EN
The development and the decline of forest railway networks in Poland are still poorly investigated by scientists. Unfortunately, the availability of data is limited, therefore paper is focused on the period after the Second World War. In this time almost 40 forest railways were exploited. A synthetic review of the history of the most of them is carried out on the regional basis. The main reasons of the forest railway networks development includes massive harvest done in the forests by the occupants and the lack of paved roads in forest areas. The reasons of the decline of the network were similar as in the case of sugar beet railways: exploitation of the rolling stock and infrastructure, supply problems and the development of alternative means of transport, as well as the outflow of workforce and declining availability of wood sources near the railway tracks, which resulted in increasing costs of haulage. In some regions of Poland the restrictions in use of forest railways are also caused by the preservation of the natural environment.