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The main activity of the S.M.P.D. Society is building and operating of the park
railway in the biocentre and sporting recreational area Olympia Brno. The main
investor and plant operator of the biocentre is company Somerston Olympia CZ. Brno´s
architectural company Arch.Design in conjunction with major landscape planner Zdenek
Sendler maked conception and project this area.
Company Bovis Lend Lease provides supervision of construction and co-ordination
of procedures, company Trasko provides ground shaping and ballast laying and
company OK Mont provides track laying without main station. These track producing
Ostrava´s company Ferrmon. Company Velecky from Krenovice producing all switches
and track for main station.
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We signed an agreement on exercise of a building and operating of the park railway
in April 2010. The company Argo s.r.o. is a conventional partner for Olympia. The
company Argo is an owner and operator of the park railway. And we could realize
our project. But one more thing delayed us - a building licence. Our buildings
of the main station subject to regular building control. And we had to wait ... |
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We are on the home straight - building of the round-house started.
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Mounds of earth are gone from place for round-house and we can start with excavate
at last. A volume of excavated earth is about 500 cubic metres. This is the same
volume as transported earth. A view on the excavated pit indicate that the round-house
with twenty-two radial rails will really imposing building. This round-house will
a dominant future of the station surely. We want to concrete foundations and build
a rough construction till the winter. We hope that the weather will good, but last
rainy days kept us a little.
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"Open day" was organized from two reasons. The first reason was a recent change of
the owner of Olympia centre. British investor (company Somerstone), which the whole
shopping centre built, ran it more year and guided it on front place between shopping
centres, it sold its "baby" to German capital fund. We had more questions with change
of the owner, because our project is for several years ahead and financially intensive.
Where will directed new owner operation and prospective next development of the centre?
And how will look it on our activities, which are out off today popular "shopping
activities". I do not want to state the Czechify expression. Did you hear sentence:
"Where will go to shopping today?" You will not enjoy this activity in our park railway.
You will buy a ticket, definitely! But you will feast one´s eyes on ride the park
fifteen minutes. And you will rest from shopping. This is amazing interconnection
of shopping centre and relaxation in the park. We hope that new owners will support
it.
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The second no less important reason was presentation our project for sponsors and
cooperate companies. The sponsors have entitlement to see, how is their finance used.
Construction companies can to have a look at their work at rest. Because it is not
time in the course of working week.
So we met together on this tropical day, on Thursday 25th August 2011. Top management
of the Olympia centrum, the mayors of Brno-south and Modrice, representatives of our
sponsors, representatives of buildings companies and journalist represented on the part
of the visitors. Representatives of company Argo s.r.o. and members of the S.M.P.D.
society represented on the part of the organizers. Participants inspected main station
and they acquainted with our next planes after celebratory drink. They went by special
train from the central station. This train was drawn by our new diesel locotractor
Gmeinder. We made a small buffet lunch for participants after special ride in the
workshop.
Thank you all participants for their interest in building of our park railway and we
believe that we open park railway as soon as possible.
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A building of the main station was initiated
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We lived to experience in the late August 2010. The surveyor's office issued a
building licence and we could to start. You find a further particulars in the
section Railway execution.
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The biocentre and sporting recreational area Olympia Brno inauguration |
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The biocentre and sporting recreational area Olympia Brno was inauguration
on Saturday, 22th May 2010. We opened first section of the Park
Railway Olympia Brno, about 400 meters.
We could see engines of S.M.P.D. Society and host models from Usti nad Orlici,
Hradec Kralove and Skalsko too. We prepared festive toast and small buffet.
For more detailed information see the section
Photo gallery or click on the next picture.
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Shopping center Olympia Brno matched up a press conference on Thursday 20th May
on the occasion of the biocentre and sporting recreational area open. For more
detailed information see the section
Park railway execution.
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How did all this come about
History of our park railway started at Brno´s fair "For Children" in the spring
2009. Mr Ales Navratil, managing director of shopping centre Olympia asked us,
if you would like build a park railway in their new biocentre and sporting
recreational area. But there have two conditions - fixed date of opening and
warranty of regular commercial operating.
Following days did not easy for us - we solved big dilemma. It was very interesting
offer on the one hand. We vainly would sought best place for attractive rental
price and place with regular high visit rate. We wanted ourself build park
railway, but prices for lots near Brno are very high for us, thanks to lots
speculators. And go farther from Brno is not very good with respect to unpleasant
commuting and security guard. But Olympia went any further with their offer.
Olympia offered us, that they will partially share in track building. It was
very attractive proposition. |
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We shall have to ensure regular commercial operating on the other hand. And
here is risk for us, that we will verbatim "be tied up" into park railway.
And our nice hobby can become commonplace us. There is a substantial difference
in the riding for joy and in the riding perforce. This problem may solve S.M.P.D.
Society and its new members, who are railway´s enthusiasts, but they have not
financial resources for purchase relatively expensive models. Perhaps we find
boys (but girls too) who would like to drive small steam engines. S.M.P.D.
has been registered last year and it offers membership in S.M.P.D. Society.
And we solved one more technical problem. The building-up of biocentre was
high when we started our negotiations with Mr Navratil. We would jump into
fast ridden train with respect to date of opening.
Every visitor this web pages have to sense our decision. Yes, we have decided
to pack it in fully after objective consideration all pro and con. With all
risks of contingent penalties for break deadline. We awake to put no small private
money for start this project. And we must look for prospective sponsors because of
next funding of buildings. We are simply railway madmen. |
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We formulated our ideas of park railway during the first weeks of negotiations.
Example for us was park railway in Le Bouveret, Switzerland because this project
is for several decade years. Our project is able to savour maximalist, but we
do not want underestimate nothing. Further interferences into functional biocentre
could have been a problem. We had several technical negotiations with Mr Tomas
Kopal - development manager. We totally affected his schedule our incursion
into started building. But a small railway has his rules and patterns with
respect to gradients and curves radii. Mr Kopal had to remove large quantity
of mould for maintenance. And original path of in-line skating rink must have
been changed, too. Bridging of park railway must have originate in the left
side. But Mr Kopal is a professional and he has sense of improvize because he
implemented all our requierements gradually. And first curves of track started
rising in monitors of Mr Jakub Kapsa and Mrs Iva Dadakova from Arch.Design
company. But we did not realize everything (course of line especially), because
we inhere in biocentre and we had to respect restrictions of conservationists.
Mr Zdenek Sendler was a main negotiator and he tried to find a face-saver.
Maybe we designed park railway which will be attractive for active and inactive
visitors of our railway. Especially parties behind tunnel around wooden labyrinth,
which draughtsmen from Arch.Design company devised. |
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Concurrently with engineering solution we discussed about conditions of the trade
agreement. Company Argo, which own three Brno´s modellers, had become business partner
for Olympia. Mr Navratil is really a very good businessman. The business dealings
about conditions were exacting but bilateral correct. We are not a default partner
for Olympia which has a stall and which sell merchandise, but we think that we passed
in this examination. Our activity will not be gainful and all pay-off cover only
our cost. We would like to Mr Kopa D.C.L. which stands proxy for us in a legall
matters.
The contract was signed and start of the test operation will soon. We had bought
17 tonn of U rolled stock for station track and switches producing before signature
of the contract. We entered the producing with the firm Velecky. The selection
procedure of producing track for line section won company OK Mont. But this year´s
long winter not wished developers. Company Trasko under the direction Mr Fencl
started to modulate a trackbed and ballast laying with a first spring days. Company
OK Mont under the direction Mr Pavel Bock currently implements track laying. The
track section from station Amphitheatre for reset loop will open on a day of the
inauguration.
We thank all parties concerned on building of the park railway. If we do the job
properly so our park railway will rank among significant park railways in Europe. |
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Map of the Shopping and breather centrum Olympia |
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