2003 Photo Contest, Science & Technology, 3rd prize
Photographer

Witold Krassowski

Network Photographers for National Geographic

01 May, 2002

Piekna Helena, the fastest engine under steam, Wolsztyn, Poland. The locomotives that ply the route from Wolsztyn to Poznan in western Poland form one of the last scheduled steam-train services in Europe. Huge OL-49 engines, more than half a century old, consume up to 18,000 liters of water, three tons of coal, and eight liters of oil on the 180-kilometer round trip. It takes one-and-a-half hours for the drivers to prepare the train for the journey, stoking up the boiler to build up steam.

About the photographer

Witold Krassowski

Witold Krassowski is a photographer, specializing in social documentary and reportage for over 30 years. His work has been widely published across Europe, especially in Britain. ...

This image is collected in