Ciechanów – Choo Choo Train
This is a narrow-gauge locomotive from 1957, a legacy of the need to Poland’s heavily damaged transport infrastructure rolling stock quickly and efficiently following the damage done during the Second World War. Minimising development time and utilising existing, reliable engineering principles allowed Fablok (then operating under the name Fabryka Lokomotyw im. F. Dzierżyńskiego ) to initiate mass production relatively swiftly. This locomotive was linked to the Ciechanów Sugar Factory (Cukrownia Ciechanów) which was a significant industrial enterprise in the city for over a century. Its establishment in 1882 coincided with a period of notable industrial growth in Ciechanów, which also saw the founding of a brewery in 1864 and the arrival of the standard-gauge Vistula River Railroad in 1877.
The front of the locomotive. Following the cessation of regular narrow-gauge operations and the closure of lines like those around Ciechanów, the Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum in Sochaczew became the principal repository for withdrawn locomotives and rolling stock. Established formally in 1986 on the site of the former Sochaczew County Narrow Gauge Railway, the museum amassed one of Europe’s largest collections of narrow-gauge vehicles. This train was sent there, but was purchased by the authorities in Ciechanów in 2011 and it was installed at this site in 2018 after some repairs to the locomotive.
The translated text reads:
“1896 – Construction of the railway line from Jawor to Chełmsko Śląskie begins (extended to Lubawka in 1899)
1899 – Opening of the Lubawka – Krzeszów section
1900 – Opening of the Krzeszów – Kamienna Góra section
1945 – Railway taken over by PKP (Polish State Railways)
1954 – Change of track gauge from 750 mm to 785 mm
1960 – Closure of the Jawor – Chełmsko Śląskie section
1979 – Suspension of passenger transport on the Kamienna Góra – Krzeszów – Lubawka route
1986 – Closure of the Lubawka – Krzeszów section
1988 – Closure of the Krzeszów – Kamienna Góra section
1991 – Railway liquidation
The Chełmsko narrow-gauge railway, initially steam-powered, reached from Jawor to the town of Ciechanów.”
Translated, this sign reads:
“The narrow-gauge steam locomotive, series Px48, number 1784, from the Feliks Dzierżyński factory in Chrzanów, was produced in 1954. In Ciechanów, it worked on the sugar factory railway until 1993. After the liquidation of the sugar factory railway, it was transferred to the Museum of Narrow-Gauge Railways in Sochaczew. In 2011, it was repurchased by the city of Ciechanów and restored. It is currently exhibited on Sienkiewicza Street. In 2012, it was entered into the register of movable monuments.”
It won’t surprise either of my two loyal blog readers to discover that I’m not an expert in redundant railway lines in Ciechanów, but the former line is evident from this overhead map.
