Anniversary walk along the alleys of Old Powązki

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.

Invitation to the volunteers camps in the Engine Shed

Once again we would like to invite in 2017 all the interested to our engine shed to try out themselves as the volunteers helping in restoration of historical rolling stock and the maintenance of historical surroundings of the Shed. Camps are the part of our project “Volunteering in Engine Shed Skierniewice as a creation of patriotic care for national railway heritage” supported by the National Board of Heritage (“Volunteering for Heritage” programme). The project is addressed to all those who are at least 15 years old and would like to invest their free time in activities helping save the post-industrial heritage. As part of the camps lasting 3-4 days, we encourage the participants to take part in one of the following activities:

help by the renovation of Steam Engines class Ol49-4 and Ty51-1 (removal of old paint and rust, anti-corrosion protection, painting, small equipment assembly);
maintenance and upkeep of Shed’s surroundings (removal of overgrowth, repairs of windows, fence painting);
help by the organization of Open Days and tour guiding.

The camps will take place on following terms:

13^th – 16^th July
4^th – 6^th August
18^th -20^th August
1^st – 3^rd September
15^th – 17^th September
6^th – 8^th October

Registration for the first term is already open – please use the following registration form. During the first camp, the coordinator of the project will be awaiting the participants on 13^th July (Thursday) starting from 9 AM. The same day we plan to conduct the Health and Safety training and start the first works. Each following day we plan to start the works at 10 AM and continue till 6 PM. Each day will be concluded with hot meal (on the last day we may move it towards the noon).

Additionally, as a part of e-volunteering, we will be looking for those interested in

translation of promotional assets into foreign languages,
design of the educational leaflet for children.

We offer to the participants:

return of the travel costs to and from Skierniewice (2^nd class of commuter or fast trains or equivalent public bus transportation, based on the original tickets or printouts of electronic tickets);
overnight stay in the social part of the Shed in camping standard (in case of exhausting the capacity of our social area, we will be looking for overnight possibilities outside of the Shed);
meals and fresh water;
basic working clothing (gloves, aprons);
tools;
written confirmation of participation (on request).

Due to the limited capacity of our social area, the need of planning the work in advance and preparation of the right amount of the equipment, please let us know in advance of the preferred stay time, overnight preferences and type of work you are interested in (please use the mentioned registration form).

The volunteers camp is sponsored by

as a part of programme

Media patronage

Railway Children’s Day

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.

Bird’s eye view on the Engine Shed

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.

Polskie Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Kolei

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Anniversary walk along the alleys of Old Powązki