The only place of its kind within several hundred kilometres, the Wolsztyn Steam Locomotive Depot has been dispatching steam-powered trains daily for over 100 years. A visit to the Wolsztyn Depot is a true journey back in time, to the era of soulful trains powered by coal and whistling steam. It is also a place to meet exceptional people whose passion keeps this entire historic machinery in motion.
A steam-powered ride
The Wolsztyn Steam Locomotive Depot is neither an open-air museum nor a historical exhibit. Here, skilled craftsmen work in the workshops, and experienced engineers take trains onto the line every day. Steam-powered trains operate from Monday to Friday on the route to Zbąszynek, and on weekends to Poznań. They depart from Wolsztyn station, where tickets can also be purchased.
100 years of Wolsztyn steam locomotives
The history of the railway in Wolsztyn began in 1896, with the construction of the railway station and the first line to Zbąszyń. Slightly later, in 1907, the first buildings of the steam locomotive depot were erected. This date can still be seen, for example, on the weather vane crowning the dome. Since then, little has changed – daily locomotive maintenance still includes loading coal and water, removing ash, and lubricating hundreds of moving parts.
The depot complex also includes the stationmaster’s building, a water tower, and a dormitory. The dormitory no longer serves train crews but is now used by tourists. Visitors can stay overnight and be awakened in the morning by the whistles and horns of the locomotives. The turntable continues to serve its original purpose: a kind of giant carousel for locomotives, allowing them to be positioned in the correct direction.
Steam Locomotive Parade
Every year, around the May Day weekend, tens of thousands of people from around the world travel to Wolsztyn to take part in the Steam Locomotive Parade. It is then that visitors can witness an extraordinary and unique sight – in one place, at one time, several historic locomotives, sometimes more than a dozen, from Poland and abroad are all ‘under steam’.
After nightfall, the event transforms into a multimedia show called Light, Steam and Sound, in which the locomotives take centre stage in an extraordinary display of coloured lights, clouds of smoke and steam, accompanied by music.
