures and discussions many times broadcast over radio, regarding the history of technology and inventions.

History of technology was not the only area of interest of Mr Jasiuk. To our surprise he once described to us a broad collection of easter eggs created by his wife, but which he actually started. Over 1400 meticulously decorated small exhibits from different parts of the world are now a highlight of the ethnographic collection of Agriculture Museum in Ciechanowiec. Mrs Irena Stasiewicz-Jasiuk always underlined that the collection started from a single easter egg given to her by her husband in late 1960s, during their engagement period.

Polish Association of Railway Enthusiasts will remember Mr Jasiuk with great respect and warmth. When the Association was being established 30 years ago, a recommendation letters were an invaluable aid. One of such letters was prepared by Mr Jasiuk. It was not the end of his involvement. He was lively interested in our activity, visited us on many occasions admiring the collection and the preserved buildings. He was a great authority for us – in many important matters we sought his advice. We will not forget the meetings in Museum of Technology meeting room, over a cup of tea, during which we discussed the matters important for Skierniewice Engine Shed. Discussions were ranging from the matter of illegal export of historical railway equipment, unrecognised value of railway heritage, lack of knowledge in this area among conservationists and, finally, the procedure of taking over the Shed…

The last time we met Mr Jasiuk, he was in a totally different role – during the All Souls Day collection. Namely, Mr Jasiuk was a member of Conservation Committee of Old Powązki Cemetery.

We lost a noble, humble, and open man, well respected for his knowledge and service to the technical heritage.

During the funeral of Mr Jerzy Jasiuk a letter from deputy prime minister and Secretary of Culture and national Heritage, Mr Piotr Gliński, was read. Part of the letter mentioned that current Museum of Technology will continue its existence as National Museum of Technology, led by Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Ministry of Eductation and city of Warsaw. It seems that the dream of Mr Jasiuk has finally come true…

On 14^th June we invited all the interested to the traditional meeting by the grave of WVR builder, Stanisław Wysocki and subsequent walk along the alleys of Old Powązki cemetery.

The idea of June meetings by the grave of Stanisław Wysocki (1805-1868) originated in 1985 on the occasion of the 140^th anniversary of Establishing the Warsaw-Vienna Railroad. On that year, the grave of the pioneer of polish railway engineering, the head-builder of WVR, was renovated for the first time. After several years it was suggested to extended the meeting with a walk during which the participants will have the opportunity to visit the graves of other people connected to different railways. The “Warsaw-Vienna” route is followed the most often. On 150^th anniversary of Warsaw-Saint Petersburg Railway we searched for graves of builder of this railway. A separate walks were organized on the occasion of 25^th anniversary of PARE, 140^th anniversary of Warsaw Railway School and in search of graves of artists connected to railway.

The theme of this year’s walk were the people important in development and history of railway engines – engineers, constructors, inventors, including one of the first polish railway engineers – Leon Miaskowski – who on 14^th June 1845 led one of the opening trains on Warsaw-Vienna Railroad.

Traditionally, the first Saturday of June (3^rd June) was dedicated to the youngest fans of the railway. Aware of the needs of the young visitors, there were no guided tours, instead major part of the Shed was open for independent sightseeing. Our guests could visit the interior of the roundhouse housing our most valuable rolling stock exhibits and the youngest enjoyed their time at the interactive exhibition of railway signalling. For those interested in conventional sightseeing, we organized ad-hoc one group, which had the opportunity to see the whole interior of the roundhouse. To sum up, the Shed was visited on this day by 352 tourists.

This year we were joined in the organization of the Children’s Day by the biggest Polish freight railway company – PKP Cargo S.A. As a part of the action “Summer with steam engines” a special stand was placed offering many attractions to the youngest audience ranging from quizzes to railway-related souvenirs. The organization of the Railway Children’s Day was also supported by Łódź Commuters Railway (ŁKA), which prepared a special offer for the guests of the Engine Shed. Passengers arriving in Skierniewice in ŁKA trains could travel back for free using their one-way ticket with a special stamp obtained in the Shed. The catering was provided by Atmosfera pizza house.

Courtesy of company Sky-Life, dealing with everything connected with ultralight aviation, we can present to you this unconventional view of our shed, taken on 2^nd July 2017. The photograph perfectly shows the amount of work already done, especially the result of repairs of the roundhouse’s roof.

Traditionally, on the Saturday closest to the International Museum Day, we took part along with other cultural facilities in Skierniewice in the Night of Museums. It is worth noting that for us it is the eight edition of this event and the Engine Shed was the first in Skierniewice to open its doors to visitors at this special night. From the beginning we always called it a Railway Night of Museums. This year it took place on 20^th May. Each year we try to prepare a different arrangement of the exhibition and its illumination. This year’s centre point was the oldest part of the roundhouse sheltered under completely rebuild roof and skylight.

During the Railway Night of Museums we were visited by 784 guests, many of which took advantage of the special, free of charge return trips provided by Łódź Agglomeration Commuter Railway. Thank you very much for visit and feel invited to the upcoming events.

To improve the experiences of our guests, we tighten our cooperation with Łódź Agglomeration Railway (ŁKA). To encourage the citizens of Łódź Voivodeship to visit the Skierniewice Engine Shed, ŁKA has prepared a special offer. Passengers going to Skierniewice with ŁKA train can use their one-way ticket as a return ticket free of charge. The only condition is to receive a special stamp in the Engine Shed. The offer is valid on following days:

• 20^th May – Railway Night of Museums
• 3^rd June – Children’s Day in Engine Shed
• 1^st July – Open Day
• 5^th August – Open Day
• 2^nd September – Open Day
• 16^th and 17^th September – Skierniewice’s Festival of Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables
• 7^th October – Open Day
• 26^th November – Railwayman Day

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On the upcoming Night of Museums, ŁKA encourages all interested to travel to Skierniewice with train ŁKA Sprinter “Syrena” (departing at 17:08 from Łódź Fabryczna station). Return with ŁKA Sprinter train departing at 22:00 from Skierniewice. With the special offer in force, the total cost of the travel is 16PLN, 10,08PLN with pupil’s discount and 7,84PLN with student’s discount.

13^th tourist season in Engine Shed was launched on Saturday, 6^th May. Despite the unpleasant weather, we were visited by 330 guests. This year, many of the exhibitions have been presented in new arrangement. First, the rolling stock exhibition has been moved, so that all renovated vehicles are now sheltered under the fully rebuilt part of the roof and skylight of the roundhouse. Additionally, we equipped this part of the building with benches, so the tired visitors could take some rest here. Also the workshop and signalling exhibition was rearranged and supplied with new exhibits.

Due to the 30^th anniversary of establishing the PARE and 13th season of opening the Shed to the public as a museum facility, Skierniewice’s Radio Communication Club of League of Country’s Defence (LOK, call-sign SP7KMX) has established a radio station with the occasional call-sign HF30PSMK. The station will be broadcasting during each Open Day in the Shed and will be available to all interested in its activity.

On behalf of PARE and LOK Radio Communictaion Club we encourage all radio amateurs across the Europe and the World to join in.

On 28^th April, for a second time in Shed’s history, we were hosting the event during which President of City Skierniewice is awarding artists and people active in field of conservation and popularisation of cultural values. This year, among the laureates was our colleague and the citizen of Skierniewice, PARE’s vice-president Judyta Kurowska-Ciechańska – awarded for her exceptional activity in revitalization of Skierniewice Engine Shed. During her speech, she underlined that this is the award of all the people, who actively participated for the last 25 years in preservation of the Shed.

Other Skierniewice’s citizen’s awarded with the Steam Engine of Culture were Anna Pokora, Włodzimierz Stefanowicz (known to us from his performances during Evenings in Engine Shed), Małgorzata Lipska-Szpunar and Andrzej Krysiak. The event was also an opportunity to celebrate the 111^th anniversary of establishing the Public Library in Skierniewice and to honourably mention Krystyna and Jerzy Pietrzak, owners of company Fambud, for their support to cultural activity in Skiernieiwce.

We also made use of the opportunity to express our gratitude to the city council for their help and support in taking over the last part of the engine shed – the old office building. On behalf of PARE, the former president of PARE, Paweł Mierosławski, and current vice-president, Judyta Kurowska-Ciechańska, passed the words of gratitude to the President of City Skierniewice, Mr. Krzysztof Jażdżyk.

The event was concluded with something for body and for spirit. The City Council, organizer of the event, provided a catering for the participants, and Leski – artists and musician from neighbouring Żyrardów – provided the musical performance for all the guests.

The Steam Engines of Culture gala is slowly becoming a constant part of our event calendar. We hope to host this event also in coming years.