The Upper Silesia Narrow-Gauge Railways

The first railway line in the Upper Silesia, with normal tracks, started running in 1846 and connected Wrocław with Mysłowice. Unfortunately, it evaded many crucial cities, and it was often because of the people who lived in those cities, who generated lots of ridiculous reasons, for which the presence of the railway would be inadvisable. But shortly thereafter, it turned out, that the railway was promoting the economic development. In the early 1850s, construction began on
railway lines with a 785-millimeter track gauge – smaller than the gauge used by the normak track railway. These railway lines connected hundreds of industrial factories, allowing to transport goods and occasionally also passengers. Before the railway was nationalized by the Prussian country in 1883, the greatest investor was the Towarzystwo Kolei Górnośląskich. Over time, it merged many fragments, operated by other private entrepreneurs, into one system. After World War II, the
Upper Silesia Narrow-Gauge Railways were hosted by PKP. The first railway lines connected Tarnowskie Góry with Wirek (currently a district of Ruda Śląska) and Karb (a district of Bytom) with Szopienice (a district of Katowice).

At the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, the popular „Rosbanka” rides irregularly at the fragment between Bytom PKP Wąskotorowy and Miasteczko Śląskie. The railway line is more than 21 kilometers long; the train rides through this distance in not much more than 1 hour, transporting tourists.