Thread by @JoKingScholar

🚂 @PKP_SA celebrates its 96th birthday 🎂🎉 #OTD 26.09 the 🇵🇱 state railways were established.

Here's a little #history🧵on its origins (for all #train buffs & railfans)

#PolishHistory #Poland #History #railway #travel #tourism

Although much of the infrastructure within the borders of newly-independent 🇵🇱 had been destroyed during #WWI, 🇵🇱 was very quick to reestablish its railways. New lines sprang up allowing for economic development and integration.

The railways and their unification was not an easy task as some had to be rebuilt to standardise tracks across the lands of the former partitions. Finance was also a major issue: foreign capital was sought – to little avail.

However, one railway – from Herby to Gdynia – was built using 🇫🇷 funds, and is ‘considered the greatest achievement of the 🇵🇱 railways during the interwar period’, as it linked the economically important coal areas of Silesia to 🇵🇱 harbours.

In spite of all these hurdlws, modernisation was being achieved. Cars made to incorporate standard luxuries of the Interwar age, including spaces for dancing 💃🏼 & bathing 🛁.

During the week, as legend goes, you could set your ⌚️ by the punctual train arrivals ‼️

A sort of 🚂 limousine, Luxtorpeda trains became a symbol of the pizzazz of the #Interwar. Based on an 🇦🇹 design, and named after the Latin for light, due to their speeds of over 110 km/h the luxurious cars took the country by storm.

A legend on the tracks, they zipped between key 🇵🇱 cities, driving around 60 passengers who paid high ticket prices (around the price of 40 loaves of 🥖‼️) They were first-class only.

They were most often used to reach the fashionable Zakopane, the 🇵🇱 St Mortiz

🚄 Luxtorpedas were truly one of a k kind. In fact, according to historians, in 1936, a Luxtorpeda set a still unbroken record journey time between Kraków and Zakopane, of 2️⃣ hours, 18 minutes ‼️⏱

Apart from economical gains trains became an important component of 🇵🇱 culture, inspiring musicians, writers & artists alike. The obvious interwar cultural reference to trains is Julian Tuwim’s onomatopoeic poem Lokomotywa, a popular children’s classic ever since.

Poof, how she’s burning,
Oof, how she’s boiling,
Puff, how she’s churning,
Huff, how she’s toiling.
She’s fully exhausted and all out of breath,
Yet the coalman continues to stoke her to death.
Julian Tuwim, Lokomotywa

In the summer of 39, weeks ahead of🇩🇪&🇷🇺 invasion of 🇵🇱, @PKP_SA was a highly interconnected, modern marvel. There were even freezer cars facilitating the transit of perishables! Together with the outbreak of #WWII however, everything changed, but that's a story for another time.

🎥 National Railways @PKP_SA during the #interwar. Translated and close captioned for your convenience. Enjoy.

🚂 #PolishHistory #History #interwar #WWII #PKP #OTD #video #Poland

@PL1918 @W_Roszkowski @ipngovpl_eng @PolishEmbassyUS @AgainstRevisio1 @arekmularczyk @niepodlegla @CecilieHolter

For a more thorough history see the excellent article by @JCBretan culture.pl/en/article/ful… as well as and Carsten Trenkler & Nikolaus Wolf publication cambridge.org/core/journals/…