Inventory / Structures / ST-03
ST-03Tunnels, Pilchowice Zapora – Wleń
Three bores in six kilometres, and the reason the middle section of the line took until 1909 to open.
Record
| Type | Tunnels (three) |
|---|---|
| Line | LN-02 — Jelenia Góra – Żagań |
| Built | to 1909 |
| Designer | Prussian State Railways engineering office |
| Principal dimension | 320 m (longest) |
| Spans | — |
| Status | Out of regular service |
The three bores
Between Pilchowice Zapora and Wleń the line passes through the Czyżyk tunnel (187 m), the Dwory Mountain tunnel (154 m) and the Zamkowa Mountain tunnel (320 m). The last is the longest on the route.
The section opened on 28 August 1909, four years after the sections either side of it. The tunnelling accounts for essentially all of that delay.
Why here
The valley below Pilchowice is a gorge with no continuous shelf on either bank. A surface alignment would have required either an impossible number of retaining structures or a detour long enough to defeat the purpose of the line. Three short bores were the cheaper answer, and short bores at this date were well within routine practice.
Condition
The portals are masonry-lined and in fair condition where they can be seen. Vegetation has closed in on the approaches since regular traffic ended. The bores should be treated as unsafe and are not open.