SN61 in the Grass

On Saturday June 23, 2001, the Pomeranian Society of Railway Enthusiasts sponsored an excursion on closed branch lines using SN61-class railcar #183.

The trip started from Stargard Szczecinski and travelled to Goleniow, where the first branch to be covered was that from Goleniow to Maszewo. The plan was then to travel to Ploty and cover the branch to Resko and finish the day by travelling to Wysoka Kamienska.

Unfortunately, late running led to the cancellation of the Ploty–Resko leg, and instead we travelled Goleniow–Wysoka Kam.–Ploty, and then returned to Szczecin from Ploty. The group hopes to reach Resko on a future excursion.

The SN61 railcars were built in Hungary, and over 100 examples were once used by the PKP. They were capable over pulling 2–3 normal coaches and were seen in both local and long-distance service.

	At Rurka, on the Szczecin-Swinoujscie line, SN61-183 paused to pass southbound train #88110 the "Uznam" to Szczecin, led by ED72-016.
	Starting down the line to Maszewo, our railcar encountered road crossings that had not seen a train in many years . . .
	. . . and just plain track that hadn't seen a train!
	Chain saws and axes quickly became the order of the day.
	The railcar crept towards Maszewo at less than 10 km/hr, as the crew looked for obstructions on the tracks.
	Two-three km down the line, we ran into a cutting that was heavily grown up, causing a long delay.
	At the former halt of Podansko, we broke out of the undergrowth for a moment.
	Arrival at the end of the line in Maszewo came after three hours of travel--on a distance of 17km!
	The station at Maszewo was the only building surviving on the line.
	As the rain continued to pour down, the driver switched ends, and we were ready to start back.
	Will this be the last train to ever visit Maszewo?
	The Maszewo line is mostly rural, passing through only one small village.
	A local boy watches the passage of the green railcar.
	Our car picked up some vegitation along the way. The new paint job was also badly scratched!
	As we were so late by the time we returned to Goleniow, we ran straight north to Wysoka Kamienska, where we met an EN57 on a local train.
	From Wysoka Kamienska, we travelled east towards Ploty. Here, we pass the disused station at Kretlewo.
	Before Golczewo Pomorskie, we crossed a small bridge. This photo is taken from the roadbed of a now-removed narrow gauge line.
	Golczewo Pomorskie was the largest station remaining on the closed portion of the line. Behind this building was another station for the narrow-gauge line.
	We were able to make much faster progress on this line, as it appears to still be used by the occasional freight train, and wasn't overgrown with vegetation.
	This sign on the Uniborz station building shows the last regular service on this line was in the 1991-2 timetableÑ3 pairs of trains daily.
	The SN61 pauses at Uniborz.
	East of Uniborz, we stopped for a photo in the forest.
	East of Truskolas, we found the only sun of the day.
	A small lake at Mechowo Lobeskie provided a nice site for a photo run-past.
	Also at Mechowo Lobeskie, local children investigate the unusual visitor to their village.
	The station at Mechowo Lobeskie is still standing.
	Not all passengers were interested in taking pictures!
	Arriving in Ploty, we pass the enter semaphore and under the line from Kolobrzeg.
	At the north signal box in Ploty, we stopped for instructions.
	While waiting for a northbound passenger train, we travelled a short distance on the line to Resko, the whole length of which had been on the day's agenda. Unfortunately, we could only go as far as the enter signal.
	The platforms on the east side of Ploty station are not used now.
	From Ploty, you can still travel to Goleniow and Kolobrzeg. Note the sticker in the upper window: "Free Chocolate with every monthly ticket". Finally, a spark of marketing initiative from the PKP!
	SN61-183 sits at the former platform for trains to Resko and Worowo.
	The end of the day—the SN61 makes a passenger stop at Szczecin Dabie, before heading to the trip's terminating point of Szczecin Glowny.