Küchwald – Obergrüna railway line

Küchwald – Abzw Schützenhaus
Section of the route map of Saxony from 1902
Route number :	6635; sä. CO
Course book section (DB) :	-
Route length:	11.665 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	16.7  ‰
Minimum radius :	250 m
Legend from Chemnitz Hbf Connecting curve from Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf 0.000 Küchwald (without tourist traffic until 2018) 301 m to Neukieritzsch to Wechselburg 1.307 EÜ farm road (15 m) 1.461 Neukieritzsch – Chemnitz line 1.686 EÜ Wittgensdorfer Strasse (73 m) 1.850 Instead of CG Haubold jr. 1.860 Chemnitz-Borna Ldst 323 m 2.021 Init VEB First machine factory 2.515 SÜ Leipziger Strasse 2.910 DL Ratsbach 3.200 At Küchwald Hospital 3.980 Initially DAPG , later Minol 4.049 EÜ Altendorfer Strasse (30 m) 4,200 EÜ Paul-Jäkel-Straße (38 m) from Chemnitz Beyerstraße 4,561 Chemnitz-Altendorf 301 m 4.651 Initially Francesco Parisi, later VEB Deutsche Spedition 5.015 Initially Emil Uhlmann AG, later Franz Dost 5.060 On the industrial track, including DEROP , at the same time as the Culemeyer track 5.260 Initially E. Meyer, later Adolf Löbl 5.280 SÜ Rudolf-Krahl-Strasse 5,362 EÜ Mühlgraben 5.408 At the Altendorf tram station 5.530 First scrap yard EE Meyer, later scrap dealer Walther Drechsler 5.607 EÜ Wirtschaftsweg (partially filled) 5.672 Bridge Pleißenbach (16 m) 5.855 EÜ Limbacher Strasse (37 m) 5.870 In the beginning of the Saxon bread factory-Union Reimann & Kaden 6.190 Chemnitz-Rottluff 313 m 6.750 Anst VEB building materials trade (old) 6.741 EÜ Weideweg (11 m) 7.015 Initially VEB Baustoffhandel (new), later Raab Karcher Baustoffhandel 7.160 SÜ Wirtschaftsweg 7.575 SÜ federal motorway 72 7.827 SO Copernicus Street 8.257 Initially SDAG Wismut , formerly Richard Friedrich Nutzholzhandlung 8,697 SÜ Oberfrohnaer Strasse 9.035 At the Friedrich Holzhandlung 9,051 Niederrabenstein 342 m 9.545 EÜ Riedstrasse (25 m) 9.945 EÜ Weigandstrasse (13 m) 10.200 DL Riedbach 10.419 EÜ Schaftreiberweg from Limbach (Sachs) 11.665 Abzw Schützenhaus (end of the line) 378 m ( Limbach – Wüstenbrand route ) 12,940 Grüna (Sachs) ob Bf (until 1910 Obergrüna) 379 m after desert fire
Chemnitz-Altendorf-Chemnitz Beyerstraße
Route number :	sä. COB
Course book section (DB) :	-
Route length:	0.755 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend from Abzw Schützenhaus 0.000 Chemnitz-Altendorf 301 m to Küchwald 0.050 Initially Sächsische Maschinenfabrik AG , later Borssenanger track community 0.220 SÜ Erzbergerstrasse 0.340 DL Ratsbach 0.755 Chemnitz Beyerstraße (Ldst, later Awanst ) 301 m 0.777 Anst Glas- und Holzbau GmbH Swell:

The railway Küchwald-Obergrüna was only the freight serving branch line in Saxony . It ran from the Küchwald freight station in Chemnitz to Grüna , where it merged with the Limbach – Wüstenbrand railway line, which no longer exists today . In 2004 the line was closed.

history

Locomotive transport by horse-drawn vehicle to the Chemnitz train station (1900)

Many Chemnitz factories have been in the north of the city since they were founded, far from the existing Dresden – Werdau and Neukieritzsch – Chemnitz railway lines . Paradoxically, even the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik located there did not have its own rail connection, despite the fact that it was a locomotive factory. All of the locomotives manufactured there had to be laboriously brought to the Chemnitz train station in horse-drawn vehicles.

In 1897/98, the Saxon state parliament decided on an industrial railway, which should begin on the Neukieritzsch – Chemnitz railway line and then head west to Obergrüna. The confluence with the existing Limbach – Wüstenbrand line was planned there because of the expected coal traffic.

In July 1901, construction work on the line began. The starting point was the Küchwald train station , the separation station between the lines to Neukieritzsch and the Chemnitz Valley Railway to Wechselburg, which opened in 1902 . The industrial railway was opened on December 17, 1903.

Since the opening, trains from Chemnitz to Wüstenbrand have occasionally been diverted via the industrial line for various reasons :

• In the spring of 1945 almost all trains from Dresden to Zwickau ran on the CO line as a result of the destruction of the Chemnitz-Süd station in the war.
• During the electrification of the Chemnitz – Zwickau line in 1964, all train traffic was again diverted to the Chemnitz – Obergrüna line.

In 1951 the remainder of the Limbach – Wüstenbrand railway line between Wüstenbrand and the Schützenhaus junction was added to the Chemnitz – Obergrüna line. In the Saxon route scheme, the route was henceforth run as the CWd line (Chemnitz – Wüstenbrand).

After the political change in eastern Germany in 1989, the route quickly lost its importance in freight traffic. In the 1990s, only a few sidings were still served from Küchwald. From 1997 the line was used again for almost three years until May 27, 2000 by the coal, lime and gypsum block trains for the Chemnitz-Nord thermal power station . All train traffic has been idle since then. A planned renovation in Rabenstein, which was already foreseeable through the laying of new rails, was withdrawn in 2003. A construction train on December 17, 2003 was the last drive on the entire route.

On June 29, 2004, the permanent cessation of operation of the line ( shutdown ) was approved by the Federal Railway Authority and implemented on September 30, 2004 by DB Netz AG .

With the extension of the Kalkstraße and the construction of the motorway feeder to the federal motorway 72 via the Chemnitz-Rottluff exit, the track structure that was still intact was interrupted in 2008 directly after the EÜ Weideweg in the direction of Wüstenbrand. In the years 2004 to 2006, however, the overpass structure for the autobahn itself was rebuilt at km 7.575.

In October 2006, the connection to the line in Küchwald station was dismantled. In September 2014, the branch switch in Wüstenbrand was dismantled and all signaling technology was removed. After the city of Chemnitz acquired the route in 2019 for around 80,000 euros from Deutsche Bahn, the track was dismantled between November 2019 and January 28, 2020 in the section Kalkstraße (km 6.8) - Chemnitz-Borna (km 1.5), es the rails and wooden sleepers were dismantled. Concrete sleepers are crushed on site. The track dismantling between Kalkstraße (km 6.9) and Grüna (Sachs) ob Bf. (Km 12.8) has been underway since February 6, 2020. A road-rail excavator (ATLAS 1604ZW) with a two-axle trailer is used. The first construction phase of the cycle path (Section IV) is to be tackled in 2021. This applies to the section between Weideweg (km 6.7) and Rudolf-Krahl-Straße (km 5.3).

Route description

course

Beginning at Küchwald station , the line ran in an arc from northwest to west, where the Neukieritzsch – Chemnitz line was crossed over a bridge. Chemnitz-Borna Ldst was reached directly behind “Wittgensdorfer Straße” . Then the railway ran to the southwest, where the "Leipziger Straße" ( B95 ) was crossed. This was followed by the siding to the Küchwald Clinic , through whose premises the railway line ran. Now the route continued towards the south, after passing the "Altendorfer Straße" and the "Paul-Jäkel-Straße" towards the southwest. In the ensuing Gbf Chemnitz-Altendorf were with a 800 meter long track stitch Saxon machine factory and the Ldst Chemnitz Beyerstraße connected. Along the Pleißenbach the tracks now led to the west, where the Ldst Chemnitz-Rottluff was between the “Rottluffer Straße” and the “Kalkstraße” . The area is now separated by a noise barrier. Shortly after the loading point, the tracks were interrupted for years by the newly built feeder to the A72 “Chemnitz-Rottluff” slip road behind the “Weideweg” railway overpass (km 6.85). Now the route ran to the southwest, where the A72 was crossed. After passing the "Oberfrohnaer Straße", the Ldst Niederrabenstein was reached. Then the railway ran to the west, where the "Riedstrasse" and the "Weigandstrasse" were crossed over bridges. The Schützenhaus junction in the Rabensteiner Forest was the original end point of the route. After the Limbach – Wüstenbrand railway was closed in 1950/52, the remaining section of the Schützenhaus - Grüna (Sachs) junction above Bf - Wüstenbrand was attached to the Küchwald – Obergrüna railway. At the Wüstenbrand station , the line merged with the Dresden – Werdau line .

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  Chemnitz-Borna, EÜ Wittgensdorfer Straße (2016)

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  Chemnitz-Altendorf, EÜ Paul-Jäkel-Straße (2016)

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  Chemnitz-Rottluff, EÜ Limbacher Straße (2016)

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  Chemnitz-Rabenstein, EÜ Riedstrasse (2016)

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  Railway line to Rabenstein in Obergrüna (2016)

Operating points

Küchwald ⊙

Küchwald station

→ Main article : Küchwald train station

In the 1880s, the existing train stations in Chemnitz were no longer sufficient for the greatly increased freight traffic. In addition to an urgently needed rail link for the numerous industrial companies in the north of the city, there was also no efficient marshalling yard. First a marshalling yard was planned roughly on the site of today's Küchwald station. Sufficient building land was available there, but the station would have been away from the main traffic direction Dresden – Zwickau – Reichenbach. The rising area south of the workshop station was therefore chosen as the new location . The Kieritzsch – Chemnitz railway , like the Riesa – Chemnitz railway, was given a direct connection to the new Hilbersdorf station . At the end of this connecting line, Küchwald branch was set up, in 1902 the station was opened together with the marshalling yard and the connecting railway. The station was soon expanded, as the Küchwald – Obergrüna industrial line had its starting point here since 1903 and further factories were established in the area. In some cases, Küchwald also took on train formation tasks .

In 2004 the line to Obergrüna was shut down, in October 2006 the connection to the line at Küchwald station was dismantled.

Chemnitz-Borna Ldst ⊙

Chemnitz-Borna, loading point (2016)

The Chemnitz-Borna Ldst station went into operation on December 17, 1903 when the Küchwald – Obergrüna industrial line opened. It had different names during its operating time, in detail these were:

• until June 30, 1911: Borna near Chemnitz loading point
• until July 25, 1913: Borna b Chemnitz Ldst
• until May 9, 1953: Chemnitz-Borna Ldst
• until 197 ?: Karl-Marx-Stadt-Borna Ldst
• until May 29, 1990: Anst Karl-Marx-Stadt-Borna
• since June 1, 1990: Establishment Chemnitz-Borna

In the early 1970s, the site was closed and converted into a junction. There was a change in the track plan. The railway maintenance department used the sidings until 1993 to park construction vehicles. In 1997 the connection switch was expanded. At the location on the “Abendleite” street in Chemnitz-Borna , the goods floor has been preserved and used. Road access is via "Wittgensdorfer Straße".

Chemnitz-Altendorf ⊙

The Chemnitz-Altendorf freight yard was the center of operations and was put into operation on December 17, 1903 with the opening of the Küchwald – Obergrüna industrial line. It had the following names:

• until June 30, 1911: Chemnitz-Altendorf Güterbf
• until May 9, 1953: Chemnitz-Altendorf
• until May 29, 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt-Altendorf
• since June 1, 1990: Chemnitz-Altendorf

Between 1903 and 2001 a branch track branched off from the Chemnitz-Altendorf freight yard to the Ldst Chemnitz Beyerstraße freight station . The freight yard was converted into two (alternative) junctions (Chemnitz-Altendorf North and South) in December 1992. These were last used in 2000/01. The railway facilities are located north of the Pleißenbach and can be reached via “Limbacher Straße” and “Am Stadtgut” or via “Gutsweg”. In 2015, a development plan was presented for the area, which, in addition to being used for residential and commercial purposes, also includes the Pleißenbach and part of the tracks as a "track park". In December 2019 / January 2020, the extensive, partly heavily overgrown tracks were largely dismantled. Individual tracks near the loading street remained untouched for the track park.

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  Gbf Chemnitz-Altendorf (2016)

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  Gbf Chemnitz-Altendorf (2016)

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  Track system in the Gbf Chemnitz-Altendorf (2016)

Chemnitz Beyerstraße ⊙

Location of the former Ldst Chemnitz Beyerstraße (2016)

The Beyerstraße loading point was put into operation on December 17, 1903 when the Küchwald – Obergrüna industrial line opened. It had the following names:

• until June 30, 1911: Beyerstraße loading point
• since July 1, 1911: Chemnitz Beyerstraße
• since December 17, 1992: Awanst Chemnitz-Altendorf Süd

On July 1, 1937, the loading point lost its status as an independent traffic point and was assigned to the Chemnitz-Altendorf train station. The 800 meter long branch track branched off at the Chemnitz-Altendorf freight yard at signal box 1 to the east, parallel to the Pleißenbach, which was laid for this purpose. Once u. a. a small locomotive shed, a portal crane and a signal box (Stw 3) available. Since December 1992 the systems were part of the alternative connection point Chemnitz-Altendorf Süd. At the location, which is along “Paul-Jäkel-Straße” in front of “Beyerstraße”, there have been no buildings or track systems since October 2001.

Chemnitz-Rottluff ⊙

The Chemnitz-Rottluff loading station went into operation on December 17, 1903 when the Küchwald – Obergrüna industrial railway opened. It had the following names:

• until June 30, 1911: Rottluff loading point
• until December 31, 1926: Rottluff
• until May 9, 1953: Chemnitz-Rottluff
• until May 29, 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt-Rottluff
• since June 1, 1990: Chemnitz-Rottluff

The loading point went out of service on January 1, 1998. It was located between "Kalkstrasse" and "Rottluffer Strasse". During the construction of the access road to the new A 72 "Chemnitz-Rottluff" driveway, part of the site was used. This also interrupted the railway line and divided the area with a noise barrier.

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  Chemnitz-Rottluff loading point (2016)

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  Chemnitz-Rottluff loading point, part of Kalkstrasse (2016)

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  Chemnitz-Rottluff loading point, part of Rottluffer Strasse (2016)

Niederrabenstein ⊙

The Niederrabenstein loading point was put into operation on December 17, 1903 when the Küchwald – Obergrüna industrial line opened. It had the following names:

• until June 30, 1911: Niederrabenstein loading point
• since July 1, 1911: Niederrabenstein

The loading point was on "Oberfrohnaer Straße" in Niederrabenstein. Today the “Rabenstein Center” is located opposite. The loading point was used for public freight traffic until 1952 and was still used by various companies for loading goods until the 1990s. It consisted of a loading track with a length of approx. 300 m, three switches and a butt track. The massive goods shed from 1930 was still at the loading point until 2005. Next to it was the old goods shed, which belonged to the “Holz Friedrich” company from around 1966. The timber warehouse of the Holz Friedrich company was still at the end of the stump track until 2002. The new owner "Holz Weidauer" had this replaced by a new warehouse. The siding was dismantled. The actual loading point was followed by the “Bäuerliche Handelsgenossenschaft (BHG)”, built around 1952, after which the “VEB Kohlenhandel Karl-Marx-Stadt” and “VEB Elite Diamant” had their coal stations. The area was built over in 2016 to expand the Rabenstein Center.

Between 1897 and 1950 Rabenstein had a passenger station on the Limbach – Wüstenbrand railway line . This was located in Oberrabenstein west of the Rabenstein Viaduct .

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  Location former Ldst Niederrabenstein (2016)

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  Location former Ldst Niederrabenstein (2016)

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  Location former Ldst Niederrabenstein, Coal Square (2016)

Grüna (Sachs) whether Bf ⊙

Obergrüna station (2016)

Grüna (Sachs) ob Bf was opened on December 1, 1897 as the Obergrüna stop on the Limbach – Wüstenbrand railway line. In 1905 it was upgraded to a station. It had the following names:

• until 1910: Obergrüna
• until 1911: Grüna (Saxony) ob Bf
• until 1933: Grüna (Sa) ob Bf
• since 1933: Grüna (Sachs) ob Bf

After 1858 at the Dresden-Werdau railway built breakpoint Grüna (Sachs) Grüna (Sachs) was ob Bf the second station of Grüna . Since 1903, the Küchwald – Obergrüna railway has flowed into the Schützenhaus junction near the Obergrüna train station .

After continuous operation on the Limbach – Wüstenbrand railway line was discontinued on December 31, 1950 due to its low traffic importance, the line from the direction of Wüstenbrand initially remained up to kilometer 6.565 (behind Rabenstein station). After the section Schützenhaus junction - kilometer 6.565 was closed in 1952, the section Wüstenbrand - Schützenhaus junction with the Grüna (Sachs) station above Bf was added to the Küchwald - Obergrüna railway line. On this the operation finally ended in 2003. In Grüna ob Bf there was a second track connected on both sides as a siding until 1999, which was used by the railway maintenance office. Since August 2013, the new owner of the station building has parked the small locomotive 100 738 there.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Route data on Sachsenschiene.de
2. ↑ List of federally closed lines in the state of Saxony that have been closed since 1994. (No longer available online.) Federal Railway Authority , May 21, 2015, archived from the original on July 18, 2016 ; Retrieved April 12, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ The old railway line becomes a cycle path. December 4, 2019, accessed February 14, 2020 . 
4. ^ Achim Bartoschek: Railroad cycling - details. SN 2.07 Chemnitz: Desert fire - Küchwald (in planning). February 22, 2020, accessed February 14, 2020 . 
5. ↑ Kurt Kaiß, Matthias Hengst: Railway node Chemnitz - rail network of an industrial region , Alba, Düsseldorf 1996, ISBN 3-87094-231-2 , p. 45 f.
6. ^ Karl-Marx-Stadt becomes Chemnitz again
7. ↑ Stephan Häupel: Chemnitz - Obergrüna . In: Wolf-Dietger Machel (Hrsg.): Narrow gauge and branch lines in Germany . Geramond, 2014.
8. ↑ Development plan for the Chemnitz-Altendorf freight yard, 2015 ( Memento of the original from May 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ The loading station Chemnitz Beyerstraße on www.sachsenschiene.net
10. ^ Photos of the remains of the former loading point in Chemnitz Beyerstraße
11. ^ Website about the railway history of Rabenstein
12. ↑ Article about Grüna ob Bf ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

literature

• Erich Preuß , Reiner Preuß : Saxon State Railways. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 .
• Stephan Häupel, Eberhard Schramm, Jürgen Viehweger: Branch lines around desert fire . Verlag Kenning, Nordhorn 1998, ISBN 3-927587-94-X ( secondary line documentation 43).

Web links

Commons : Küchwald – Obergrüna railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of the railway line on sachsenschiene.de
• Photos of the Chemnitz industrial railway with trains