It is a high time to sum up our achievements also in the field of saving the railway signalling and traffic control equipment in 2020.

The first major project started at the very beginning of the year was the complete overhaul of the points machine manufactured by VES in 1950’s. The device was waiting for a longer time for its turn in renovation. After assembling and connecting it to the power frame it appeared that both its electrical and mechanical part if in full working order. Still, the general look of the machine left a lot to be desired so we ended up completely disassembling it, stripping of old paint and repainting. We expected to finish on time to show the results to the visitors of the Shed during the first Open Days. Unfortunately, the pandemic limits forced us to close the exhibition to the public till the end of the season.

As we already started laying around the power frame, we found plenty of surprises inside the electromechanical interlocking. The frame spend most of its life as a training aid in the railway school and was full of makeshift electrical connections and broken or missing parts. One of our colleagues, experienced in the maintenance and repairs of this type of devices, took over the pain-sticking task of rewiring of the whole frame.

Another area of our efforts was the expansion of our collection of railway light signals. We divided our attention between the distant signal and the light stripe for a five-aspect signal. The repainting and initial assembly of the distant signal began a year ago during the volunteers camp. The next step was building a proper metal stand for the heavy signal. After fixing the signal upright, the further work went smoothly and in the mid-August the signal displayed for the first time the “expect stop” aspect. The light stripe (a subsidiary light indicating higher speed on diverging route) was a much modest affair, however it is a much needed addition to our five aspect semaphore. We intend that in the near future both signals will be connected to the relay interlocking allowing us to show the full succession of signals along the route: the distant signal, the home signal and the exit signal.

This was not the end of our adventure with light signals. We got back to the long forgotten renovation of a dwarf signal, which for many years was used as a barraging signal on track № 1 in front of the roundhouse. Unfortunately, the late-Autumn lock-down forced us to abandon for now this project like a couple of other started renovations (lock frame and points lantern). Still, we hope that as soon as the snow starts thawing we can get back to work to, hopefully, show the new exhibits during the next years season.

Below you can find a couple of snapshots from our work during 2020:

First days of December were simultaneously the last days of track works planned for 2020. Our round-the-year efforts were possible thanks to the financial support of the city of Skierniewice in the amount of 20000 PLN.

The works started with the first warm days, on 7^th March 2020 but due to the global situation had to be immediately halted. Nevertheless, we were able to kick-off the repairs of the rapidly deteriorating track №18 in front of the roundhouse. Due to the lock-down measures, repairs were continued by a contractor until end of April when our volunteers joined in and carried out the repairs till the end of July.

During the summer holidays, we focused on track № 11 in front of the roundhouse. Despite the scorching heat, we managed to complete the work before the beginning of the school year.

Simultaneously, we took care of track № 77 which abruptly ends in front of the turntable. To allow for safe shunting, we decided to place a historical buffer stop on its end. First works were completed with help of scouts from the Łodź Scouts Regiment “Bambaju” during their stay on the shed’s premises. Later in the year we prepared the track surface for the buffer stop, including replacement of ties and a fresh layer of ballast. The buffer stop itself required some minor metalworking and rust-proofing before, finally, being fixed to the rails.

Task Adaptation of historical objects of Skierniewice engine shed for museum and cultural events supported by

Healthy and peaceful Christmas
and a much better New Year 2021

 wish you

volunteers, members and board of the Polish Association of Railway Enthusiasts