Immelborn – Steinbach railway line

Immelborn – Steinbach (Kr Meiningen)

Route number :

6701

Course book range :

631 (1968)

Route length:

8.6 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Maximum slope :

26 ‰

Minimum radius :

220 m

Top speed:

50 km / h

Legend

	from Eisenach
	from Lichtenfels
	Bundesstrasse 62
0.0
0.2	Immelborn Wedge Station	247.41m
0.5	Gravel works and former hard metal works	244.23m
0.9	End of the route since 2008
1.0	Werra flood bridge (10 m)
1.1	Werra Bridge Immelborn (39 m)	245.15 m
1.1	End of track
1.2	Werra flood bridge (8 m)
1.7	Barchfeld (Werra)	246.58 m
5.1	Marienthal (Thür)	317.34 m
5.8	Wehrmacht (1944/45)	327.54 m
6.6	Bad Liebenstein	342.25 m
8.4	Steinbach (Kr Meiningen)	368.20 m
8.6	Mine Management
	Steinbacher Bergwerksbahn (600 mm)

The Immelborn – Steinbach railway was a branch line in Thuringia . It branched off the Eisenach – Lichtenfels railway line in Immelborn and led to Steinbach on the ridge of the Thuringian Forest .

history

Even Joseph Meyer , author of Meyer's Konversations-Lexikon , wrote in his "Plan for the Thuringian Central Railway Network" ( Hildburghausen , 1848) of a "Thuringian Werra Railway with a branch line to Liebenstein ".

In 1885 the Werra Railway Company began preparatory work for a railway line. On June 28, 1887, the general assembly of the Werra-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft approved the construction and operation of a standard-gauge railway from Immelborn to Liebenstein and on August 1, 1889, the railway line with its own locomotive station was officially opened.

In 1911, the limited partnership Lübbecke & Kehl, Eisenach planned to extend the railway line to Brotterode and Waltershausen , including the Trusebahn , but this failed. By decree of the Reich Ministry of Transport of April 29, 1922, the extension to Steinbach could now also be built, but the section could not go into operation until May 29, 1927. During the Second World War , heavy hospital trains came very often directly from the Eastern Front to Bad Liebenstein. As the war approached, the Volkssturm tried to stop the American troops by blowing up the Werra Bridge near Immelborn . In the 1950s, the railway was still flourishing; due to the rapidly developing health resort and tourism industry, a direct express train, usually with four cars, ran from Steinbach, later only from Bad Liebenstein to Leipzig Hbf used " theater train ", a special train from Bad Liebenstein to Meiningen to performances in the Meininger Theater .

Freight trains in Immelborn station (2007)

The line's decline began in the 1960s with the increase in motor traffic. The journey times increased continuously, the one-hour limit was exceeded in the 1968 summer timetable, while in 1936 only 22 minutes were required for the entire route. The express train had now been converted into a through coach connection . From May 26, 1968 rail replacement services were operated and from August 4, 1968 VEB Kraftverkehr Bad Salzungen took over the services. Freight traffic continued until 1970. The change of mode of transport file states: "The shutdown and dismantling of the Immelborn – Steinbach section, km 1.10 - 8.44, as well as the closure of the tariff stations took place on January 13, 1973."

The Bad Liebenstein station became a curiosity after the line was closed and dismantled, as it remained in operation until the 1990s with ticket sales , goods handling and Mitropa restaurants without a siding. The station building was demolished in 2002, although the half-timbered building had previously been a listed building and private interested parties would have set up a museum here. The city built a bus station on the site. In 2006 the two-room engine shed in Bad Liebenstein was converted into a fire station and expanded.

Kieswerk Immelborn GmbH now uses the last meters of track until shortly before the Werra bridge as a connecting railway ; the former track ends immediately behind the Werra bridge. From 1997 to 2005 a track at the Immelborn level crossing was destroyed, so that the track was not put back into operation until 2006. All tracks end butt, so that it is not possible to bypass either the main track or the connection to the gravel works. An existing bypass option at the height of the reception building of the Immelborn train station is only sufficient for a few cars and is no longer used.

The Kieswerk connection has been served not only by DB Cargo , but also by Havelländische Eisenbahn since 2013 . The Voith Maxima and Blue Tiger locomotives are used here.

Locomotive use

When the line still belonged to the Werra Railway Company, locomotives 45 and 46 were used. They were soon replaced by the Prussian T 3 . In the years around the First World War , the pr. T 9.2 occupied. ERFURT 7230 was based in the Liebenstein-Schweina locomotive station. When the railway line to Steinbach was opened in 1927, the opening train was pulled by locomotive 91 321 - a pr. T 9.3 . In the years around 1936 there were extensive studies to increase the line speed, now locomotives of the pr series arrived . T 12 used.

In the war years it became more colorful: locomotives of the series pr. G 10 , pr. P 8 as well as the war series 52 and French and Belgian bag locomotives .

After the war, what could drive was used: The locomotives of the Merkers potash works (9 and 10) and the now nationalized locomotive of the WOeE 89 6001 ^I were also on the line. Around 1955 there is evidence for the pr. P 8 , pr. G 8.1 , pr. G 8.2 , pr. G 12 , pr. T 14.1 , pr. T 16.1 and in the express train service the pr. T 18 . The last passenger trains around 1968 ran locomotives of the pr series. P 8 and pr. G 8.2.

The first diesel locomotives of the V 60 series were also used in freight train service. The mining train pulled 106 631, which was still stationed in Vacha in the 1990s. At least once a V 100 came to Bad Liebenstein station. A small locomotive (Kö) was also located in Immelborn on platform 3O around 1940 . The route was possible, but mostly failed due to a lack of fuel.

In 2007, the connection to the gravel works became known through the use of the last German V 200 for the Immelborn – Eisenach (–Berlin) gravel train.

Accidents

Only one serious accident from the early days has been passed down: On February 8, 1890, “ when a man in the Barchfeld village voluntarily let himself be run over by a train. The person died instantly. "

In the last few years of operation, the derailments increased due to the poor state of the superstructure, for example on November 9, 10 and 13, 1969, when the emergency train was deployed three times within a short period of time .

Others

The Steinbach station was called Steinbach (Meiningen district) until 1950 , then Steinbach (Bad Salzungen district) . At the same time, the Bad Liebenstein-Schweina train station was renamed Bad Liebenstein , which was only called Liebenstein-Schweina until 1924 , although the "Bad" was awarded in 1907.

In the timetable, the route was usually listed from Bad Salzungen, where most trains began or ended. There was also a notice there from time to time: Travelers from or to Meiningen are allowed to detour via Bad Salzungen without additional payment!

In November 2007, during construction work on the exit from Bad Liebenstein in the direction of Steinbach, track remains were visible at the former level crossing. This is due to the fact that the dismantling of the track track panels on street transitions are often stayed and were only überteert.