MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS OF COAL TRUNKLINE IN SLASK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600330817-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2011
• Sequence Number: 817
• Publication Date: August 21, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600330817-8
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIACo~&?y 2TL L
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY Poland
SUBJECT Transportation - Rail
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Warsaw
DATE
PUBLISHED Dec 1949
LANGUAGE . Polish
TH IS 000ONONT CONTAIN. U/ONMATWN ANIrrnN1 Till NATIONAL DIFIN9
OF Tel [phone]A1011 1111110 Ter 11ANi111111O1 0- 11110111[ ACT Be
N. S. C.. 111 AND 00 Al *010010. ITS T1Ar11 01 Tel NrVRATION
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DATE OF
INFORMATION 1949
DATE DIST. L.~ A950
S
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
Przeglad Komunikacyjny, No 12, 1949.
MAINTENANCE PROBIEMS OF COAL TRUNKLINE IN SLASK
The Katowice region has the heaviest railroad freight! traffic in Poland.
The so-called coal truridine runs between Herby Nowe and Gdynia and connects
the Slask coal fields and metallurgical plants in Katowice, Bytom, and Gliwice
with the port of Gdynia. This trunkline has special problems, independent of
the heavy traffic, in the maintenance of its roadbed, superstructure, bridges,
and buildings not encountered elsewhere.
One of-the most serious difficulties results from the settling of tracks
because of mining in the area. Considerable areas of Upper Slask are undermined
through the removal of coal or ores. Mine galleries, usually abandoned,"often
extend beneath the main centers of cities and beneath transportation lines.
During the occupation, the Germans neglected.to fill in the worked seams and,
this resulted in the caving in of tracks and roadbeds, especially during 1945 -
1948.
Sometimes a uniform settling of both roadbed and superstructure takes
place over s; large area. At other times fissures appear suddenly. Constant
vigilance on the part of maintenance crews to eliminate or'mitigate the damage
so far has prevented serious accidents.
Tracks and roadbeds which have settled sometimes need to be raised a meter
or more and filled in with slag or other material. First the gaps must be filled
in because rail joints are knocked out of place. The roadbed surface must be
replaced. Often the ditches become filled up and prevent proper drainage. Bridges
present :tbe ' most. '. serious, problem. When settling is uneven, they crack or
show considerable caving.. in. Bridges of latest construction have foundations
of reinforced concrete slabs, with abutments that are thick enough to allow for
settling'up to 2 meters.
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STATE NAVY NSRB DISTRIBUTION
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600330817-8
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600330817-8
Under these conditions there are frequent cases where escarpment are
shifted, tracks twisted, rails loosened, curves deformed, and tracks have
settled on one side. Sometimes hundreds of carloads of building materials
must be transported for the repair of damage due to settling, usually during
peak traffic periods.
At present, settling in mine areas occurs less frequently since most
galleries are now being fiLled in with sand driven in under water pressure
after the coal is removed. Usually settling takes place over narrow stretches
and is recurrent over a period of years at widely varying intervals.
For example, in some instances tue track settles daily and must be raised and
reinforced daily for a period of two weeks. In such cases maintenance is ex-
tremely difficult. Side embankments disappear; the surface of the roadbed
constantly changes, and milestones are lost.
Another maintenance problem in the area arises from the fact that coal
dust drops from the coal cars and mingles with the gravel surface of the ruad-
bed. Rain causes it to fJi .?:=acn?d - mass ass vi.th the gravel, which prevents
a .?..
drainage. Under the.pressure of moving trains it disintegrates and forms ruts.
Railroad structures are also difficult to maintain in Gorny Slask, not
only because of settling but also due to the presence of different kinds of
smoke and fumes. All building in the area should be built with tie beams be-
cause walls frequently crack and sometimes cave in.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000600330817-8