We are happy to report that in the last hours of 2019 we received 4 000 PLN for the renovation of the Engine Shed. We would like to express our gratitude to the company Silesia Transport, specializing in public transportation services, for this surprise donation which allowed us to close our budget for 2019.
On Tuesday, 17th December, a voivodeship’s conservationist representative inspected the repairs of the old water tower. The repairs of the roof and securing of the crumbling wall was completed by the company Marbudex from Skierniewice. The task was accomplished excellently – our contractor took care to recreate the characteristic woodwork of the roof. Next year, we will be requesting for further funds to continue the renovation of this building.
The total cost of the work was 44 159,68 PLN. The City of Skierniewice supported the works with the amount of 25 000 PLN and the remainder was covered from PARE’s assets.
Our colleague, dr Ariel Ciechański for years have been investigating the history of special railway cars for transporting beer. Thanks to the cooperation with many various railway enthusiasts he managed to come across many interesting documents like the Austrian State Railways (KKStB) journal of announcements and ordinances. This and similar sources encouraged us to take a closer look at one of our exhibits, the tank wagon № 552 178, and try to reconstruct its history.
So far our knowledge was restricted to the identification numbers of the car. One of them was № 507 590 from the times when the car belonged to KKStB. Still we do not know who was the manufacturer of the tank wagon. Nevertheless we are quite sure that the original recipient of car was the Czech company František Xaver Brosche a syn a.s., owner of distilleries in Prague Libeň and Rájec (currently Rájec-Jestřebí).
The last town was a home depo for this car, which at that time was used for the transport of spirit. Before 1910, the car was taken over by k.k. privilegierte Österreichische Nordwestbahn (ÖNWB), probably with the identification number 136 557. Later, after nationalization of ÖNWB and takeover by KKStB the car received the above mentioned number 507 590.
According to the information provided by our Czech colleagues, the car was still owned by a private company during the inter-war period. Czech state railways took over the car under the last known number that we are using currently, № 552 178, which was found stamped on the undercarriage. The specification of the car is similar to the parameters of our tank wagon except the number of axles (three in Czech and two in Polish documents), so it might be that we have made an error assuming that 552 178 was a Polish State Railways number. It is interesting that the car suddenly disappeared from Czech registers before 1948 and simultaneously a tank wagon № 0552 178 appeared in the PKP inventory.
Healthy and peaceful Christmas and all the best in the upcoming New Year
The board, members and Volunteers of the Polish Association of Railway Enthusiasts
We have been waiting for this moment for years. With the first days of December the building company Marbudex started the first stage of renovation of the old water tower. After the building of the bigger water tower closer to the station the building was later adapted for a bath house for the crew of the Shed. Over the years the building was abandoned and started to pose a danger to the neighbouring tracks. For several years in a row we tried to find a funding for an emergency repairs. At last this year the City of Skierniewice supported us with the amount of 25 000 PLN. Thanks to that we will be able to complete the most required repairs – removing the flaking plaster from the side of the track and reconstructing the part of the roof.
Due to the autumn cold we had to stop the work by the diesel shunting engine class Ls60-143. After all it is not recommended to do any paint job below certain temperatures. Consequently our crew could focus again on the repairs of the line maintenance vehicle class SR71-04. Our colleagues devoted last weeks of 2019 to inspect and replace missing or broken parts in vehicles propulsion. Finally, the vehicle successfully moved on its own power and took several rides on the Shed’s tracks. As the gear box is still prone to some small malfunctions, we intend to continue the repairs next year.
To make it easier to support us with 1% of the income tax, we started cooperation with the Institute of Public Benefit Organisation Support. Starting from 1st January 2020 it will be possible to fill in your tax reports using the PITax tool prepared by our partner.
With one mouse-click you will be directed to the website aiding the preparation of the yearly tax report. The application is available both as on-line and desktop tool. The application also allow to download the traditional interactive PIT forms, including the most common PIT-37. All reports will have the 1% charity section pre-filed with the data of our organization.
We hope that the above solution will make it easier for you to support our association.
As in previous year, we publish in advance the schedule of the events planned for 2020. It is a particular year when we will be celebrating three different anniversaries:
Due to this fact we introduce a couple of changes to our schedule:
We reserve the right to alter the schedule of the events.
The year 2020 is the year of 175th anniversary of opening of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. It is simultaneusle the same anniversary of railway presence in Skierniewice. We decided to prepare for those celebration and the first step was the preparation of the logo for this occasion, designed by our colleague Paweł Adamowicz. Of course this is not all. The detailed schedule of the celebrations will be provided in spring – please follow the information in our events callendar.
On 19th November 2018 the Foundation of Santander Bank Polska anounced the results of the grant competition Here I live, here I change and supported us with a grant of 5000 PLN for the project Volunteers helping in renovation of the historic Engine Shed in Skierniewice. First activities of this project started in spring 2019 when the weather conditions become more favourable. The activities could be divided into two groups – the upkeep of the Shed’s surroundings and securing the facilities against vandalism.
Most of the clean-up jobs was completed during the Volunteers Camps taking place over the summer vacations. The clean-up required removing the residue left after the roof repairs inside the roundhouse in the vicinity of stands № 13 to № 15. Volunteers also continued the clean-up of the cola storage started last year.
Every second weekend we worked on extending the fence dividing the tracks of line leading to Łowicz from the tacks of the Shed. Thanks to the project we managed to build a section of 40 meters of the most vulnerable area close to the turntable. As a result the area is secured against unauthorized access, and prevents both intruders and the visitors of the Shed from crossing the busy station tracks, also it improved the access to the broad-gauge engine class Ty23-273 standing on display in this area.
We would like to express our gratitude to the Foundation of Santander Bank Polska for supporting our activities.
