Walks in the early-November sun

A massive 19C in today's strong sunlight - this is 2 November, not 2 October!

Below: the park in Jeziorki, many people making the most of the bridge-day between a public holiday and the weekend.

Warm wind from the south means that planes taking ofp from Okęcie are doing so into the wind. Below: a Polish Air Force CASA C-295 transport.

Below: new development of houses close to the railway line, just south of Warsaw's border, Nowa Wola/Zgorzała. Now all the new home-owners need is an asphalt road to get them out of here.

Below: some interesting trains passed through... A Bombardier TRAXX in ITL livery hauling containerised cisterns and containers approaches the 'down' platform at W-wa Jeziorki... ITL has but two such locos, and they are rarely seen on Polish rails.

Below: ...and coming the other way, an EU07 pulls a short rake of two passenger coaches forming the TLK Połoniny service from Przemysł to Warsaw via Jarosław, Sandomierz and Radom (and a whole lot more places along the way) through W-wa Jeziorki.

Below: the two trains pass each other

Below: a more usual sight - a laden coal train headed by an ET22 loco on its way from the coal fields to the marshalling yard at Okęcie, from where it will be diesel-hauled down to Siekierki on the non-electrified line (the left of the frame here).

Below: the viaduct taking ul. Karczunkowska over the railway line - no work on 1 November, but back at it today. Ready by this time next year?

Below: All Saints, memento mori - in particular here a local pedestrian hit by a car, ul. Karczunkowska. Pavements save lives.

The weather is due to break, ten degrees colder and rain. Glad I made the most of both days!

This time three years ago:
Foggy evening, London

This time four year:
Kraków - Europe's top short-break destination 

This time six years ago:
Rzeczpospolita publishes infamous 'trotyl' Smolensk story

This time seven years ago:
Wilanowska - south Warsaw transport hub

This time nine years ago:
Powiśle on a cold, clear autumn morning

This time ten years ago:
Okęcie "to remain Warsaw's only airport"

This time 11 years ago:
Searching for autumnal perfection

Air Force tragedy

A Polish Air Force CASA C-295M transport aircraft (like the one above, photographed over our house on 21 April 2007) crashed yesterday evening while coming into land at Mirosławiec north-west Poland, two hours after taking off from Okęcie airport. All 20 men on board were killed - four Air Force crew and 16 high- and mid-ranking army officers. (ARRGH! What's the Standard Operating Procedure in the Polish Air Force?) This is the first ever crash involving this type. When I heard the first breaking news story on the radio, I was certain that the 'transport plane' that crashed would have been an elderly Antonov An-26, and was very surprised to hear later that it was indeed a CASA. Cause as yet unknown, black box recovered. A period of official mourning has been announced.

Click here for official Polish Air Force communique (in Polish).

CZEŚĆ ICH PAMIĘĆI

Antonov An-26 in the twilight of its career

In service with the Polish Air Force since 1972, the Antonov An-26 light transport aircraft is due for retirement next year. Five are currently in service. Note the three tones of green-over-sand camouflage scheme; the undersides are painted olive. Not visible in this shot are the dirty streaks of smoke that the polluting engines leave behind, something this plane has in common with other Soviet-era transports used by the Polish Air Force, the Tu-154M and Yak-40.

Below is a CASA C-295, of which the eight are currently in service in the light transport role, with two more on order. They will eventually replace the Antonovs.