3. Gniezno abandoned railway ( 3 of 7 )

The railways was one of the most vital aspects of Nazi Germany during world war 2 . Without its infrastructure, its probably doubtful that Hitler could have kept his war machine running at the pace that it did. At its peak, Nazi Germany had control of over 100,00 miles of railway lines throughout those occupied countries. I am in Poland. This country was the main passageway into Russia, so there is a lot to look at here. I`ll be exploring abandoned railway lines, abandoned turntables Abandoned tunnels, Dombunkers, and a railway line running through a mountain. So in the next few videos, ill be taking you around these old structures and give you some of the history of what me and you are looking at. In this video I take a look at the abandoned section of the railway in Gniezno. In 1872, a line was built from Poznań through Gniezno,to Toruń and Bydgoszcz. At that time, a railway station, a water tower, administrative buildings and the first four-station locomotive shed were built. In 1875, a line to Oleśnica was built, and together with the track, a second depot was built, the buildings of which gave rise to the present facility. The buildings of the locomotive shed were gradually expanded, and at the beginning of the 20th century the entire track system of the station was rebuilt. Among others, a second fan hall, a night shelter and a water tower were built. A narrow-gauge railway station was built near the depot at the end of the 19th century. During World War I, a road bridge over the track was built in the immediate vicinity of the engine shed. During the war in 1939, the locomotive shed was bombed by the Luftwaffe. Some of the buildings were seriously damaged, which were immediately repaired after the arrival of the Germans. After the September 1939 invasion of Poland, the locomotive shed experienced a period of the most dynamic development. This was related to the "Otto" plan to prepare the German infrastructure and industry for an attack on the Soviet Union. As part of the expansion of the Gniezno railway junction, a goods and marshalling yard was built on the so-called "Trzy Mostach", (Three Bridges) a supply line for steam locomotives and a large part of the locomotive sheds. The constructed buildings include: part of the newer fan hall, crane hall, workshop wing, canteen, power plant, fire station, central heating boiler room and a coach room. Gniezno was expanded to around 350 acres. It was difficult to completely explore this area as I noticed someone working at the time of my visit, so had had to be discrete. Such a shame as I wanted to see the turntable working and explore the railway sheds. Maybe another time.. Thanks for watching !!