Locomotives in Wolsztyn

We knew for a long time that Wolsztyn is famous for its steam locomotives. It is home to the last working steam locomotive depot 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 (where DK5 and DW305 roads cross).

We got great, sunny weather. This is important because most of the "attractions" are outdoors. At the beginning, we walked along the tracks where steam engines and old carriages stood. Next, we walked across the level crossing and entered the museum grounds.

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 turntable built in 1908, which lets steam locomotives enter the 8-track engine shed. The shed itself was built a year earlier (in 1907). Nearby stood the historic coaches mentioned earlier and smaller service wagons. Some engines worked, with steam coming out of the valves.

Fun fact: the turntable was originally just over 16 meters across. In 1949 it was enlarged to 20 meters, and in 2002 to 20.5 meters. The shed itself had only 4 tracks in 1907 and was extended to 8 in 1909.

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 was something new for them.

According to information on the roundhouse website, visiting the museum requires a ticket. 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 behind the building towards the workshop.

The workshop is located at the back of the engine hall. It is worth going there to see the old lathes. A man 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 servicing. When they need a part, it is created from scratch in the workshop. Awesome.