Pilchowicki II Tunnel
| Pilchowicki II Tunnel | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of Pilchowicki II Tunnel | |
| Overview | |
| Other name | Hofeberg Tunnel (German) |
| Line | Jelenia Góra–Żagań railway |
| Location | Pilchowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Status | Active[1] |
| Crosses | Dwory hill, Bóbr Valley |
| Start | Pilchowice Zapora side |
| End | Pilchowice Nielestno side |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 28 August 1909[1] |
| Owner | Polish State Railways |
| Operator | Polish State Railways |
| Traffic | Railway |
| Character | Single-track railway tunnel |
| Technical | |
| Length | 153.85 m (504.8 ft)[1][2] |
The Pilchowicki II Tunnel is a railway tunnel near Pilchowice in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of south-western Poland. It forms part of the Jelenia Góra–Żagań railway in the scenic Bóbr Valley.[1][2]
With a length of 153.85 m (504.8 ft), it is one of the three historic railway tunnels on the Pilchowice–Wleń section of the line.[1][3]
Description
The tunnel lies between Pilchowice Zapora and Pilchowice Nielestno on line no. 283.[1] It was excavated beneath Dwory hill in the Bóbr Valley, on the winding mountain section of the railway between Jelenia Góra and Wleń.[1][3]
Atlas Kolejowy gives the tunnel's length as 153.85 m (504.8 ft) and describes it as a single-track structure beneath Dwory hill.[1] The same source notes that the track through the tunnel falls continuously towards Wleń at gradients of 17.21 and 16.60‰, with a difference in rail level of 2.93 metres between the portals.[1]
Wojciech Preidl includes the tunnel among the historic railway tunnels of Lower Silesia, forming part of the technically demanding group of structures built on the short Pilchowice–Wleń section.[3]
History
The tunnel was built during the early 20th-century construction of the railway through the Bóbr valley, a route requiring numerous bridges and tunnels because of the narrow and winding topography of the river gorge.[2][3]
Przemysław Dominas places the construction of the tunnel group on this section in the years 1906–1909.[2] According to Atlas Kolejowy, the Pilchowicki II Tunnel entered service on 28 August 1909.[1]
Preidl writes that the tunnels on this line were the only railway tunnels in Lower Silesia to suffer wartime damage caused by military action, when their portals were blown up by German forces during the final phase of the Second World War.[3] After the war, the damaged portals were rebuilt in reinforced concrete rather than in their original architectural form.[3]
Legacy
The Pilchowicki II Tunnel remains part of the railway infrastructure of the former Bóbr Valley line and is one of the characteristic engineering works of the Pilchowice area.[1][2] Together with the nearby Czyżyk Tunnel and Pilchowicki III Tunnel, it forms part of a notable concentration of historic railway tunnels in Lower Silesia.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Pilchowicki II (tunel)" (in Polish). Atlas Kolejowy Polski, Czech i Słowacji. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e Dominas, Przemysław (2020). "Tunele kolejowe na Dolnym Śląsku". In Przerwa, Tomasz; Keller, Dawid; Kruk, Bartosz (eds.). A jednak kolej! Historyczne i współczesne uwarunkowania rozwoju transportu (PDF) (in Polish). Wrocław: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej. pp. 66–69. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g Preidl, Wojciech (2005). "Dolnośląskie tunele kolejowe – zabytki techniki" (PDF). Górnictwo i Geoinżynieria (in Polish). 29 (3/1): 319–329. Retrieved 9 March 2026.