New Year's coal train

We bloggers may have little in common with each other subject-wise for 363 days of the year, but we seem to be posting round about now posts summarising years and going for New Year's Day walks. In Warsaw 1 January was a dry, sunny day with a milky blue sky; top temperature +3C; spring feels in the air, yet there's just under three months to wait. Anyway - a good chance to take the camera for a walk.

Nothing I saw today could beat the grandeur of the sight of a pair of TEM-2 diesel locos bringing back a full rake of empty coal wagons from Siekierki power station to the marshalling yards at Okęcie. The train was heading northbound between Nowa Iwiczna and W-wa Jeziorki.

The two electrified tracks in the foreground give a strong impression of the solidity of rail infrastructure, even if the wooden sleepers on the Warsaw-Radom line are in desperate need of replacement, with many having rotted through. The non-electrified coal line, which carried far heavier loads, had the sleepers replaced around the turn of the century.

Other point of note: during our brief stay in England, the lowest-lying bit of ul. Trombity, around nos. 24 A-N, was decently tarmacked over - the work that had started here is now complete. It's beautifully smooth - long may it stay that way!

This time four years ago:
Winter train