Historic Railway Stations, Documentation and Revitalization of the Railway Infrastructure Facilities - Protection of Cultural and Social Heritage

Abstract

The article presents problems of documentation and adaptation of buildings which constitute the cultural heritage of the railway infrastructure facilities in Pomerania in Poland. Shows the potential and possibility to be adopted for various purposes. This problem affects many sites and buildings, railway stations, railway warehouses, residential buildings, technical buildings, water towers, trackman shelters, bridges, viaducts, culverts, and the track. Technological innovation has been a huge turn which transformed the system of management of railway facilities. While many positive changes occured, many valuable from the point of view of historical, architectural, social and sentimental objects no longer serve their original function. They fall into disrepair or are managed in a haphazard manner. Difficulties with their revitalization are associated with many factors. The main problems are connected witch the of ownership and location of the function socially justified. In small towns there is no need to locate the service facilities of such a large area, or this function already exists far from the train station. The problem underlies in the lack of detailed database on existing resources, their potential for tracking, communication, technical state of buildings, architectural and historical values. A chance for the complex of railway infrastructure is to create a database in order to plan investment, both the scale of entire historical railway lines, and within individual objects. In Pomerania rail system has changed several times. It happened immediately after World War II, and at the end of twentieth century. The closure of many lines resulted in elimination of useful connections not just withering away of the communication system, but above all, loss of function performed originally by the objects of railway buildings. The result was the most serious loss of life centers and decrease their rank. The initiative of creating a database, then the model transformation and social activities in the field gives you a complete, planned activities in the field of railway infrastructure. At the same time it can have an impact on facilitate initiatives and decisions to local communities based on full documentation of resources. Eons ago, life of the community, was focused on the market. However, due to the development of technology, means of transport, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century railway station has become for almost one and a half century, an inıportant site of social life. Adopting a program of revitalization of the railway infrastructure facilities requires the assembly and development of information resources that will be a source of inspiration for local authorities, individual investors and residents. Primary task is to restore a functioning system of railways serving the residents, but equally important is the action of the railway infrastructure in the system of hiking trails, sightseeing, historical, which stinıulate the activity of the local community. All these actions should be taken quickly, otherwise there will be no objects to document and revitalize.