Crimmitschau – Schweinsburg railway line

Crimmitschau – Schweinsburg

Extract from the route map of Saxony 1911

Route number :

sä. CS

Course book range :

-

Route length:

3.62 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Maximum slope :

10 ‰

Minimum radius :

250 m

Legend

	from Leipzig Bayer Bf
0.000	Crimmitschau	237 m
	to Hof Hbf
1.600	Ldst Crimmitschau elections	245 m
	At the Arno Schönfeld spinning mill
2.750	Pleissebrücke (16 m)
2.900	Pleißebrücke (10 m)
3.115	At the Carl Roth spinning mill
3.379	Pleissebrücke (33 m)
	Establishment of Schweinsburg electricity works
3.620	Pig castle	247 m
	Initially VEB twisting mill Sachsenring Glauchau
3.884	(End of route)

The Crimmitschau – Schweinsburg railway was a branch line in Saxony that only served freight . It began in the Crimmitschau station on the Leipzig – Hof railway line and led to the factories in the Pleißetal near Schweinsburg . The line, which opened in 1908, was closed after 1963.

history

Schweinsburg had had a passenger stop on the Saxon-Bavarian Railway in nearby Culten since 1887, but the community did not have an access point for goods traffic. The next freight yards were in Crimmitschau and Werdau , which slowed down the economic development of the local textile companies. The Schweinsburg manor owner Carl Wolf then founded the "Industrial Railway Association of Schweinsburg and the Surrounding Area", which was committed to improving rail connections.

In the 1890s the Royal Saxon State Railways planned to expand the Crimmitschau station, which had reached its capacity limit; A new freight yard was to be built south of the existing facilities in the Wahlen district , which would connect to Crimmitschau station via a track parallel to the main line. For 2.35 kilometers of track, loading ramps and the necessary buildings, a budget of 750,000 marks was initially planned. On April 4, 1898, the Second Chamber of the Saxon State Parliament approved the project. The preparatory work for the construction began in September 1898 without the construction work actually beginning. In the meantime there were plans for a continuation to Werdau Nord and Zwickau , which were later discarded.

New movement came into the project when the Allgemeine Elektricitätsgesellschaft (AEG) planned a power station in Schweinsburg . On April 1, 1906, the staking out of the route to the new Schweinsburg station began, and construction work began on March 25, 1907. On average, 135 people were employed here in 1908. In total, the railway cost 607,867 marks, almost 150,000 marks less than approved in 1898. On June 26, 1908, a test train with high officials drove over the route, including the general director of the Royal Saxon State Railways Karl von Kirchbach .

On July 1, 1908, the new industrial line was officially put into operation. The timetable initially provided for two pairs of freight trains a day, supplemented by a third if necessary. The most important goods customer was the power station at Schweinsburg station, which was regularly supplied with coal. Three textile companies that had their own sidings took care of further goods traffic.

When the power station was shut down in 1963, the railway lost its livelihood. The Deutsche Reichsbahn stopped operating the industrial railway and dismantled the tracks a little later.

Route description

course

The railway line began at Crimmitschau station. The next 1.5 kilometers it ran directly parallel to the Leipzig – Hof railway line to the south. The Crimmitschau-Wahlen loading point was reached at 1.6 km. It was on the border of the Crimmitschau district of Wahlen zu Neukirchen / Pleiße. In this area the industrial railway line, which ran further south, separated from the railway line Leipzig – Hof, which ran in an arc to the south-west. This was followed by a siding from the Arno Schönfeld spinning mill. After the Pleiße was passed twice in the local area of Neukirchen , a siding of the Carl Roth spinning mill followed. Then the route passed the Pleiße again. The southern end of the line formed the siding of the Schweinsburg power station and the Schweinburg freight station at 3.62 km. The latter was only about 500 meters east of the Schweinsburg-Culten passenger stop on the Leipzig-Hof railway line. Behind the freight yard there was another siding from VEB Zwirnerei Sachsenring Glauchau. The southern end of the route was reached at 3.884 kilometers.

Operating points

Crimmitschau ⊙50.815099 12.393079

The Crimmitschau station was opened on March 15, 1844 on the Leipzig – Hof railway line. Between 1908 and 1963 it was the starting point of the Crimmitschau – Schweinsburg railway line, which was only operated for freight traffic.

Crimmitschau station while the reception building is in use
Crimmitschau station
Crimmitschau station with S-Bahn (2016)

Crimmitschau elections ⊙50.801232 12.391262

Location formerly Ldst Crimmitschau-Wahlen (2016)

The Crimmitschau-Wahlen charging station was opened on July 1, 1908 in the southern district of Wahlen . When the railway line was shut down in 1963, the loading point also went out of service. The buildings were then completely demolished. The former loading point was just behind the “Harthstraße” flyover (today: “Dänkritzer Landstraße”).

Schweinsburg ⊙50.787142 12.375255

The Schweinsburg freight yard was opened as a loading point on July 1, 1908. At the same time, the Culten stop on the Leipzig – Hof railway line was renamed Schweinsburg-Culten . In 1911 it was upgraded to a freight yard. The station primarily served to supply the neighboring power plant of the Allgemeine Elektricitätsgesellschaft (AEG) in Schweinsburg. This power station was the most important freight customer on the route. After it was shut down in 1963, the coal trains to the power station ceased to exist, causing the railway line to lose its livelihood and was shut down.

The terminus of the railway line is in Schweinsburg, which has been a district of Schweinsburg-Culten since 1934 and of Neukirchen / Pleiße since 1950 . The renovated house and the goods shed, restored after 2006, are still on site. The lettering on the latter was renewed as part of the renovation. The Schweinsburg freight yard is located in "Bahnhofstrasse" approx. 500 meters in the direct east of the Schweinsburg-Culten passenger stop on the Leipzig-Hof railway line.