Brand-Erbisdorf – Langenau railway line

Brand-Erbisdorf-Langenau (Sachs)
Excerpt from the route map of Saxony 1902
Route number (DB) :	6617; sä. BL
Course book section (DB) :	515 (1997)
Route length:	4,335 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	12  ‰
Minimum radius :	200 m
Top speed:	50 km / h
Legend from Berthelsdorf (Erzgeb) 0.000 Brand-Erbisdorf 479 m to Großhartmannsdorf 0.780 Brand-Erbisdorf Hp 479 m 1.060 Erbisdorf Bridge (90 m) 2.420 Sky prince 480 m Conn. Trust in Gott-Schacht 2,686 Bridge Himmelsfürst (87 m) Conn. Glückauf shaft 2,792 Art moat bridge 4.204 Langenau (Sachs) 482 m 4,335 End of the route

The Brand-Erbisdorf – Langenau line was a branch line in Saxony . It branched off the Berthelsdorf – Großhartmannsdorf railway in Brand-Erbisdorf and led through the southwestern part of the Freiberg-Brander mining area to Langenau . The line, which opened in 1890, was closed in 1998.

history

prehistory

The mining companies based in the south of the Freiberg-Brander mining area, such as B. the important Himmelsfürst treasure trove tried quite early on a connection to the railway network. Above all, the dispatch of the mined ores, but also the receipt of the acids required in the mining industry for the processing of the ores, was laborious and expensive on the road.

In 1881 a railway construction committee applied to the Saxon state parliament to build a railway line from Berthelsdorf via Brand , Langenau , Großhartmannsdorf , Großwaltersdorf to Eppendorf . The line would have connected the Nossen – Moldau railway with the Reitzenhain – Flöha railway. However, the plan was rejected.

As a result of the introduction of the gold standard in 1870 and the resulting decline in the price of silver , the economic situation of the Freiberg silver mines deteriorated rapidly. In order to counteract the closure of the pits and the dismissal of several thousand miners, the state bought the most important mines in 1886 in order to continue operations after their technical modernization. Against this background, the state itself now developed an interest in creating a rail link.

On December 22nd, 1887, the state parliament approved the execution of the regular-gauge secondary railways Berthelsdorf-Großhartmannsdorf, Brand-Erbisdorf-Langenau and Freiberg-Halsbrücke . In the explanations of the construction it says, “... that it is in the interest of the localities involved and that of the fiscal ore mines, instead of the line planned in 1881, initially the construction of a railway from Berthelsdorf to Brand and from here on the one hand to Großhartmannsdorf, on the other hand to Langenau for execution… ” . A total of 3,043,000 marks were planned as the budget . The ordinance on construction and operation was issued on December 28, 1888. For the time being, the continuation into the Lößnitz valley to Eppendorf was refrained from (in 1893 the valley was opened up by a narrow-gauge railway from Hetzdorf ).

Construction and opening

In July 1889, construction work began on the route from Berthelsdorf to Großhartmannsdorf and on the branching route to Langenau . Since only a few larger engineering structures such as the scaffolding pillar viaducts at Erbisdorf and Himmelsfürst had to be built, the route was completed after a year of construction. The new secondary line was opened on July 13, 1890 together with the Berthelsdorf – Großhartmannsdorf line and the Freiberg – Halsbrücke line north of Freiberg .

Operation and shutdown

The 1894 timetable showed a total of four pairs of trains. The travel time uphill was 21 minutes, which corresponded to a cruising speed of only 12 km / h. Under the direction of the Deutsche Reichsbahn after 1920, the trains were finally tied to and from Freiberg. In the 1939 timetable there were five pairs of trains on the Freiberg – Langenau route, which now only took 11–12 minutes for the Brand-Erbisdorf – Langenau route. The total travel time from Freiberg was about thirty minutes.

Passenger train in Langenau station (1997)

The last highlight in the existence of the line was the 100th anniversary celebration between July 14th and 20th, 1990. In addition to a vehicle exhibition in Brand-Erbisdorf, several special trains hauled by steam locomotives ran.

The line from Brand-Erbisdorf to Langenau was operated in passenger traffic until 1997, freight traffic here had already been stopped on December 31, 1994. In recent years, the freight wagons were added to the passenger trains, which were then on the road as PmG . On June 1, 1997, the last passenger trains from Freiberg to Langenau ran with great interest from the population.

On June 19, 1998, the closure of the line was approved by the Federal Railway Authority. It was legally enforced on August 15, 1998.

Route description

course

Railway viaduct in Himmelsfürst (2016)

The route begins at Brand-Erbisdorf station on the Berthelsdorf – Großhartmannsdorf railway line and then runs in a south-westerly direction through the southern part of the Freiberg-Brander mountain area. At the Himmelsfürst stop, there were two connecting tracks to the shafts of the Himmelsfürst treasure trove located there until the mining industry was closed . At Erbisdorf and Himmelsfürst there are two remaining scaffolding pillar viaducts that bridge the side valleys of the Great Striegis .

Operating points

Brand-Erbisdorf ⊙

Brand-Erbisdorf station (2012)

→ Main article : Brand-Erbisdorf railway station

The Brand-Erbisdorf station went into operation on July 15, 1890. In the station, the line to Langenau branched off from the Berthelsdorf – Großhartmannsdorf line . It had the following names:

• until 1911: Fire near Freiberg
• until 1912: Brand b Freiberg (Sa)
• since 1912: Brand-Erbisdorf (1912: union of Brand and Erbisdorf)

Since the end of passenger traffic in 1998, the station has only been used for freight traffic. The connecting line of the press and forge works, the last remaining freight customer on the route, begins right at the station.

Brand-Erbisdorf Hp ⊙

Brand-Erbisdorf Hp was opened on July 15, 1890 as the Erbisdorf stop and downgraded to a stop in 1905. When Brand and Erbisdorf merged into Brand-Erbisdorf, the station was renamed Brand-Erbisdorf Hp on July 20, 1912 . The breakpoint went out of service on June 1, 1997. The wooden waiting room is still available on site. While the track system was being dismantled, the access route was paved.

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  Brand-Erbisdorf Hp, waiting hall (2016)

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  Brand-Erbisdorf Hp, waiting hall (2016)

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  Railway line at the Brand-Erbisdorf stop (2016)

Prince of Heaven ⊙

The Himmelsfürst stop was opened on July 15, 1890 and dedicated to the station in 1905. In 1933 it was downgraded to a stop and in 1964 to a stop. Up until the end of mining, there were two sidings in the area of ​​the station to shafts for the Himmelsfürst treasure trove located there . The breakpoint went out of service on June 1, 1997. The wooden waiting room is still available on site.

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  Himmelsfürst stop, direction Brand-Erbisdorf (2016)

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  Himmelsfürst stop, waiting hall (2016)

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  Himmelsfürst stop, direction Langenau (2016)

Langenau (Sachs) ⊙

The station Langenau (Sachs) was opened on 15 July 1890 as a stop dedicated in 1905 to the station. Since the line to Eppendorf was not continued, Langenau remained the end point of this section of the line. The station had the following names:

• until 1922: Langenau
• until 1933: Langenau (Sa)
• since 1933: Langenau (Sachs)

The Langenau (Sachs) station went out of service with the closure of the section of the line on June 1, 1997. The reception building, goods shed and farm building are still present at the site.

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  Langenau (Sachs) station, track side (2016)

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  Langenau (Sachs) station, street side (2016)

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  Langenau (Sachs) station, side view (2016)

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  Langenau (Sachs) station, station area (2016)

Vehicle use

In the first years of operation, all traffic was handled with the double-coupled secondary rail locomotives of type VII T. The stationing of the MOZART locomotive in Langenau is documented. Later, the Royal Saxon State Railways also used class IIIb and VT locomotives , which were dispensable on other routes. Formerly Prussian T 9.3s (91 series) were used under the direction of the Deutsche Reichsbahn from the end of the twenties , which were replaced by the 86 series in the 1960s . Since the 1970s, all traffic has been handled with the class 110 diesel locomotives .

literature

• Thomas Berger: 100 years of Berthelsdorf-Langenau and Freiberg-Halsbrücke . in: Modellisenbahner No. 7/1990, transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH i. G. Berlin; Pp. 6-8
• Erich Preuß , Reiner Preuß : Saxon State Railways. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 .

Web links

• Web presence of the Eisenbahnverein Langenau eV

Commons : Brand-Erbisdorf – Langenau railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Data on www.sachsenschiene.net
2. ^ Thomas Berger: 100 years Berthelsdorf-Langenau and Freiberg-Halsbrücke . in: Modelleisenbahner 39 (1990) 7, p. 6
3. ↑ Timetable 1894 of the Saxon State Railways - valid from May 1, 1894
4. ↑ Summer timetable 1939 - valid from May 15 to October 7, 1939
5. ↑ List of federally-owned lines in the state of Saxony that have been closed since 1994 ( Memento from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Brand-Erbisdorf Hp on www.sachsenschiene.net
7. ↑ The Himmelsfürst stop on www.sachsenschiene.net
8. ^ The Langenau (Sachs) train station on www.sachsenschiene.net