Workshops at the Praga - Warsaw station

The Praga railway station was located outside Warsaw. It was a first-class station, the largest in the area, and quite extensive as it consisted of many buildings: a station building for passengers, a refuge for steam engines, and railway workshops. In order to build numerous turnouts for trains, the former cemetery for those who died of cholera had to be removed.

The passenger building was built of wood, according to Russian models. It was a one-storey building, with a rather large ground plan. It had a roof over the entire length of the platform side. On the driveway side the entrance was enclosed between two decorative turrets with pointed roofs.

The fire station was circular and could accommodate 21 steam locomotives.

At that time, Prague was not within the city limits. Because of the distance, cab drivers took advantage of this, charging quite high prices for transporting passengers from the capital to the station.

The location of the railway station had a great impact on Prague society. Many people found employment here, often whole families. Fathers and sons worked on the railway. At that time, the profession of railwayman had social recognition, it was prestigious and the railwayman was a respected person.

The Prague railway had great strategic significance. It trans-shipped export goods from Russia to Western Europe. It enabled the rapid transport of troops and weapons. Precisely for this reason, the station, like many others, was burnt down during World War I by retreating Russian troops after the evacuation of military property.