Although it may be hard to imagine, this picture presents what used to once be the most important line for freight traffic in interwar Poland - the coal mainline from Silesia to the harbour in Gdynia. There used to be tens of cargo trains rolling here each day. Nowadays it's just a forgotten stretch of track with minimal train traffic.
On 27.05 I woke up early once again to photograph this returning train from Kościerzyna, which was headed by TEM2-261 of Omniloko (previously owned by CTL). The train had a small load of rails, leftover after unloading near Kościerzyna, for the upcoming modernisation of this line. As it turned out, I ended up meeting some friends, and we chased the train further down the line towards Bydgoszcz later.
On the picture, the TEM2-261 is seen with its TNS 543004 Kościerzyna - Chorzów Stary, having passed the stop Łąg Południowy (near the crossing of the coal mainline with the Ostbahn from Berlin to Königsberg). The train is closing in to what used to be a passing loop in the nearby forest, called Szary Kierz (Königsried). It was shut down in 1945, when much of the heavy coal traffic was moved to the line from Bydgoszcz via Tczew to Gdańsk.
Between the two currently existing stations - Bąk and Lipowa Tucholska, there used to be 3 passing loops. Apart from Szary Kierz, they were located near Wojtal and Szałamaje, averaging a distane of around 6 kilometers between stations (now - 22km). Other parts of the railway line were hit with simmilar cuts - first after the 2nd world war, and then in the 1990s.
Photo by Piotrek/Toprus
