← Atlas catalogue · project 026

Osława valley · the Bieszczady

Lost branches of the Bieszczady Forest Railway

Three branches, three different ways of vanishing: dismantled, skipped, extended. Compare two dates for one branch and see what the document really says about the change and what is not known.

Dismantled Prełuki before 1936 Skipped Duszatyn 1950s plan Extended Mików 3.9 km · 1959 link

Show the comparison

  • solid: track exists
  • double with arrowhead: extended
  • dotted: dismantled
  • dashed: decision, track not described
  • diagonal hatching: no data
  • empty outline: no track at this stage
  • short dash: no entry in the undated column

The signs are a diagram of decisions, not a map or plan: they have no scale or route.

Compare two dates for one branch

Branch: Prełuki · dismantled

The comparison tool and the trace tally require JavaScript. The table and the three dossiers below contain the same data in static form.

DISMANTLED

Prełuki · c. 1927 → before 1936

    All three at once

    The same record seen as a whole: what the material says about each branch at each stage. The stages chosen in the comparison tool are marked in the header and in the row of the selected branch.

    The stages are a sequence, not a time scale: the width of the columns means nothing. The table and the signs are a diagram of decisions, not a map or plan: they have no scale or route. The line patterns are explained by the legend under the signs at the top of the page; the green outline and the labels “from” and “to” mark only the stages chosen in the comparison tool. The last column collects facts without a year and lies off the axis.
    Branch 1921–23 c. 1927 before 1936 1950s 1959 1997+ No year · off the axis
    Prełukidismantled None: the source dates the construction only to c. 1927 In operation, 2.2 km Dismantled (source: before 1936) No track; the reconstruction plan did not provide for it No change: no mention of the track being relaid No data on the state of the branch Nothing: for this branch the source gives dates
    Duszatynskipped No data on the state of the branch No data on the state of the branch No data on the state of the branch Decision: outside the reconstruction plan; fate of the track: no data No data on the state of the branch No data on the state of the branch The branch belonged to the pre-war layout; year unknown
    Mikówextended No data on the Mików branch No data on the Mików branch No data on the Mików branch Extended to 3.9 km Link between Mików and Smolnik (not known whether via this branch); 73 km network (per V2) No data on the state of the branch The branch existed before the extension; its length and year are unknown

    “1950s” and “1997+” are periods from the V2 material, not dates of events. In 1997 tourist services returned on the Majdan–Przysłupie section [3], that is outside these branches; the current offer is described by the operator [4].

    Three dossiers, uneven material

    Each branch has as much dossier as there is material in the source pack. The Prełuki branch has the most, Duszatyn the least, and it stays that way here. The gaps have not been filled with an invented map or photograph.

    Dismantled · Prełuki, the Kołodiażny stream valley

    Material: two dates and a length
    Record in the material (summary from V2, to be checked in [1])
    Around 1927, 2.2 km of track was branched off the main line along the Kołodiażny stream valley, to a timber depot. According to the Fundacja Torem Osławy study, the branch was dismantled before 1936.
    Order of events
    1. c. 1927 · built, 2.2 km
    2. before 1936 · dismantled
    3. 1950s · the reconstruction plan did not provide for it, although the track was already gone
    What follows
    The track was taken up before the post-war reconstruction, so the omission from the 1950s plan is not the cause of the branch’s disappearance. This is what distinguishes Prełuki from Duszatyn.
    What is not known
    The year of dismantling (there is only “before 1936”), its extent, the reason, the coordinates and a plan of the branch.
    Present-day trace
    No data: the pack contains no photographs or measurements. A rail or embankment found today settles nothing, see the section on the trace.

    Skipped · Duszatyn

    Material: one decision, no year
    Record in the material (summary from V2, [1])
    The former Duszatyn branch belonged to the pre-war layout. The reconstruction plan of the 1950s did not provide for restoring it.
    Order of events
    1. no year · existed in the pre-war layout
    2. 1950s · skipped in the reconstruction plan
    3. afterwards · fate of the track: no data
    What is not known
    Whether, when and by whom the track was taken up, and what remained in the forest. The years 1921–1923 concern the Rzepedź–Duszatyn section, not this branch.

    Extended · Mików

    Material: a length and the 1959 date
    Record in the material (summary from V2, [1] and [2])
    During the post-war reconstruction the branch in the Mików area was extended to 3.9 km. In 1959 a new link between Mików and Smolnik joined the Rzepedź–Smolnik line to the Nowy Łupków–Cisna route.
    Order of events
    1. no year · the branch existed before the extension
    2. 1950s · extended to 3.9 km
    3. 1959 · link to Smolnik
    What is not known
    The length before the extension, the year of the extension, and whether the 1959 link ran along this very branch.

    Trace on the ground: what settles it, what is missing

    A find receives neither a grade nor a match score. It receives three lists of clues: consistent with the record, contradicting the record, and those that settle nothing. At the end stands what is missing to settle the matter.

    Prełuki · embankment or levelled strip

    Consistent with the record

      Contradicting the record

        Settles nothing

          Missing evidence

          What is missing to settle anything (for each branch)

          • Prełuki: the year and extent of the dismantling from a document, and the position of the branch on a plan or in a survey.
          • Duszatyn: a document on the fate of the track after the reconstruction (taken up or left, and when) and the year of existence of the pre-war branch.
          • Mików: the 3.9 km route on a plan, the year of the extension and the relation of the branch to the 1959 link to Smolnik.

          The result does not point to a place or give permission to enter. In nature reserves leaving the marked trails is prohibited, and active railway tracks are closed to pedestrians. A former track is not a trail. Do not take or move any elements you find.

          Sources and limits

          1. Fundacja Torem Osławy — zarys dziejów [outline of the history]Basis for Prełuki (2.2 km), Duszatyn (1921–1923 layout), Mików (3.9 km) and the link with Smolnik in 1959. Link carried over from V2, not opened in this session.
          2. Fundacja BKL — historia, część 5 [history, part 5]The post-war network 73 km long and passenger services. Link carried over from V2, not opened in this session.
          3. Fundacja BKL — historia, część 6 [history, part 6]The return of tourist services in 1997 (Majdan–Przysłupie). Link carried over from V2, not opened in this session.
          4. Fundacja BKL — trasy [routes]The operator’s current service offer. This page gives neither timetables nor prices; the content of the link was not checked. Link carried over from V2.
          5. Wikimedia Commons — Kp4 3772, photo by Gerd Eichmann (CC BY 4.0)A photograph from V2; it illustrated the railway, not the branches. In V3 it is neither loaded nor embedded; only the link remains.

          Limits of the findings

          • The facts come from the input pack (V2 and the V1 descriptions). The summaries are not quotations and have not been checked against the sources here.
          • The table and the signs are a diagram of relations and of the order of decisions, not a map. It contains no coordinates, scale or route.
          • The values “before 1936”, “1950s” and “1997+” are intervals. No data means no data, not “no change” and not zero.
          • The page does not identify traces, does not point to routes and does not give timetables.

          What changed compared with V2

          • The era slider and the animated network diagram were replaced by a table showing all three branches at once and by a comparison of two dates.
          • Removed: confirming a source with a click (it turned a hypothesis into the appearance of fact), the detector’s “match” score, the log kept in browser memory, and the terrain-relief and nature-reserve field, which did not change the result.
          • Kept: the dates, lengths and sources, and the rule that an undocumented route stays undocumented.