Upper Silesian narrow-gauge railway

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Narrow-gauge inspection car of the OSE in the German Museum of Technology in Berlin
Narrow-gauge railway ( PKP series Lxd2 ) in Bytom (Beuthen) with nostalgic passenger cars 2008

The Upper Silesian Narrow Gauge Railway (Polish: Górnośląskie Koleje Wąskotorowe) is a narrow gauge railway with a gauge of 785 mm in the Upper Silesian industrial area .

history

The Oberschlesische Eisenbahn AG (OSE), which was founded in 1841 and built the main line Breslau – Kosel – Myslowitz from 1842–1847, created an extensive network of narrow-gauge railroads with a gauge of 785 mm corresponding to 2 Prussian feet and 6 inches ( 1851–1855 ).  also called Upper Silesian gauge ) for the close-knit development of the Upper Silesian industrial area, which was continuously expanded in the following decades.

In contrast to the company's full-gauge line, the narrow-gauge network was initially operated largely as a horse-drawn railway. The use of locomotives began here in 1855/56, but was stopped again in 1860 by the then leaseholder of the network, Rudolf Pringsheim . Only the second attempt in 1872 with new locomotives was a lasting success. A little later than the full-gauge railway, the narrow-gauge network and narrow-gauge operation were transferred to the Prussian state from 1884 to 1904. The route length of the state Upper Silesian narrow-gauge network was 113 km in 1887, then 138 km in 1901, with 208 km of private networks connected to it. In 1919 the public network measured 164 km. The state narrow-gauge network had its greatest expansion in 1965 with 233.5 km.

For more than 150 years it connected coal mines, smelters, factories and power stations and was used to transport all kinds of goods; However, it was primarily used to transport coal and ore. The private connecting railways in the Upper Silesian Revier had been built in the same gauge and had their own vehicles. For more than 100 years, the volume of goods ensured that the company was profitable. At the end of the 20th century, the region's economic situation, particularly heavy industry, deteriorated. The Polish State Railways ( Polskie Koleje Państwowe , PKP), which has owned the route network since the Second World War, quickly lost all customers of the narrow-gauge railway. In 2002 the city was Bytom (Bytom) owner of the main track, while the Friends of the Upper Silesian Narrow Gauge Railways (SGKW) was their operators.

  • Active and former narrow-gauge railway networks in Upper Silesia

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