“The Vistula Narrow Gauge Railway”

Location

“The Vistula Narrow Gauge Railway”
Opolska 2
24-310 Karczmiska
Poland
51° 13' 54.966" N, 21° 59' 33.9972" E

Logo: 

Name of the owner : 

Powiat Opolski. Funkcję operatora Nadwiślańskiej Kolejki Wąskotorowej pełni Zarząd Dróg Powiatowych w Opolu Lubelskim z siedzibą w Poniatowej.

Phone number : 

81 828 70 18, 506 346 639

Scope of Activity: 

Tourist Transport, Museum, Special events, Bike rental

The opportunities offered in the Eco-museum of the Lublin Region: 

The Vistula narrow-gauge railway tourist season lasts from May to September but organized groups of travellers can be seen on the railway lines from early Spring until late Autumn. In addition to group travels, in which the tourists may have an impact on, inter alia, the route and type of railcars, each Sunday a regular train service starts from the railway station of Karczmiska, which specifically tailored to individual tourists. The first railway service goes to Opole Lubelskie and then to Polanówka, and ends on the platform of Karczmiska. In the course of travelling, a bonfire in the forest clearing in Polanówka, including a picnic, may be enjoyed by travellers. It is great fun during  the expedition. A good idea is to enjoy the cycling trip during the travel by railcar, so one can easily reach numerous local attractions, usually located within the walking distance of the railway line. This is possible mainly due to the bike rental at the railway station in Karczmiska, a special railcar that may carry the bikes, and numerous well-marked cycling routes leading for example to the resort next to the early-medieval settlements in Chodlik and Żmijowiska. Visitors to the Karczmiska railway station can look at a train destined for tourist exchange line, which includes the Romanian petrol powered locomotive dating back to the early 70s, passenger railcars, a railcar with a snack bar and  passenger railcars made from boxcars. A trolley, manual trolley track, boxcars or open wagons may be seen, too. Among the technical railway facilities, one must also pay attention to the two old lifts for the rolling stock (the one is of particular historic value, as it was manufactured in England in 1920, the other one manufactured in Germany a decade later), a rare pole rotary crane for loading  coal,  dating back to 1950 and a bi-directional snow blade erected  in 1960. The main station of the Vistula Railway is also, apart from the machinery, worth exploring, since the whole complex of the station consists of nine buildings with the oldest facilities erected in 1917. The Tourist Information Centre and the Museum of the Vistula Narrow Gauge Railway is also located here.  The entrance leads through the symbolic railway line that takes the visitors to the old days of the railways. Numerous documents, photographs and artefacts (e.g., railroad equipment, uniforms and caps of railway workers) and the room decorated in the pattern of a traffic controller chamber dating back to the 50s give visitors a chance to acknowledge the modus operandi of railways over many decades. The railway station buildings also include the water tower, used originally to supply steam locomotives with water, which is currently a unique vantage point - the sixth floor allows to view and enjoy the surrounding panorama.

Tourist Offer: 

Seasonal offer. Observation tower and Slavic strongholds sightseeing.

Photo: