Railway line Neustadt (Waldnaab) –Eslarn

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Neustadt (Waldnaab) –Eslarn
Route number (DB) :	5054
Course book section (DB) :	858 (Neustadt - Eslarn) 870
Course book range :	425k (1944)
Route length:	49.8 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend of willows 0.0 Neustadt (Waldnaab) (former Keilbahnhof ) to Oberkotzau Waldnaab 0.7 Neustadt (Waldnaab) platform Georgstrasse 0.8 St. Felix raft 4.6 Störnstein 7.7 Gailertsreuth 9.9 raft to Flossenbürg 12.7 Hauptertsreuth 14.2 Grafenreuth 16.1 Waldthurn 19.0 Albersrieth 22.3 Waldau (Oberpf) 25.2 Vohenstrauss 28.9 Fahrberg 33.0 Pleystein 35.0 Zottbach 36.6 Lohma 39.0 Burkhardsrieth 42.2 Waidhaus 44.8 Pfrentsch Pfreimd 46.1 Pfrentschwiese 49.8 Eslarn

The Neustadt (Waldnaab) –Eslarn railway line was a branch line in Bavaria . It ran in the northern Upper Palatinate from Neustadt an der Waldnaab via Floß , Vohenstrauss and Pleystein to Eslarn .

history

In the course of industrialization, more and more main lines were built in the late 19th century . The Upper Palatinate Forest , already a structurally weak region at that time, had a connection from Schwandorf via Cham , Furth im Wald and Taus (Domažlice) to Pilsen from 1861 and from 1864 via Wiesau and Waldsassen to Eger (Cheb), but it was the eastern Upper Palatinate For a long time, forest was not developed by rail, so that communities and influential personalities such as Gustav von Schlör repeatedly demanded a railway line in the direction of Vohenstrauss .

Bridge over the Waldnaab with tilting technology - Multiple Unit of the class 612

After the joint stock company of the Bavarian Eastern Railways opened its north-south route in the Naab Valley in 1863/64 , the area east of it had to be opened up to the Bohemian border. On October 16, 1886, the first local railway section of the Royal Bavarian State Railways from Neustadt an der Waldnaab via Floß to the district office in Vohenstrauß was opened. On August 16, 1900, the railway reached the border town of Waidhaus , from where, turning south, it reached the end point Eslarn on October 1, 1908 . This is where the popular name Eslarner Bockl comes from . At around 50 km, the line was the longest local railway in the Upper Palatinate. Due to the location in the middle of the Upper Palatinate Forest, there were often disruptions to operations in winter. Around 1930 there were considerations to extend the railway line via Schönsee to Waldmünchen , but these were not implemented.

The timetable for the summer of 1914 listed five daily train pairs; in the summer of 1927 there were four, but they began and ended in Weiden. Passenger traffic, which was quite heavy during World War II and thereafter, was able to last the entire route until June 1, 1975, when it was restricted to the Weiden – Raft section, where it ended on May 29, 1992.

At this time, the end of freight traffic , which for structural reasons in the border region had long been maintained by rail. For him, the closure beyond Vohenstrauss came on May 22, 1993 and for the rest of the route on May 28, 1995. Only in the city area of ​​Neustadt were siding until December 31, 2001.

The route today

Today's end of the route at kilometer 0.7 (2019)

Today the “Eslarner Bockl” is on the Bocklradweg , a popular excursion destination for locals and tourists.

The line from Neustadt station to near the former St. Felix stop was integrated into Neustadt Waldnaab station in December 2007. Since then, it has been served by Regional Express trains from the Neukirchen – Weiden railway line. For this purpose, a platform was built in front of the intersection of the route with Georgstrasse.

Operating points

Störnstein ⊙

→ Main article : Störnstein train station

The Störnstein station - equipped with four points - was a typical Bavarian local railway station. Around 1990 the station was downgraded to the stopping point and all tracks except for the continuous main track were dismantled. The single-storey reception building and the outbuilding, both made of quarry stone with a brick eaves cornice, have been preserved and are now a listed building. The former has a knee and a flat half-hipped roof, the latter is covered with a flat hip roof.

Gailertsreuth

The Gailertsreuth stop only consisted of the platform, a station sign and a corrugated iron hut as a waiting room.

Vohenstrauss ⊙

Vohenstrauss station (2011)

→ Main article : Vohenstrauss station

The Vohenstrauss station was the terminus from 1886 to 1900, which is why a locomotive shed with an attached living and social wing was built in addition to the reception building, a goods shed and the farm building. The buildings were made of quarry stone and are now a listed building. In addition to a siding to the local BayWa , there were also two siding to a sawmill and a porcelain factory to the train station.

Fahrberg ⊙

The Fahrberg stop at kilometer 28.9 was about two kilometers south of the municipality of Fahrenberg in the middle of the forest. The stopping point was the highest operating point, from here the route descended again towards Pleystein.

In the forest between Fahrenberg and Pleystein, in the Kühbühl forest district of Pleystein, is located under object no. D-3-74-147-67 another bridge under monument protection. The road bridge was built in 1900 and leads with a flat parabolic arch over the former railway line. It consists of granite ashlar masonry with rusticated edging. ⊙

Pleystein ⊙

The Pleystein train station was on the southern outskirts of Pleystein . The station's reception building has meanwhile been demolished and the station area has been partially built over.

→ Main article : Zottbach Bridge

The following arched bridge made of granite ashlars with rusticated borders over the Zottbach at km 35.0 is also still in the urban area of ​​Pleystein and is now a listed building.

Waidhaus ⊙

Waidhaus station (2011)

→ Main article : Waidhaus train station

The Waidhaus station was from 1900 to 1908, the end point of the route, here, however, no engine shed was built. The station was south of the eponymous village of Waidhaus, right on the outskirts. The station building including the annexed outbuildings and the goods shed, both built in the same shape as the other station buildings with quarry stone masonry with brick eaves, are now a listed building. While the station building is a half-hipped roof building with a ground floor flank building, the goods shed was built as a ground floor saddle roof building.

Eslarn ⊙

Eslarn station with monument (2011)

At the terminus of the line, a reception building and a goods shed as well as a two-tier locomotive shed were built at Eslarn station . All buildings have been preserved, but the station area is now used for other purposes.

Trivia

The railway, affectionately known by the population as the Bockl , found its way into many dialect local songs. Here are two examples:

"Dea train, dea waou af Eslarn,
the homma nea blue" Bockl "thaws,
And whale a Bockl is, therefore
eem Kaast eahm koin andan Nama geem."

- Georg Kraus : Da Esloana Bockl

"The Bockl rushes by,
and glass is made there."

- Neustädter Heimatlied

literature

• Gerald Hoch, Andreas Kuhfahl: Branch lines in the Upper Palatinate . 1st edition. Resch-Verlag, Neustadt bei Coburg 2000, ISBN 3-9805967-7-X .

Web links

Commons : Neustadt (Waldnaab) –Eslarn railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of the branch line on the pages of the Modellisenbahnfreude Windischeschenbach (private)
• Info page on the Bockl cycle path with the history of the Eslarner Bockl (private)
• Excerpt from the course book 1944

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kramer, U., Brodkorb, M: Farewell to the Rail - Freight Lines 1980 to 1993, Stuttgart 2008, p. 128.
2. ↑ ibid., P. 129.
3. ↑ List of monuments for Störnstein (PDF) at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation
4. ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, Upper Palatinate Region, Neustadt ad Waldnaab, Vohenstrauß (PDF; 147 kB)
5. ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, Upper Palatinate District, Neustadt ad Waldnaab, Pleystein (PDF; 139 kB)
6. ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, Upper Palatinate District, Neustadt ad Waldnaab, Pleystein (PDF; 139 kB)
7. ↑ List of monuments for Waidhaus (PDF) at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation
8. ^ Heinrich Ascherl: History of the city and rule Neustadt ad Waldnaab. , Editor: Stadt Neustadt ad Waldnaab, 1982, p. 748
9. ^ Heinrich Ascherl: History of the city and rule Neustadt ad Waldnaab. , Editor: Stadt Neustadt ad Waldnaab, 1982, p. 749