LN-04Lower Silesian–Mark Railway
The main line from the north-west into Silesia, and the reason the largest masonry viaduct on this inventory was built at Bolesławiec in the 1840s.
Record
| Route | Berlin – Kohlfurt (Węgliniec) – Bolesławiec – Wrocław |
|---|---|
| Gauge | 1435 mm |
| Opened | 1840s; Bolesławiec crossing 1846 |
| Builder | Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft |
| Status | In service; upgraded, 160 km/h over the Bóbr crossing |
| Record class | LN |
Route
The company's line approached Silesia from Berlin by way of Kohlfurt — now Węgliniec — and reached Wrocław from the west. It crossed the Bóbr valley at Bolesławiec, and that crossing required the single largest piece of masonry engineering in the region.
The Bóbr viaduct
Work began on 18 June 1844 and finished in July 1846, to a design by the Prussian architect Frederick Engelhardt Gansel. The structure is 490 m long over 35 spans. It is described in Polish sources as the longest stone bridge in the country, and the claim is at least defensible.
Retreating German forces blew the central span in 1945. Reconstruction was rapid and the bridge returned to service in 1947.
Since
The viaduct was illuminated in 2006 with 58 projectors mounted on the piers, and a renovation completed around 2009 raised the permitted speed over the structure to 160 km/h. It carries a busy modern service, which is not something that can be said of most 1840s masonry.
Structures on this line
ST-01— Bóbr viaduct, Bolesławiec (Masonry arch viaduct, 1844–1846)