Why visit Silesia?    I first went to Poland in 1999 and vaguely knew there were tramway wonders to be found, if one knew where to look! The Silesian system was a real eye-opener - nearly 200km of tracks connecting nearly all the major cities and with a fascinating history, closely bound up with the complex political and economic history of this densely populated and once heavily industrialised region. I have found myself drawn back there every year since, as there is simply so much to see and experience.    Although you are never far from heavy industry (much of which, however, now lies derelict), this is not a Rhein-Ruhr type of high frequency, urban operation. Upper Silesia is surprisingly rural away from the larger cities and the tram network reflects this. The closest parallels - both now sadly gone - would be the Anthracite Region of West Penn Railways in USA and the celebrated Belgian Vicinal. Single tracks wander apparently aimlessly across the countryside, often forsaking roads completely, and passing loops are few and far between. There will only be a tram every half hour on many of the outer branches and, when you arrive at the distant terminus, the reaction is often 'why?' The reason, of course, is that there was formerly a coal mine or other major traffic objective that is now gone, but the trams keep on running. Nevertheless, passenger loadings are quite high throughout the day on most routes, even though express buses cream off most of the longer distance traffic and local buses go to many places that the trams do not serve. Where the trams come into their own, of course, is where there is no parallel road and they take short cuts across the fields!    Of all the Silesian cities, only Bytom can be described as a 'tram city' served by a viable network of local and longer distance routes. Other cities often have only one tram route passing through, almost as an irrelevance, sometimes on single track with long headways and a roundabout route, so most people take the bus. Distances between towns are considerable and certain strategic links that would greatly improve the tramway network have simply never been built, e.g. from Zychcice to Bytom. It takes at least three changes of tram and nearly four hours to travel across the entire east-west axis.    Almost all trams in current operation are single and double type 105N - not very photogenic - or older 102Na operated singly. These are trams of character - although not particularly old, they are absolutely worn out and decrepit. A small batch of newer, low floor light rail vehicles, unique to Silesia, operates on two routes, but these are unable to really show their paces because of frequent stops and the poor state of the track.    If you are tempted to go to Silesia - GO NOW! At the time of writing, the Silesian tramway system is still under State control, operating under a municipal union's tariff system. Things are soon to change, however, since the cities are about to take over the tram infrastructure. Several cities would dispense with trams if they could and will not contribute to their continued operation as soon as the State hands over control. Tracks are very poor in many areas and not repaired or replaced unless absolutely necessary - there is simply no money to do anything but the bare minimum. In at least one depot, the lights are even turned off at night to save a few zlotys! (I have recently been told that Route 8 is already under threat of closure).    Ride the last 4-wheel Type N car of the day on Line 38, and then go with it in service to Stroszek depot - bucking and swaying along indifferent track. Marvel at bizarre track layouts, such as Alfred, Ruda, Myslowice and Chebzie (a real peach)!    Travel to Kazimierz, to Zychcice and along many other fascinating lines! Try to work out how conflicting movements on single-track sections are controlled (five or six different methods in use - not always immediately apparent which).    But allow at least a week to visit the area if you can, especially if you wish to travel on all the interesting lines and see interesting places. Hiring a car is, of course, possible, but rather defeats the object...    Finally - do make contact with the local enthusiasts if you can. Like most tramway cities in Poland, there is a small but active group based in Silesia, including several fluent English speakers. They have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the system and are also thoroughly nice people - unfailingly friendly and helpful to anyone who is genuinely interested in this remarkable survivor.    Dave Vigar    Summer 2005

102Na car (Route 17) approaching Chebzie Junction in Szopienice (Routes 14) Line Szopienice - Sosnowiec (Route 15) The triangle on Okrzei Street, Sosnowiec (Route 24) Terminus in Myslowice (Route 26) Brzeziny Sl. (Route 8) Junction in Lagiewniki (Route 17) Railway crossing in Niwka (Route 26)

102N and 102Na cars	13N works car in the Chorzow Batory depot	N type car rebuilt to a snow plough	Jagiellonska Street, Bytom	A set of 111N cars
102Na type car as Route 14 in Myslowice	Lipiny, Chorzowska Street	Zychcice, just before the terminus	Junction in Szopienice	Zagorze loop
Single track section in the centre of Gliwice	Gliwice, Wieczorka Street	110 years old tramway viaduct in Gliwice	Chebzie loop	Junction in Ruda Poludniowa
The 'tunnels' near Chebzie	Nowy Bytom, 'Pokoj' Steel Works	116Nd car near Konstal	Single track section between Gliwice and Zabrze	A passing loop in Ruda
Chebzie, Dworcowa Street	Chebzie 105Na car as Route 17 bound for Lipiny	A passing loop on a narrow street in Lipiny	Chorzow, the terminus on the Market Square (Rynek)	Nowy Bytom, Route 9

http://www.tram-silesia.pl/ - Silesian Tramways official web page (Polish only)
   - A scheme of current tram routes with all stops
   - Tramway timetables
http://www.kzkgop.com.pl/ - KZK GOP official web page (English, Polish)
   - Tram & bus timetables

http://www.tram-silesia.pl/kmtm/ - Urban Transport Fan Club in Chorzow Batory (KMTM) (Polish only)
http://www.wpk.katowice.pl/ - KMTM's e-zine (Polish only)
   - a list of Tramwaje Slaskie rolling stock (only revenue cars)
http://inlog.pl/bahn/ - Polish official Bahn web site, with a large gallery of author's photos from Upper Silesia (Polish only, for gallery click on 'galeria zdjec')
http://transport.wroc.biz/ - a massive gallery with urban transport and railway photos from the whole Poland (including Upper Silesia) and other countries (English, Hungarian, Polish)
http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/pl/trams/Katowice/pix.html - pictures of Silesian trams on the well-known Railfaneurope.net Picture Gallery server (English)
http://www.p.lodz.pl/I35/personal/jw37/urbtr/sl-dabr-inurb.html - an interesting article on Silesian Interurbans by J. Wesolowski (English, Polish)

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