A festive mood visited Bēgiai Park - on Thursday, an exceptional Christmas tree made from the remains of the rails was lit here. It is expected that the long-lasting Christmas tree will attract the attention of visitors and encourage them to look creatively at Christmas decorations and to choose secondary use more often.
Weighing almost one and a half tons, the 262 cm tall Christmas tree is the only one of its kind in Lithuania, and possibly in the world. The author of the Christmas tree idea is Saulius Vitartas, engineer of the railway turn technology company Voestalpine Railway Systems.
"When making the Christmas tree, we used the remnants of rails of different lengths, which we usually give to scrap metal buyers. In order for the tree to be not only beautiful, but also safe, we had to create as many as four digital models of the tree. We wanted the Christmas tree to be made using available equipment, and when it was made, it would stand stably in outdoor conditions, it would not need additional fortifications and it would be easy enough to transport," says the author of the Christmas tree.
The production of a Christmas tree of approximately two and a half meters is difficult. According to the author, just cutting the rails to the required lengths took about 20 hours. The shape of the Christmas tree was also fixed and constructed for about 8 hours.
Focus on sustainability and saving energy resources
When creating the Christmas mood in Bēgiau Park, great attention is paid to sustainability and saving energy resources. In Naujininkai, near the main headquarters of LTG, Bėgiu Park uses LED bulbs for festive lighting, which require a small amount of electricity to operate. All lighting will be switched on only during the dark hours of the day, from 16 p.m. until 24:XNUMX, and will delight the eyes of visitors until the Three Kings holiday.
"When creating the Track Park, we chose sustainable solutions - we used old sleepers for the tracks, restored old benches, used used fuel tanks for planting plants. For this reason, the Christmas tree made from the remnants of the tracks is perfectly in line with both the concept of the Rail Park and the values of LTG," says Daiva Pivoriūnienė, head of LTG Asset Management Services.
The railway Christmas tree will visit all railway stations
Bėgių Parkas is the first stop of the Bėgių Christmas tree, but according to representatives of the company that made the tree, it will travel to other cities' railway stations every year. the stationuntil they visit all of Lithuania.
The Christmas rail tree will be standing in the Rail Park until January 6. In the authentic space, guests will also be able to view historical rolling stock: locomotives, railcars, a tank tractor, a steam locomotive, a restaurant-wagon, various devices used for track maintenance. Visitors can also enjoy a magical historical bell that fulfills travel wishes, and for the little guests, a festively decorated train and a swing made of train wheels.
The track park is open to visitors every day from 8 a.m. to 20 p.m., entrance to the park is free. Access to the park is via stairs from the pedestrian overpass Vilnius railway station or come or ride a bike through the gate on the Pelesa street side.
