Mulda – Sayda narrow-gauge railway

0.000	Mulda (Sachs)	429 m
	(Connection of the Nossen – Moldau railway line )
0.186	Mulda viaduct (184.5 m)
0.703	Chemnitzbach Bridge (16 m)
4.890	Wolfsgrund	473 m
5.714	Chemnitzbach Bridge (12.5 m)
6.156	Mühlgraben Bridge (12.5 m)
6.414	Chemnitzbach Bridge
6.780	Mühlgraben Bridge
7.002	Dorfchemnitz (b Sayda)	499 m
7.529	Chemnitzbach Bridge (14.3 m)
7.890	Chemnitzbach Bridge (14.3 m)
8.191	Chemnitzbach Bridge (14.3 m)
8.440	Chemnitzbach and Mühlgraben bridges (14.3 m)
8.900	Bridge Voigstdorfer Bach
8.448	Chemnitzbach Bridge (21 m)
8,971	Voigtsdorf (Sachs)	525 m
10.990	EÜ Wirtschaftsweg
11.530	Unterfriedebach	574 m
11.986	Friedebach bridge
12,476	Friedebach	594 m
13,392	EÜ Wirtschaftsweg
15,486	Sayda	681 m

The narrow-gauge railway Mulda – Sayda was a Saxon narrow-gauge railway with 750 mm gauge in the Eastern Ore Mountains . It ran from Mulda on the Nossen – Moldau railway through the Chemnitzbachtal to Sayda . The line, opened in 1897, only served local traffic needs, in 1966 the traffic was stopped and the line was then dismantled.

history

Memorial plaque at Sayda train station (2016)

prehistory

As early as the second half of the 19th century, people in Sayda and in the Chemnitzbachtal wanted a railway connection, because it was expected to be a step forward. The Leipzig-Dresdner Eisenbahn-Compagnie received permission in 1871 to carry out project planning work for a railway line crossing the Ore Mountains from Freiberg to Brüx . The petition Saydas to lead the railway line of the city, was rejected due to the resulting unfavorable route. Despite the rejection, the opening of the Nossen – Moldau railway improved the traffic situation , as Sayda was only about 10 km from Bienenmühle station , and the lower Chemnitzbachtal with Mulda station was also given a nearby station. The plans drawn up in 1878 for a railway line from Olbernhau via Oberneuschönberg , Niederheidersdorf , Sayda, Friedebach , Cämmerswalde and Clausnitz to Bienenmühle also failed.

When the Berthelsdorf – Großhartmannsdorf railway was opened in 1890 , an extension of the standard-gauge railway to Sayda was soon planned. At the same time, the construction of a narrow-gauge railway from Mulda station to Sayda was considered, with which the calculated annual traffic volume was slightly lower than for the standard-gauge railway. In addition to the petition submitted on November 21, 1891 for the Mulda – Sayda narrow-gauge railway, the Großhartmannsdorf – Sayda project was also submitted to the state parliament . Even after another petition for the narrow-gauge railway on November 13, 1893, it was not yet possible to agree on a variant. It was not until February 15, 1894 that the building of the narrow-gauge railways Cranzahl-Oberwiesenthal , Kohlmühle-Hohnstein and Mulda-Sayda was decided by the Second Chamber.

Track construction and opening

Surveying work began in May 1894 and was completed in the autumn of the same year. Construction work on the new line only began in June 1896, but the groundbreaking ceremony had already taken place a month earlier. The work progressed quickly, the earthworks were largely completed before the winter of 1896/97 and the first 1000 m of track laid. In the following year, work focused primarily on laying track and building buildings. An average of 424 people per month were employed in railway construction. The building acceptance took place at the end of June 1897, and apart from minor details, no defects were reported. The construction time was only 13 months, but the last remaining work was carried out by the end of 1897. The construction costs were around 1.55 million marks , which means that they were still around 80,000 marks below the cost estimate. The ceremonial opening of the route took place on June 30, 1897.

Until the traffic stops

Even before the construction of the line began, an extension of the narrow-gauge railway to Niederseiffenbach on the Pockau-Lengefeld-Neuhausen railway line was desired . Up until the First World War, this project was rejected several times due to the lack of significant traffic. In addition to the inefficiency, the unfavorable location of the Sayda train station - if the building had been extended, a terminal station would have been created - and steep gradients would have made construction difficult.

The narrow-gauge railway survived the Second World War almost undamaged, only in the Mulda station there was some destruction due to bombing.

After the Second World War, a uranium mine of the SDAG Wismut was planned near Sayda . In this context, the introduction of trolley traffic and an expansion of the route were planned for ore transport , but this did not happen.

Traffic took off in the 1950s, when more and more holiday guests came to Sayda and used the trains on the narrow-gauge railway. The train was also important in rush hour traffic in those years, especially since no bus line ran parallel to the train.

Shutdown

According to the economic feasibility studies carried out by the GDR Ministry of Transport in 1963, a change of mode of transport was planned for the narrow-gauge Mulda – Sayda railway from the mid-1960s . After the necessary prerequisites had been created, freight traffic was relocated to the Neuhausen (Erzgeb) stations on the Pockau-Lengefeld-Neuhausen railway line and Großhartmannsdorf on the Berthelsdorf-Großhartmannsdorf railway line at the end of 1965 , so that on July 1, 1966, goods traffic on the narrow-gauge railway was finally established could be set.

Passenger traffic was officially ended on July 17, 1966 with a big farewell party. Highly responsible persons such as the then President of the Dresden Railway Directorate, Wolfgang Berkner, also took part in the celebrations. The last passenger train ran on the night of July 18, 1966. The line was finally closed in April 1967.

The line was dismantled from September 11, 1967 with a dismantling train . Briefly interrupted by the military preparations for the invasion of Czechoslovakia after the Prague Spring on August 21, 1968, the dismantling of the track system was largely completed by November 1968. Since the steam locomotive 99 569 , which had hauled the dismantling train, was relocated to Eppendorf to dismantle the Hetzdorf – Eppendorf narrow-gauge railway in the autumn of 1968, another locomotive was used for the remaining tracks on the Muldental Viaduct for a few days. The last tracks in Mulda station were dismantled by hand in 1969/1970.

Route description

course

Simplified elevation profile of the route

The former embankment just before Sayda on the steep slope

After leaving Mulda station, the narrow-gauge railway crossed the valley of the Freiberg Mulde and then followed the Chemnitzbachtal uphill to Sayda. Initially, the route through the valley was quite protected, but the upper part of the route led over open spaces. As a result, snow drifts repeatedly occurred in winter, which made operations more difficult. At least in the winters of 1904/05, 1906/07, 1911/12 and 1923/24, train traffic was inactive for days at least, the record was set in February 1924 with ten days of shutdown.

Since the narrow-gauge railway followed the Chemnitzbachtal upwards, only about 2.3 km of the route ran horizontally and about 13.1 km of the route was uphill. The maximum gradient was 33 ‰ on an approximately 800 m long section between Friedebach and Sayda. The minimum radius was 100 m, curves accounted for around 35% of the total, and straight lines could be achieved over a distance of over 10 km. Nevertheless, the 15.486 km route was around 4.5 km longer than the distance between Mulda and Sayda as the crow flies . The maximum speed was 25 km / h.

The Voigtsdorf (Sachs) –Sayda section is now an asphalt bike path.

Operating points

The high-rise buildings of the operating offices were of the type built at that time on other routes. Only one platform track was available at all stations. Since there was only ever one train to run on the route, if necessary, train crossings could only be made via the loading tracks.

Mulda (Sachs) ⊙50.80867 13.41516

The starting point of the narrow-gauge railway was the Mulda station, which opened in 1875, on the Nossen – Moldau railway line . Initially, the narrow-gauge systems were planned north of the reception building, but the systems were ultimately built east of the reception building and the goods there were relocated to the northeast side. Due to the increased importance of traffic, the previous stop was given the status of a train station in 1901. In its history, the station has already had three different names, in detail these were:

until May 15, 1935: Mulda
until May 4, 1941: Mulda-Randeck
from May 5, 1941: Mulda (Sachs)

After the narrow-gauge railway was closed in 1966, the importance of the station also declined. The standard gauge systems are still largely preserved today.

Mulda (Sachs) station around 1907
Mulda (Sachs) train station

Wolfsgrund ⊙50.77617 13.42334

Waiting hall Wolfsgrund at the new location

The Wolfsgrund stop existed during the entire existence of the railway between 1897 and 1967. It consisted only of a windowless waiting hall and a free pass. After the line was closed, the station building was moved to the nearby bus stop and has been preserved as a bus shelter to this day.

Dorfchemnitz (b Sayda) ⊙50.764604 13.443512

In addition to the continuous main track, there was a loading track, from which a stump track branched off on both sides, to the Dorfchemnitz stop (b Sayda) . The planum for a third track had already been prepared during the construction of the railway, but this possible extension was not implemented afterwards. A wooden waiting hall, a toilet and a car body for freight traffic were present on high-rise buildings . After the closure, the waiting room was demolished in the 1970s. While the loading street, the BHG building and the former train station restaurant are still there, the area of the tracks was built over with garages. To distinguish the station Dorfchemnitz (b Zwönitz) on the Chemnitz – Aue – Adorf railway line, the station had the addition b Sayda .

Dorfchemnitz station (around 1910)
Stop Dorfchemnitz (b Sayda), Ladestraße, direction Mulda (2017)
Dorfchemnitz stop (b Sayda), former station restaurant (2017)

Voigtsdorf (Sachs) ⊙50.751652 13.445223

Voigtsdorf (Sachs) stop (2009)

The stop was named after the small community of Voigtsdorf upstream , although the station was still in the corridor of Dorfchemnitz. The track system consisted of the continuous main track and a loading track connected on both sides. A short stump track branched off from the loading track, which led to a private storage shed. Other buildings were a waiting hall and a free pass. All the buildings are still there today.

Unterfriedebach ⊙50.732706 13.45712

Unterfriedebach stop

The Unterfriedebach stop was only subsequently set up; the station, which was always unoccupied, opened on May 1, 1899. The breakpoint at route kilometers 11.53 was equipped similarly to the Wolfsgrund breakpoint. From the direction of Mulda, it is behind the sawmill that still exists today and the Freiberger Straße level crossing.

Friedebach ⊙50.7246 13.45301

Stop Friedebach (2009)

The Friedebach stop was similar in design to that of Dorfchemnitz. In addition to the continuous main track, the track system consisted of a loading track connected on both sides, from which two short butt tracks branched off. A private shed was later built on each of the stump tracks. After the track system had been dismantled, the area was built over with garages.

Sayda ⊙50.71081 13.42545

Sayda station has always been the operational center of the narrow-gauge railway. In addition to a station building, a farm building and a goods shed, a two-tier, double-track boiler house was also built. After the cessation of operations, the buildings were used for other purposes, while the boiler house served as a garage, the reception building was converted into a kindergarten.

At the turn of the century, a siding ⊙ was built in the station area to a private storage shed, which was served until the 1930s. Then the siding was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The private shed was used by the rural trading cooperative after the Second World War . 50.71021 13.4266

Sayda station (around 1900)
Sayda station, reception building (2016)
Sayda station, extension (2016)
Sayda station, exit towards Mulda (2016)
Sayda station, memorial plaque (2016)
Sayda locomotive shed

Engineering structures

The four preserved pillars of the former Muldenbrücke in Mulda

Due to the route in the Chemnitzbachtal, a total of 13 more bridges had to be built in addition to the Muldental Viaduct, most of these structures with iron bridge superstructures spanned the Chemnitzbach. In addition, there were numerous small culverts , which were built by the Aktiengesellschaft für Beton- und Monierbau from Berlin with rammed concrete - the most modern building material at the time

Mulde Valley Viaduct ⊙50.80887 13.41109

With a length of 183.5 m, the viaduct was by far the largest bridge structure on the route. The 71,300 mark expensive building crossed the Freiberger Mulde twice, the Chemnitzbach and three streets. The iron superstructures - designed as a continuous sheet metal girder - with a weight of 154 tons rested on ten stone pillars and the two abutments . A rerailing device was attached on both sides as fall protection.

A windbreak fence planned at the end of the 1910s was not installed. After the closure in 1975, the sheet metal girders were scrapped, and some pillars were torn down in the 1980s.

business

passenger traffic

In the first few years of operation, the railway carried around 55,000 people annually, using the four daily trains in each direction. Even before the First World War , excursion traffic developed on weekends and public holidays, with the beginning of the First World War, however, the number of travelers fell, and the offer was also reduced to three pairs of trains. Only in the mid-1920s was the narrow-gauge railway increasingly used by travelers, as there was significant rush-hour traffic in the direction of Freiberg and Muldenhütten .

After the Second World War, a fourth pair of trains was introduced again as rush hour traffic continued to increase. Up until now there were almost only mixed trains, but now there has been a partial separation of passenger and freight traffic, so that in addition to goods trains with passenger transport , more and more pure passenger trains are now running. Since, unlike other narrow-gauge railways, no parallel bus line was set up, the transport services remained constant in the 1950s and 60s. Although hardly any residents of the villages off the railway line used the narrow-gauge railway, the emigration was offset by increased school traffic and increased weekend traffic - especially in winter sports and vacationers to Sayda.

Rail mail traffic

At the same time as the line was opened, the narrow-gauge railway took over postal traffic. A separate rail mail car was used for this as the so-called A-Bahnpost . In 1923 the A-Bahnpost was discontinued, after which individual items of mail were still sent without rework . Around 1945 the A-Bahn mail was resumed on the route. Modifications were carried out at least until 1962, making the Mulda – Sayda narrow-gauge railway the last Saxon narrow-gauge railway with A-Bahn mail. Until 1966, as after 1923, only mail was carried on the trains without modification.

Freight transport

Up to the Second World War, around 20,000 t of goods were transported annually, after which the transport performance rose to over 30,000 t per year. In order to be able to transport the increased quantities, the usual nightly shutdowns have been partially lifted.

Mainly fertilizers and building materials were brought in on the narrow-gauge railway, while mainly agricultural products were transported away. Another important cargo was fuels, which made up about 1/4 of the transported amount of goods. Initially it was mostly Bohemian lignite or lignite briquettes, which could be imported cheaply via Moldova. After the end of the Second World War and the associated interruption of the Nossen – Moldau railway on the Bohemian side, domestic fuels were transported. The delivery of wood was rather insignificant, but the products made from it - especially seating furniture - took up a larger item in shipping.

Overall, the freight transport fell short of expectations, especially since a significant settlement of industry along the railway did not succeed.

Vehicle use

The vehicles corresponded to the general principles of the vehicles procured for the Saxon narrow-gauge railways. Although the vehicles on the Saxon narrow-gauge railways could be freely exchanged with one another as required, hardly any change of stationing took place on the narrow-gauge railway Mulda – Sayda.

All vehicles initially had the lever brake , the Körting suction air brake was introduced in the 1930s. The switch from the central buffer coupling to the Scharfenberg coupling also took place in the 1930s. After the closure, the locomotives and wagons were moved to other routes or scrapped. Some of the wagons equipped with Scharfenberg couplings and suction air brakes came to the narrow-gauge railway Grünstädtel – Oberrittersgrün ( Pöhlatalbahn ) to replace the Heberlein brake there.

Locomotives

Although still during the construction of the track two locomotives of the genus I K were scheduled for the train, the two estimated I K-machine against two of the genus were IV K replaced. Nevertheless, for reasons of cost, an IC and an IV K were available when the route was opened.

However, the I K was only used as a reserve and auxiliary locomotive, and the train traffic was handled primarily by the IV K locomotive. Class III K was briefly stationed on the route around 1900 and the beginning of the 1920s . The two double locomotives No. 61 A / B and No. 62 A / B formed from two I K were also only in use on the line for a short time .

After the delivery of the last I K, which had meanwhile been re-designated as the 99.750-752 series, the 99.51-60 series (the re-designated IV K) took over train traffic from 1925 until the line was closed, because the initially planned use of the 99.61 series failed because the superstructure was too weak. The planned use of the 99.73-76 series in the 1950s was also omitted.

The locomotives were stationed in the Sayda locomotive station, and until they were shut down they were used by the Freiberg depot .

dare

The majority of the vehicles available when the line was opened were still two-axle vehicles, but modern four-axle vehicles were also available. At least until the 1930s there were still two-axle vehicles in reserve, but these vehicles were no longer used in normal operation.

Freight traffic was carried out with narrow-gauge freight wagons, there was no rolling vehicle traffic .

literature

H. Heinrich, D. Schlegel, P. Wunderwald (published by IG Verkehrsgeschichte Wilsdruff): With the narrow-gauge railway from Mulda to Sayda. Wilsdruff, 1990
Manfred Tietz: The narrow-gauge railway Mulda / Saxony – Sayda. in: Mitteilungen des Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz, Issue 3/1997, pp. 39–41
Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: The narrow-gauge railway Mulda – Sayda. Wilsdruffer Bahnbücher, Wilsdruff 2006 (without ISBN)

Web links

Commons : Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 17
↑ Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 35
↑ Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 230 ff.
↑ Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 243
↑ Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 243 ff.
↑ Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 106
↑ www.bahntrassenradeln.de
↑ Pictures of the Dorfchemnitz station (b Sayda) on www.sachsenschiene.net
↑ Reiner Scheffler: Schmalspur-Heizhäuser in Sachsen , Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 1996, ISBN 3-927587-48-6 , p. 70
↑ Reiner Scheffler: Schmalspur-Heizhäuser in Sachsen , Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 1996, ISBN 3-927587-48-6 , p. 71

[Wagner/Wunderwald,_S._17-1] Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 17

[2] Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 35

[3] Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 230 ff.

[4] Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 243

[5] Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 243 ff.

[6] Wolfram Wagner, Peter Wunderwald: Die Schmalspurbahn Mulda – Sayda , p. 106

[7] www.bahntrassenradeln.de

[8] Pictures of the Dorfchemnitz station (b Sayda) on www.sachsenschiene.net

[9] Reiner Scheffler: Schmalspur-Heizhäuser in Sachsen , Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 1996, ISBN 3-927587-48-6 , p. 70

[10] Reiner Scheffler: Schmalspur-Heizhäuser in Sachsen , Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 1996, ISBN 3-927587-48-6 , p. 71