The sweltering summer weather did not presaged such a great attendance during the Open Day on 5^th August. For four hours our guides had their hands full while showing around 381 visitors. A great help on this day were the participants of the Volunteers Camp, which took place from 4^th to 6^th August, thanks to the support of the National Board of Heritage.

We would like to thank our guests for the visit and our volunteers for their invaluable help.

According to the numerous requests, on the coming Saturday, 19th August, we have prepared a special open photo-day in Engine Shed. Between 6PM and 9PM we would like to invite all the enthusiasts of photography to visit us and take pictures without the crowds of tourists in the background. Visitors have to comply with the special sightseeing rules.

Participation is free.

We would like to inform that on 5^th July 2017 we published in the database of Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs reports of activity of public benefit organization for fiscal year 2016, approved by the Internal Audit Commission. The copies of the documents are also available for public insight at our website (Polish only).

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.