To Kalinowo -- And Beyond!

An  adventure in narrow gauge railroading!!

The PKP operates several trains per day over the 31km of narrow gauge line between Elk and Kalinowo. Standard equipment for this service is a diesel railcar produced in Romania during the 1970's.  But  an  English ralfan tour group was booked on the trip we planned to ride, and they requested an open car.  By the time the train crew returned with the open car, an even larger group of "20 something" locals in a party mood was waiting -- complete with booze, food, guitars and dogs.  And there was no doubt in their minds who that open car was for.  But it was not big enough for their group, so the train crew went after another coach, while three regular fares waited patiently for the train to take them home.

 

 As it turned out, the party hearty bunch filled the open car and the coach, the regulars got into "their " car and closed the doors behind them  -- and the Brits, being Brits, waited with patient good humor for whoever was in charge to straighten out the mess.  As the train crew returned to the coach yard one more time, I asked the PKP rep with the tour group how many cars that motor coach could pull.  He said "two, but today three."  And thus began a narrow gauge  adventure worthy of the old RGS.

 

The Brits, recognizing kindred spirits, invited us to join them in the open car.  Given the global nature of our passion,  I was not at all surprised to see one of them wearing a Cumbres & Toltec hat.  The train stopped not only at passenger shelters such as this, but also at any trackside dwelling or grade crossing where someone wanted to get on or off.    Storks,  a common site  throughout rural Poland, were much in evidence along the route.

 

At Sypitki, about half way to Kalinowo, is a "summer camp" for PKP employees.  It consists of cabins made from old railway cars.  Several of the regulars detrained here, and this was also the destination of the party crowd.  We dropped their cars in the siding and went on our way.

 

We now had a two car train, with good views of field and forest from our open car, but too soon we reached Kalinowo, the end of the line. Or so I thought.  But the English group thought different.  Six months ago, when they made the arrangements for this trip, the end of the line was at Turowo, 7 km beyond Kalinowo.  That was where their bus was waiting for them, and that was where they expected to be taken.  And so it was.   We went along, of course.

 

Prudently, the train crew moved us into the motor coach and left the open car behind.  Since this part of the line had been out of service for a while, they didn't want to take any chances. Their caution was justified as the constant slipping of wheels on grass covered rails and slapping of the car by uncut tree branches made it a precarious journey.   A collection of decrepit freight cars sitting on a weed grown wye told us that we were approaching -- well somewhere. 

 

As the tour group went off in search of their bus and the train crew went off in search of water for the overheated engine, I took a quick picture of our train at Turowo -- where it may never be again.  After filling up the radiator, we headed back through the green tunnel, in what amounted to our own private train.

 

In Kalinowo we picked up the open car which was pushed ahead of the motor coach, our fourth configuration of the day.  We also picked up a local fare, but he didn't stay with us very long.  A little further along we stopped for water.

 

Having refilled the radiator, the motorman returned to his station and we were again underway.  A nearby stork also got underway about that time. Of all the storks I saw in Poland, this was the only one I was able to photograph in flight.

 

Upon our return to Sypitki, we discovered that the setout there was no longer in the siding.  Apparently, the party hearty bunch had tried their hand at railroading while we were away.   No harm was done, though -- except maybe to the conductor's blood-pressure as he had already had more than enough excitement for one day.  Anyway, the crew tied unto the string and pulled it back up clear of the siding switch.  Then they ran around, hooked unto the other end, and away we went in our fifth and final configuration of the day.

 

A little later, a lady milking her cow out in the field provided an interesting diversion while the conductor was fetching still more water.  After a great afternoon of narrow gauge railroading,  we arrived back at Elk hungry and happy.

 

Oh, did I mention the steamer.  Well, they do have one available for charter. It's an 0-8-0,  Kp4 #3760 ( Chrzanow, 1957). While the English bunch didn't see fit to charter it (maybe they were really Scots), a German group did so the next morning.  As we were heading down the highway towards our next destination we happened to cross trails with it in Kalinowo.

Sometimes, you just get lucky!!

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