Chrzanów 2024-12-04

Chrzanów Railway Station.

Geographic coordinates: 50.134N 19.400E. Elevation 274 m (898.95 ft). Address: 32-500 Chrzanów, Fabryczna Street 2.

The establishment of the Fablok factory.

The establishment of the locomotive factory in Chrzanów was inspired by the authorities of the reborn Polish Republic, especially Marshal Józef Piłsudski. The government was aware of the need to launch the production of Polish steam locomotives as soon as possible, which could revive the economy of the country ruined by the Great World War. The railway was a key means of passenger and freight transport, as well as a driving force for industrial development. Reborn Poland inherited 4,762 steam locomotives from the occupiers, most of which were inoperable and of obsolete construction. 48% of these locomotives were not even suitable for repair. Therefore, launching the production of modern Polish rolling stock was a necessity and a priority in this situation. The location of the factory in Chrzanów, i.e. near the mines, steelworks and boiler plants of the Dąbrowa Basin, was not without significance. A convenient site was found near the railway line, which guaranteed the lowest transport costs. Among the plants cooperating with the future factory in Chrzanów were the W. Fitzner and K. Gamper Joint-Stock Company plants in Sosnowiec and Dąbrowa, which were to supply boilers to the newly established factory.

The initiative to found the factory was led by four entrepreneurs: Piotr Drzewiecki, Władysław Jechalski, Stanisław Karłowski and Leopold Wellisz. On May 22, 1919, the status of the joint-stock company “Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce S.A.” founded by them was approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade and the Minister of the Treasury. The foundation was joined by banks; Bank Małopolski in Kraków and Bank Handlowy in Warsaw. In October 1919, the company purchased land near the railway lines from the Chrzanów commune for the construction of the plant. The machines and equipment for production were purchased in Sweden.

Remember that since 1856, the Chrzanów railway station was an important station on the Kraków-Vienna route. Initially, another legal structure was also considered, such that the Fablok factory would be a branch of a plant producing steam boilers. On June 6, 1920, the Polish Government signed a framework agreement with the Fablok factory for the construction of 1,200 steam locomotives over a period of 10 years. In 1920, the company’s name was also changed to “Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce S.A. – Zakłady w Chrzanowie”, abbreviated as Fablok.

In 1921, the construction of the factory was already well advanced. The factory buildings were built within 3 years and are considered an excellent achievement of Polish industrial architecture. Two halls are worthy of attention; the assembly department hall and the mechanical workshop hall. In addition, there is the smaller forge building. All of these buildings feature reinforced concrete pillars and ceilings, as well as large windows, which provide a lot of daylight to the interior. In 1928, the factory already occupied an area of ​​800,000 m2 and operated like a small city. The plant had its own boiler room, electrical station and water tower. Several locomobiles were also used. Water from the plant was also supplied to the workers’ housing estate. There were also railway sidings on the plant premises. The railway tracks were also used for internal transport. In 1936, the Main Office building was opened, which housed the headquarters of the management and the administrative department. In the 1960s, the building was rebuilt.

In the period 1921–1924, two housing estates were built in the vicinity of the factory for the officials and workers employed at the factory: the Factory Colony and the Rospontov Colony. Both estates were built according to the then popular concept of a garden city. The first of them was intended mainly for officials and foremen and consisted of 11 brick houses, located in two rows along the road leading to the factory. This is currently Fabryczna Street. The plan for the estate was implemented, consisting of seven houses located along the street in one row and four houses in the second row. 8 houses have survived to the present day (2024). All houses were built on a rectangular plan. The four in the first row, from the city side, looked like manor houses. The building mass was enriched with projections, broken gables and hipped roofs. Each building had two two-room apartments and two or three one-room apartments in the attic (studios). One of these houses was larger, because it had four two-room apartments and six one-room apartments. Behind them, four single-storey semi-detached houses with high hipped roofs were built. The apartments in the official houses were of a high standard. They were equipped with electricity, running water, toilets and bathtubs. The apartments for workers were smaller and more modest. Workers could use the factory baths free of charge.

The housing estate built towards the south-east, called Kolonia Rospontowa, differed from Kolonia Fabryczna by its lower standard. The estate consisted of 3 single-storey semi-detached houses for officials and 9 multi-family buildings, two-storey and with a developed attic, in which workers lived. On the initiative of the workers, a church was also built there, under the patronage of Our Lady of Ostra Brama, which was built in the period 1935-1939, according to the design of Stanisław Oszacki. The estate designs also assumed the creation of an orphanage, which was put into use in 1924, in the Rospontowa estate. In 1928, a sports stadium was put into use. In the period 1925-1927, representative tenement houses for Fablok officials were also built in Chrzanów. In one of them, at 4 Paderewskiego Street, lived Professor Kazimierz Zembrzuski.

With the establishment of workers’ estates, social and cultural life flourished. The sports club “Sports Association Fablok”, established in 1926, operated under the name “Sports and Education Association Fablok” from 1928. In 1939, the sports association already had 14 sections. A brass band, founded in 1928, also operated at the factory.

After World War II, large apartment blocks were built and the city moved closer to the factory. The infrastructure of the estate was enriched with a vocational school building and the building of Primary School No. 5. Currently, the vocational school is the Fablok Technical School Complex. Three buildings located on Fabryczna Street were single-storey. They were demolished around 1985, and a parking lot for cars and buses was built in their place.

The period of World War II.

In 1939, the Fablok factory was taken over by the Germans. The Fablok plant became part of the Association of Germanic Locomotive Companies (Germanic Deutsche Lokomotivbau-Vereinigung) and incorporated into the Henschel & Sohn concern in Kassel. The Germans gave the plant the name Erste Lokomotivfabrik in Polen A. G. Chrzanow. In 1941, the name was changed to Oberschlesische Lokomotivwerke A. G. Krenau, in short: “OBERLOK”.

After World War II.

The first steam locomotive, after the end of World War II, the Ty42 series for DOKP Kraków, was produced on February 21, 1945.

In 1947, the Fablok factory was nationalized by the communists. In 1948, the plant became part of the Tasko Railway Industry Association in Poznań. In 1950, the communists changed the name of the factory to the Locomotive Factory named after Feliks Dzierżyński – a communist bandit.

Thanks to engineer Klemens Sielecki, who, together with a group of employees, secured the technical documentation and equipment of the factory during the war, production was quickly resumed. In January 1945, the engineer took almost all the technical documentation of steam, industrial diesel and electric locomotives from the factory, because the Germans wanted to destroy it.

In the period 1945–1963, Fablok produced 3,600 steam locomotives, the recipients of which, apart from Poland, were also: Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, China, India, the Korean RL-D, Vietnam and CCCP. By 1963, when the factory ended the production of steam locomotives, 1,565 standard gauge and 2,015 narrow gauge steam locomotives had been produced, including 216 and 972 for export, respectively. The products were exported to Albania, Bulgaria, China, Yugoslavia, the Korean RL-D, Romania, Hungary and CCCP. At that time, the following standard gauge locomotives were produced: Ty42, Ty45, Ol49, Pt47, TKt48, WP, TKh49, “Śląsk”, 1U, “Baziel”, as well as narrow gauge locomotives; “Ryś”, “Las”, “Hutnik”, Px48, Px49, Kp4, “Baziel”, Tw47, Tw53, “Saranowo”. The ceremony of producing the five thousandth locomotive was celebrated on 23 April 1959, together with the 35th anniversary of locomotive production. Fablok never produced boilers for its steam locomotives, they were supplied before 1945 by Fabryka Budowy Kotłów from Sosnowiec, known as Fitzner i Gamper; later also by other manufacturers.

In the new post-war political and economic reality, the authorities in Warsaw decided to produce mainly diesel locomotives in Chrzanów. Production of diesel locomotives began in 1948. From the beginning of the 1960s, the range of products expanded to include components of railway and tram rolling stock. After 1945, the production of steam locomotives was developed, followed by diesel shunting locomotives (standard gauge and narrow gauge), with power from 40 to 1,200 HP. In total, the factory produced 10,500 steam and diesel locomotives.

After the war, educational and cultural life in the plant and in the city developed again. Already in January 1945, the then director of Fablok, engineer Michał Nosek, established the Industrial School. This was a remedy for the lack of qualified staff. On March 9, 1945, the Private Male Mechanical School of the First Locomotive Factory in Poland S.A. was established in Chrzanów. After numerous transformations, the institution operates to this day (2024) as the Fablok Technical School Complex in Chrzanów. A new building for the school was erected in 1949. In 1950, the Company Cultural Centre began operating, continuing the pre-war activities of the Fablok Sports and Educational Society. A library was also opened at the cultural centre. In 1956, the Fablok Cinema was opened, with a panoramic screen. On the facade of the now abandoned building, you can still admire the ceramic mosaic by Ewa Żygulska.

On 23 April 1959, a ceremony was held to mark the 35th anniversary of the launch of locomotive production, combined with the production of the 5,000th locomotive. It was one of 30 WP type express steam locomotives with a power of 1,800 HP, for a track width of 1,676 mm for the Indian State Railways.

In 1963, the production of steam locomotives came to an end. In addition to locomotives, Fablok produced, among other things, tram transmissions (since 1962), Oerlikon and SAB type braking systems and drilling trucks. In the period 1968 – 1970, a license was purchased and production of DRVA type brake pad adjusters was launched according to the Swedish SAB system.

The diesel locomotive type 1D (Ls300E), which received the designation SM30 on PKP, was the first successful Polish diesel locomotive with an electric transmission. The design of the locomotive was developed in the Central Design Office of the Rolling Stock Industry in Poznań, in the period 1954-1955. The locomotive in the office had the designation 1D. From 1957, the locomotive was produced in series at the Locomotive Factory in Chrzanów, as the factory type Ls300E.

In 1963, the production of Ls-800/6D diesel locomotives with an 800 HP power with an electric transmission was launched, which on PKP were designated SM42/SP42/SU42. In 1963, the production of Ls-750 locomotives with a power of 750 HP with a hydraulic transmission was launched, which turned out to be unsuccessful. In 1970, the production of Ls-800/101D locomotives with a heating boiler, designed to pull light passenger trains, was launched. In 1971, the production of Ls-350/401Da diesel locomotives with an electric transmission was launched. In the period 1973-1975, 37 Ls-800/6D-M locomotives were built for Morocco. In 1976, the production of diesel locomotives of the own design, type 411D, with a power of 1,200 HP, designed for PKP for heavy shunting work, began.

In 1977, the factory’s production profile was expanded to include construction equipment and the name was changed to the BUMAR-FABLOK Construction Machinery and Locomotive Factory. The factory was taken over by the BUMAR Construction Machinery Industry Association in Warsaw. The production included excavators with a bucket capacity of 1.2 m3, cranes with a lifting capacity of 25-28 tons, self-propelled road cranes and hydraulic telescopic booms.

In the period 1947-1993, Fablok produced 5,402 diesel locomotives, of which 37 were exported to Morocco. Locomotives with power from 40 to 1,200 HP were produced: Ls40, Ls75, Ls150, WLs-150, Ls300, Ls-750H, SM42, SP42, SU42, SM31.

After 1989.

The socio-economic changes that began in 1989 had a negative impact on the condition of the plant, as well as thousands of other factories in Poland. Without the support of the central authorities, the privatization process was long and very difficult. In December 1991, Fablok was transformed into a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury. In the 1990s, the production of welded steel structures for the German market began. The production of subsequent crane models was also continued, many of which were sold abroad.

In 1995, the company became part of the 7th NFI (7th National Investment Fund), from which it bought 60% of the shares in March 2003, the Employees’ Joint Stock Company – “Bumar-Fablok” was established two years earlier. The Employees’ Joint Stock Company “Fablok” was established and registered in 2001. After the first acquisition of 60% of the controlling shares of Bumar-Fablok SA by “FABLOK” – Employees’ Joint Stock Company from the 7th State Investment Fund (as part of privatization reforms) in 2003, the ownership of the “Bumar-Fablok” Joint Stock Company was transferred to Employees’ Joint Stock Company Fablok. In 1999, the company received the ISO 9001 certificate. In 2003, cooperation began in the field of construction of frames for tanks. Also in 2003, an agreement was signed for the modernization of two ST44 locomotives for PKP LHS. On March 18, 2005, two modernized ST-44 diesel locomotives with a power of 3,000 HP were transferred to the company; Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa in Zamość. These locomotives were the most modern and powerful diesel locomotives for line transport on Polish tracks at that time.

In June 2006, the production of wheel sets for freight cars with monobloc wheels was launched.

In August 2007, an exhibition presenting the history of Bumar-Fablok S.A. was opened in the “Dom Urbańczyka” Museum in Chrzanów. The exhibition presents the activities of “Fablok” from its foundation to the present day. Rich iconographic material: historical outline, photographs from the visit of President Ignacy Mościcki, information boards from steam locomotives, shares of the first joint-stock company designed by Józef Mehoffer, photographs of steam locomotives, medals, decorations, certificates, publications.

In March 2009, Pol-Miedź Trans received the first of four ordered modernized ST44 series 3000 locomotives from Fablok.

On March 5, 2009, the companies – Fabryka Maszyn Budowlanych i Lokomotyw “Bumar-Fablok” SA and “Fablok” Pracownicza SA – merged. As a result of the merger, a new company was established with the company Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce “Fablok” Spółka Akcyjna. The merger of commercial law companies ended the long-term privatization process of the Chrzanów manufacturer.

On April 3, 2009, the former name of the plant was restored – “Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce Fablok S.A.” On May 21, 2013, the Court in Kraków declared the company bankrupt. The assets of Fablok were purchased by Martech Plus, a company based in Łaziska Górne. P.P.H.U. “MARTECH-PLUS” Marcin Mistarz Spółka Jawna announced that on March 18, 2019, as a result of a tender announced by the bankruptcy trustee, it acquired the ownership rights to the First Locomotive Factory in Poland. In 2019, the land and equipment of the famous Chrzanów factory were purchased by Martech Plus, a company producing locomotives and equipment for the railway industry. Address: 32-500 Chrzanów, ul. Factory 16.

Chrzanów railway station.

Chrzanów railway station was opened in 1856, during the partitions, initially as a railway stop. The investments were carried out by the kk privilegierte Kaiser Ferdinands Nordbahn (KFNB), or the Imperial-Royal Privileged Northern Railway of Emperor Ferdinand. This company existed from March 4, 1836 to January 1, 1906, when it was nationalized. The stop was renamed a railway station in 1867, and at the same time an Austrian-style station was built. It should be noted that there was a misunderstanding between the Chrzanów city councilors and the railway authorities. The councilors insisted that the station be placed on the western side of the tracks and closer to the city center. For unknown reasons, the station was placed on the eastern side of the tracks and further from the city center. As a result, Chrzanów’s development plans had to change.

Chrzanów railway station is located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in the city of Chrzanów. It was always called Chrzanów except for the German occupation, when the Germans gave it the name Krenau, in the period 1941-1945. At that time, the Chrzanów Land was included in the Raj. The Chrzanów station was called Stary Chrzanów or Chrzanów Fablok by the residents, but these were unofficial names.

The station was built as a typical Austrian design, small in size. The building was built of red brick, two-storey, covered with a hipped roof, which was covered with red ceramic tiles. The window openings and doors were decorated with light plaster. The post-Austrian station was still in use in the 1950s. Inside there was a waiting room, ticket offices, a buffet, and service rooms. However, the communists decided to demolish the building and build a new one. The station was built in the 1960s and as everyone says, it is typical communist tastelessness. There was a medical clinic in the building. Currently (2024) the station is closed and inaccessible to travelers.

As early as 1905, there was an iron footbridge over the tracks. During World War II, it was destroyed and rebuilt in the 1950s. Around 1991, a new reinforced concrete footbridge was built. This footbridge was dismantled in 2020.

The renovation of Chrzanów station took place in the period 2020-2022. Although the general layout of the station did not change, the station received modern platforms. The footbridge over the tracks was replaced by a tunnel. The stations were deprived of architectural barriers, which made it much easier for people in wheelchairs to use the trains. Unfortunately, vandals have already left traces of their stay at the new station, in the form of scribbles on all possible elements.

There are two platforms and three platform edges at the station. Platform 1 is a single-edge platform, 200 m long and extends towards Trzebinia. Platform 2 is an island platform, double-edge platform and 200 m long. The platforms have bus shelters with benches, separate benches, display cases with railway information, lighting, audio system, monitoring system. The platform edges are made of prefabricated concrete slabs with yellow warning lines and buttons, and are 1 m x 2 m in size. The rest is covered with 0.40 m x 0.40 m pavement tiles. There is also a linear rainwater drain.

The tunnel connects both platforms and is a pedestrian connection from Fabryczna / Kolejowa streets (on the eastern side) with Stara Huta / Aleja Henryka streets (on the western side). The latter street was supposed to be a representative street from the city center to the railway station, which was to be built here. However, the railway management “C.K. Privileged Northern Railway of Emperor Ferdinand” built the station on the other side of the tracks. That is why the city built a footbridge over the tracks. The tunnel received elevators to serve the disabled, people with small children, people with bicycles and larger luggage.

Passenger traffic at Chrzanów station has been systematically increasing over the last 10 years. In 2017, the station served up to 200 passengers per day, and in 2022, up to 300 passengers per day. On December 3, 2024, 36 passenger trains departed from the station. It was possible to travel to the following stations: Czechowice-Dziedzice, Dębica, Kraków Główny, Kraków Płaszów, Oświęcim, Tarnów. Passengers are served by carriers; PolRegio and Koleje Małopolskie.

Currently, two railway lines run through Chrzanów station; LK No. 93 and LK 126 Chrzanów – Płaza.

LK No. 93 Trzebinia – Zebrzydowice is 81.408 km long, it is a main line of national importance, runs through the Małopolska and Silesian Voivodeships, to the state border, in a south-western direction. On 17 December 1855, the section from Dziedzice station to the current state border was opened. On 1 March 1856, the Trzebinia – Dziedzice section was opened. The entire line is electrified with 3 kV DC. Electrification also occurred in stages; in 1964, the Dziedzice – state border section was electrified, and in 1971, the Trzebinia – Dziedzice section. Currently (2024) on the Trzebinia – Dziedzice section, the speed of the train is up to 120 km/h, and on the Dziedzice – Zebrzydowice section, the speed is up to 160 km/h. Chrzanów station is located at 22.530 km.

Railway line No. 126 Chrzanów – Płaza, is currently a local, single-track, non-electrified line, with a length of 6.537 km. The permitted speed is 20-40 km/h. It used to be the LK Jaworzno Szczakowa – Bolęcin. The line was put into service in 1900. Train traffic was suspended in 1981, on the Jaworzno Szczakowa – Bolęcin section. The tracks were dismantled on the Jaworzno Szczakowa – Chrzanów section. Currently (2024) the LK starts at the Chrzanów station and ends near the loading bay at the former Płaza station. In 1991, the Chrzanów – Bolęcin section was electrified, and in 1995 train traffic was suspended with the simultaneous dismantling of the traction network. Originally, LK No. 126 / 969 connected the following stations: Jaworzno Szczakowa – Jaworzno Niedzielska – KWK Jan Kanty – Jaworzno – Jaworzno Azoty – Bory stop – Bory station – Jaworzno Byczyna – Chrzanów Kąty – Chrzanów – Chrzanów Orlen – Chrzanów ZMO – Pogorzyce – Płaza – Bolęcin. The section of tracks from Jaworzno Szczakowa to Chrzanów was 22.530 km long. It was a very important connection for Chrzanów, but above all for the deep lead ore mine “Matylda” located in Kąty.

Several railway sidings branched off from Chrzanów station, including to; the Fablok factory, dolomite mine, refractory materials plants, lime plants, the “Orlen” liquid fuel bottling plant, meat plants, Hydro Aluminium Chrzanów, textile factory, and the South heating plant.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman