We knew for a long time that Wolsztyn is famous for its steam locomotives. There is the last open roundhouse in Europe. Every year in May a parade of steam engines is held here and thousands of railway enthusiasts come to the town. We once attended the annual parade, but then, paradoxically, it was not possible to visit the roundhouse – because of the crowds that descended on the city for the parade. Taking advantage of a long weekend in June we decided to visit Wolsztyn again, this time calmly, to show the children the choo-choos. The roundhouse is located at the main intersection in town (crossed here DK5 and DW305 roads).
We got great, sunny weather. This is important because most of the “attractions” is outdoors. At the beginning, we walked along the tracks where steam engines and old carriages stood. Next we went through the crossing and went to the museum.
On the tracks, antique coaches were parked, the oldest were built in 1915, all made of wood. Inside there were separate compartments for women and men (the former were equipped with pink cushions).
The central point is a rotating turntable established in 1908, which allows steam locomotives to access the 8-position garage. The hall footprint was established a year earlier (in 1907). Nearby, some of the steam locomotives were parked. Some engines work, with steam coming out of the valves.
The museum building had a large number of exhibits, all related to railways. There you can see the equipment of the station master, ticket office, old documents, stamps, communication equipment (exchanges, switchboards, telephones), as well as semaphores, lamps, lights. There was also a scale model of the expansion plan for the roundhouse. The children had the opportunity to see a phone with a rotary dial. In an era of mobile phones and touch screens, it’s something new for them.
According to information on the roundhouse website, the museum visit is paid. However, nobody asked us to buy tickets there, and so we toured the facility for free. We bought a commemorative fridge magnet with a locomotive and went through the building to the garage.
The workshop is located at the back of the engine hall. It is worth going there to see the old lathe. A guy who worked there told us what he could do in this workshop. Locomotives are no longer produced, and hence there are no replacement parts for them. To maintain locomotives in operation they need the service. When they need a part, it is created from scratch in the workshop. Awesome.