Retro trains through Lemkovyna

Retro trains are going to appear in Lemkovyna again, with regards to this year’s edition of Małopolskie Szlaki Turystyki Kolejowej. From spring to winter there will be altogether 42 rides through the most beautiful routes of the Lesser Poland.

Rides in the old machines will be realized from April until December 2017. They are organized by the Nowosądeckie Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Kolei in cooperation with the  Skansen Taboru Kolejowego in Chabówka. The Lesser Poland Voivodeship supports the project with the amount of 400 thousand zlotys which constitutes 2/3 of the whole cost. The remaining part is to be received from the tickets.

Apart from rides in the historical rolling stock, also additional attractions are planned. This year the old trains will go through the most beautiful routes of the Lesser  Poland, including a unique part of over 130 years old former Galician Transversal Railway. The 70 km part of the route from Chabówka to Nowy Sącz is presented as one of the most beautiful roads in Poland and Europe. A route from Nowy Sącz to Krynica is not worse. it goes through the villages by the Poprad river: Wierchomla, Zubryk, Andriivka, Milik. Railway leads also through among others 513 m tunnel in Żegietów. There will be two rides through this route: on 27 May and 23 September.  Leave from Nowy Sącz is planned for 10 AM. Before 1PM the train is to arrive in Krynica where the programme will be prepared. Between 1PM-5PM the train will be going from Krynica to Muszyna where a station festival will be held, and on 23 September the Jarmark of Muszyna (Muszyna Fair) will take place there additionally. At 5PM the train will go back to Nowy Sącz.

Apart from the amusements at the stops, the programme includes also some time to visit the local tourist attractions and resorts, take part in picnics, concerts, try some snacks at booths or take part in open-air historical reenactments. The journeys in the trains will be accompanied by animators of the Group of Historical Reconstruction of Polish Historical Society and the District Museum in Nowy Sącz, dressed in clothes of the past age. A permanent element of the rides will be a duty officer with a green lollipop in hand who will dispatch trains from particular stations.

Also historical engines and trucks from 1920-1963 will be used, they come from the collection of the Skansen Taboru Kolejowego in Chabówka

This year the old train for the first time will be going by the valley of river Biała, from Nowy Sącz, through Grybów, Bobowa, Gromnik, Tuchów to Tarnów and the following time the train will go to Gorlice. The date of the ride is combined with celebrations of the Dni Gorlic (Gorlice Day), additionally there will be rides to the nearby Biecz – a treasure rich in medieval architecture. A separate special ride to this town is planned for 24 September.

Details of all the planned rides and place from where you can book tickets is here.