Kamenz – Bischofswerda railway line

Kamenz (Sachs) -Bischofswerda

Excerpt from route map of Saxony 1902

Route number :

6578; sä. KBi

Course book range :

247 (1968)

Route length:

23.65 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Maximum slope :

13 ‰

Minimum radius :

200 m

Legend

		from Lübbenau – Hosena
		from Kamenz (Sachs) Nord Ldst
	0.00	Kamenz (Sachs)
	0.29	Kamenz Tunnel (117 m)
		to Arnsdorf – Pirna
	2.91	Bridge Wiesa
	3.42	Conn. Grünsteinwerk Wiesa
	3.58	Wiesa (b Kamenz / Sachs)
	5.86	Prietitz - Thonberg
	6.02	Conn. VEB Schamottewerke Thonberg
	7.33	Elstra bridge
	7.99	Elstra
	8.05	Conn. Bienert / BHG Elstra
	10.88 0.00	Rauschwitz junction
	2.04	Childish
	11.29	Rauschwitz
	11.55	Black Elster Bridge
	15.00	Burkau bridge
	15.65	Burkau
	19.31	Schönbrunn Bridge
	19.68	Schönbrunn (Lausitz)
	22.78	Wesenitz Bridge
		from Görlitz and from (Zittau–) Neukirch West
	23.65	Bischofswerda
		to Dresden

The Kamenz – Bischofswerda line was a branch line in Saxony . It ran in Upper Lusatia from Kamenz via Elstra to Bischofswerda .

history

In March 1888, the route from Kamenz to Elstra was approved. Construction work began in January 1890 and the route was officially opened on October 19, 1890. After a lengthy dispute about the routing of the railway line to Bischofswerda, construction work began in April 1901 to extend the line from Elstra to Bischofswerda. On June 14, 1902, continuous operation on the line began.

The station building at Elstra station burned down in 1945, the northern extension was used as a replacement.

In November 1945 a mine under the motorway bridge near Burkau detonated when a passenger train was passing through. 6 railway workers died.

On September 24, 1967, passenger traffic on the Burkau – Bischofswerda route was discontinued, and on June 1, 1969, on the Kamenz – Burkau route. Freight traffic south of Rauschwitz ended on December 19, 1969. In October 1978, there were 3 days of passenger traffic from Kamenz to Elstra, because there were not enough buses of the motor transport company available due to a special mission. In 1990 the traffic to the Kindisch quarry and gravel works ended, which secured most of the goods traffic for the route. Easter 1991 there was a special trip from Kamenz to Elstra with a class 50 steam locomotive . The last freight train journeys to Elstra took place at the beginning of 1994, after which the line was made impassable shortly after the Wiesa train station with a threshold cross . The tracks in Wiesa were then used as a place to park unneeded freight wagons. On October 5, 1996, the last special train ran with the steam locomotive 52 8141 from Kamenz to Wiesa on the route. In 1997 the line was formally closed , and at the end of 2004 all tracks were dismantled.

The reception buildings are still in Wiesa and Burkau. The goods shed still exists in Schönbrunn . The bridge over the K 9239 district road was removed from the large viaduct at the entrance to Wiesa in October 2001 after the bridge was damaged in a traffic accident. The part of the bridge over the Black Elster has been preserved. Smaller steel girder bridges such as the one at Eselsburg are still in place (2015).

Preserved railway overpass Eselsburg (2015)
Former viaduct at the entrance to Wiesa with weir on the Schwarzen Elster (2020)
Former viaduct at the entrance to Wiesa via the K 9239 (2020)
Wiesa station (2004)
preserved railway overpass between Wiesa and Prietitz-Thonberg (2015)
Remains of the viaduct between Prietitz and Elstra (2017)
former junction on the route to the quarry in Kindisch (2015)
former motorway passage through the A4 (2015)
Burkau station (2015)
Preserved viaduct in Schönbrunn (2015)