The old adage says that store is no sore, but sometimes it may be wrong. It was so during the special Open Day co-organized with Bank Spółdzielczy in Skierniewice on 25th June. The whether was perfect but the scorching heat of 35 degrees become unbearable to the point of discouraging many visitors from visiting us on that day.
After longer period of lack of activity on our Youtube channel, we published a couple of new movies presenting the life of and around the Skierniewice Shed
The first one was filmed during the 3rd Żuk Rally.
Second is the “back-room view” of the preparation to the railway Night of Museums
Third is the compilation of different woodworking activities while renovating the beer refrigerator car.
Last piece has been filmed in the signal box of Skierniewka branching post right before its physical liquidation.
On 11th June a unique event took place in our Shed. Responding to the request of the organizers of the 3rd Żuk Rally, the area of Engine Shed become the stage of this extraordinary motorization event intended for the owners of vintage Polish cargo cars and vans, namely brands like “Żuk”, “Nysa” and “Tarpan”. According to the organizers, 55 teams took part in the event, incuding the participants of charity rally “Złombol”.
The rally departed from Skierniewice’s market square at 9 AM and, following the local roads, it reached various checkpoints. First teams reached the gates of the Shed at 3:30 PM, last joined us 2 hours later. Many of the cars were actually a disused fire engines or police vans, so from a distance they announced they approach with sirens. Starting from 5PM the event was open to the public, yet only small number of Skierniewice’s citizens decided to visit us on that time. It’s a pity as this was probably one of the most interesting rallies upon river Łupia.
The main yard of the Shed quickly filled up with vintage cars and participants enjoyed the picnic atmosphere, supported by sunny and pleasant afternoon. Simultaneously, everybody were impatiently awaiting the results of the rally and especially the announcement of the top places. The waiting time was used for motorization discussions, quick rest on the lawn or sightseeing of the interiors of the Shed. Many took the opportunity to take part in a very peculiar competition in long push with a… rail brake skate.
After the announcement of results, the teams left the Shed at 7 PM.
We would like to express our gratitude to the organizers of the rally for preparation of such an interesting event.
On 4th June took place one of the oldest annual events in Skierniewice Shed – Special Open Day for Children which take place on the first Saturday after International Children’s Day. This form of visiting the Shed was available long before regular open days. The perfect weather also attracted many visitors – over 500. The Special Open Day is fitted for the needs of the youngest visitors.
As each year, an exhibition of rolling stock was available to the tourists. Due to the ongoing roof repairs it was a bit more modest than in the previous year. Except the usual rolling stock outdoor exhibits, we presented the battery shunter AEG and 4th class carriage “Steinfurt”. We were also visited by the youngtimers from the Skierniewice’s Classics group who joined the exhibition. It was also possible to have a tour inside the roundhouse with the guide (an abbridged version of the usual sightseeing route to no to exhaust the youngest visitors).
A very popular place was the exhibition of railway signaling and traffic safety devices where one could try himself in a role of station dispatcher. Another interactive attraction was the digital railway layout prepared and showcased by the models shop LOKO-Model from Warsaw. One could also visits the stands of Bolimów Landscape Park and Łódź Agglomeration Railway. We would like to express our big gratitude to all the partners of the event.
We would like to invite you to another Open Day organized in cooperation with Bank Spółdzielczy, which will take place on Saturday, 25th July from 11AM to 3 PM.
On 11th June we and the organizers of Żuk Rally would like to invite you to participate in the final of this event. We open the gates of our shed from 5 PM to 7 PM to all the fans of vintage cargo cars. The rally itself will start from the Skierniewice’s Market Square at 9 AM. Over 80 teams will drive mostly the old but very popular in the past Żuk cargo cars, but the fans of brands such like Nysa and Tarpan will also find something for themselves.
Free admission.
Observant traveler passing by our Engine Shed in the Koluszki direction might have spotted the vast changes in the yard in front of the roundhouse. The missing class Pd5 express steam engine is missing and for a moment there was a special lorry for transporting the railway vehicles. What is going on?
We rush to inform you that nothing bad happened. The engine did not disappeared or was disposed. Thanks to the advancing roof repairs, we managed to find a proper place for this precious exhibit and roll it inside the roundhouse.
Putting class Pd5 inside will allow us to start the long awaited renovation of this vehicle. The fresh coat of paint will not be enough. There is plenty of metalwork awaiting us, mostly around the driver’s cab which at some point in the history was cut through and then patched with various pieces of tin. This will include rebuilding the cab’s roof which was crudely replaced with a single piece of metal sheet. Finally, we need to recreate the missing floor of the cab and overhaul the bottom of the corroded tender flask.
