LN-02Jelenia Góra – Żagań
89 km built in stages between 1902 and 1909, carrying the most demanding engineering on the inventory and now carrying almost nothing at all.
Record
| Route | via Pilchowice, Wleń, Lwówek Śląski and Zebrzydowa |
|---|---|
| Gauge | 1435 mm |
| Opened | 1902–1909, in six sections |
| Builder | Prussian State Railways |
| Status | Largely out of regular passenger use |
| Record class | LN |
Construction sequence
The line opened piecemeal: Zebrzydowa – Ławszowa on 25 November 1902; Ławszowa – Świętoszów on 1 November 1904; Świętoszów – Żagań on 1 August 1905; Jelenia Góra – Pilchowice on 1 October 1906; Lwówek Śląski – Wleń on 1 July 1909; and finally the Pilchowice – Wleń section, the hardest of the six, on 28 August 1909.
Total route length is 89.196 km on standard gauge. The seven-year gap between the first and last openings is entirely accounted for by the middle section.
The dam connection
Construction was driven in part by the need to move materials for the Pilchowice dam, and the labour force included experienced Italian as well as local workers. The railway and the dam are best understood as one project: neither would have been built on that alignment without the other.
Engineering
The Pilchowice bridge, a steel truss of 131.7 m span standing 43 m above the water, is the signature structure and one of the highest railway bridges in Poland. Between Pilchowice Zapora and Wleń the line passes through three tunnels: Czyżyk (187 m), Dwory Mountain (154 m) and Zamkowa Mountain (320 m, the longest on the route).
Status
Passenger service between Jelenia Góra and Lwówek Śląski was suspended on 11 December 2016 and replaced by buses. The Lwówek Śląski – Zebrzydowa section has no regular passenger traffic. Zebrzydowa – Żagań has been closed since 2004; restoration has been discussed repeatedly and delayed as often.
Occasional freight and special workings still use limited sections. Anyone planning to see the Pilchowice bridge should assume there will be no train.
Structures on this line
ST-02— Pilchowice bridge (Steel truss bridge, 1905–1906)ST-03— Tunnels, Pilchowice Zapora – Wleń (Tunnels (three), to 1909)