Türkismühle – Kusel railway line

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Turquoise Mill - Kusel
Section of the Türkismühle – Kusel railway line
Route
Route number (DB) : 3201
Course book section (DB) : 271c (Türkismühle – Freisen)
271e (Schwarzerden – Kusel)
Route length: 32.6 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend
Route - straight ahead
 from Saarbrücken
   
 from Trier
Station, station
 0.00 Turquoise mill 364 m
   
 to Bad Kreuznach
   
 2.35 Nohfelden South
   
 5.61 Wolfersweiler (last Hp)
   
 5.70 B 41
   
 6.00 Wolfersweiler ( Anst ) (end of the line 2014-2019)
   
 7.69 Asweiler
   
 8.50 Eitzweiler (last Hp)
   
 11.49 Freisen (end of the route 1971-2014) 447 m
   
 13.39 Freisen-Füsselberg
   
 16.35 Grügelborn (last Hp)
   
 Oberkirchen Viaduct (275 m)
   
 Easter
   
   
 19.76 Oberkirchen North
   
 20.00 Oberkirchen Tunnel (216 m)
   
 21.40 from Ottweiler
Station, station
 22.29 Black earths 353 m above sea level NN
   
 22.40 Diehl Defense Land Systems ( Anst )
   
 State border Saarland / Rhineland-Palatinate
   
 23.00 Federal motorway 62
   
 25.48 Pfeffelbach
   
 Decker and Giehl quarry
   
 Heinrich Decker quarry
   
 27.37 Thallichtenberg (last Hp)
   
 27.70 Niederberg tunnel (143 m)
   
 27.80 Decker & Sons quarry
   
 Pfeffelbach
   
 Pfeffelbach
   
 Pfeffelbach
   
 29.14 Ruthweiler (last Hp)
   
 30.60 Diedelkopf (last Hp)
   
 31.30 Federal highway 420
   
 31.40 Kuselbach
   
 32.20 Border company offices St. Wendel / Homburg
   
 32.62 Kusel 226 m
Route - straight ahead
 to Altenglan
Swell:

The historic Türkismühle – Kusel railway , also known as the Westrichbahn , was a branch line that ran from the Türkismühle station on the Nahe Valley Railway via Freisen and Schwarzerden to Kusel . The railway line crossed the northern area of ​​the Westrich and led through the northeastern part of the Saarland and then to Rhineland-Palatinate . The route, which is very elaborately designed in structural terms, was opened between 1934 and 1936. During the Second World War it gained strategic importance .

The gradual closure began in the 1950s, when through traffic between Freisen and Schwarzerden ended. In 1970 and 1971 the Freisen – Kusel section was dismantled. The freight traffic between Wolfersweiler and Freisen took place until mid-2001, the closure took place in 2007, the dismantling and deedication of this section followed in 2014. The section Türkismühle – Wolfersweiler was served by freight traffic until 2012. In December 2019, dismantling work also began on this section. Only the Schwarzerden station is still in operation today: it still serves as a freight and museum station for the Ostertalbahn , which opened in 1938, and the 900 meter long track system located there is the last remnant of the formerly impressive railway line through the Westrich. Between Freisen and Kusel, the railway line was converted into a cycle path that is part of the Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg . Corresponding plans are now also in progress for the Freisen-Türkismühle section and the directly adjoining Hochwaldbahn , but these are now extremely controversial among the population.

The fact that the section east of Freisen was in operation for a comparatively short time is due to several reasons. Between the places Schwarzerden and Freisen, which are only three kilometers apart as the crow flies, the route had to overcome a greater difference in altitude, which resulted in an artificial extension . In addition, there was the sparsely populated area and the fact that the railway passed the border between Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland after the Second World War, which meant it was off the beaten track.

history

First initiatives

The first efforts for a rail connection in the region were made in 1856. When planning the Rhein-Nahe-Bahn there were differences between Prussia and Oldenburg about the route within the Principality of Birkenfeld , an Oldenburg exclave. While Oldenburg pleaded for a connection to the city of Birkenfeld , the Prussian side insisted on a route in the Nahe valley. On October 20, 1856, a committee was formed in Offenbach am Glan that advocated a third variant, which should leave the Nahe valley at Boos and lead via Lauterecken, Altenglan and Kusel either via St. Wendel or through the Ostertal to Neunkirchen. The committee bought several shares in the Rhein-Nahe Railway Company especially for this purpose . For tactical and transport policy reasons, Prussia was initially open to these efforts, which led to Oldenburg giving in and accepting the route along the Nahe within its territory, especially since Prussia wanted to see the railway line primarily within its own territory.

As early as the 1860s there were further initiatives to build a railway. A railway committee from Trier campaigned for a connection from Trier via Hermeskeil and Kusel to Landstuhl in order to better link western and southern Germany by rail. The efforts were unsuccessful and only a rail connection was established between Landstuhl and Kusel . The memorandum before it was written, however, indicated a later continuation in the direction of Trier. The efforts of another committee, which had advocated closing the gap between Kusel and Türkismühle in the 1890s, also failed. In the period that followed, a committee appeared with plans for a railway line from Heimbach via Baumholder to Kusel, and there were petitions from several communities such as Kusel and Freisen. In 1910 a committee was founded again for a route from Türkismühle to Kusel, which proposed two different routes: One should run from Kusel via Oberkirchen to Türkismühle, and another from Kusel via Oberkirchen to St. Wendel.

In the same year, the billing councilor Mieck from the Trier administrative district determined that the construction of a Kusel – Türkismühle railway would offer the possibility of directing military trains from Glantal to Trier if the Saar line fell into enemy hands. In addition, the route via Kusel, Türkismühle and Hermeskeil to Trier would be 58 km shorter than the route via Glan-Münchweiler , Homburg and Saarbrücken. A committee from Thallichtenberg joined these efforts . The planning came to a standstill with the outbreak of the First World War .

Planning and construction

After the Saar area was separated from the German Reich with the defeat , the remaining district of Sankt Wendel-Baumholder in particular campaigned for the railway line, as the Saar area was no longer part of the German economic area due to the customs border. A corresponding submission by the Baumholder district administration followed in 1920. On October 12 of the same year, there was a meeting of the advocates of the railway line with representatives from Bavaria , Birkenfeld and Prussia in Türkismühle ; this culminated in the founding of a committee, but the Reich Ministry of Transport rejected its proposals .

Nevertheless, the municipalities commissioned the Trier Railway Directorate to analyze the expected volume of traffic. Due to the fact that the planned route affected three countries with Bavaria, Prussia and Oldenburg, this turned out to be very complicated. On November 26, 1927, an association was founded which aimed to promote railway construction; Otto Hoevermann became chairman . Authorities as well as business and municipal associations were represented in it. In order to be able to finance some preparatory work, the association collected donations of 15,000 Reichsmarks . In May 1930 the organization reported to the district president of Trier, referring, among other things, to the precarious economic situation in the region. However, the Reich government rejected the construction of the railway on the grounds that the state had obligations with higher priority towards the eastern regions.

On March 31, 1931, after a long period of negotiation, the project was included in the so-called "borderland program", although it was initially not clear whether a rail or car connection was to be created. On October 7 of the same year, the Reich Ministry of Transport gave the green light for a railway connection. Railway construction should also counteract increasing unemployment. The state gave the Deutsche Reichsbahn a loan to finance the project . Due to objections from residents from Pfeffelbach, Schwarzerden and Thallichtenberg, the route of the route was discussed. The costs of the land acquisition had to be borne by the affected communities. Construction of the line began in 1932; The President of the Trier Directorate broke ground on December 3rd. More than 1000 workers were involved in the construction of the line.

Opening and subsequent period (1934–1950)

Ticket for the opening of the railway line

On May 15, 1934, the first section, the Türkismühle – Wolfersweiler section, was put into operation. Around a year and a half later, in October 1935, the section to Freisen followed. The line initially belonged to the Reichsbahndirektion Trier , before it switched to that of Saarbrücken in 1935 - as a result of the reintegration of the Saar area into Germany. On May 15, 1936, the routes from Türkismühle to Oberkirchen Nord and from Kusel to Diedelkopf were completed. The remnant was opened to traffic on November 16 of that year in the presence of Gauleiter Josef Bürckel . Three special trains ran on that day. In the first school students drove, in the second the workers who had worked on the railway construction and the third was occupied by citizens who had to cede land for the route. The largest part of the route belonged to the works office (RBA) St. Wendel; only the last 400 meters before Kusel were in Homburg.

The route was of great military importance. It was designed on the eve of the Second World War as an alternative route for the deployment area in front of France and the Saar area and was also intended to enable troops and material to be transported if too many railway structures were destroyed or fallen into enemy hands on the main axes. A strategic connecting curve was set up near Altenglan in 1945, which enabled military trains to get onto the track to Kusel without turning around at Altenglan station . At the Schwarzerden junction, transports could be routed via Ottweiler as well as Freisen – Türkismühle without changing direction on various routes to the borders of France, Luxembourg and Belgium . During the Ardennes offensive in 1944, one or two pairs of trains per day drove over the route, mostly via the Türkismühle – Hermeskeil to Trier, or empty trains in the opposite direction. In March 1945, when retreating to the Rhine, large parts of the German artillery were returned via Türkismühle – Schwarzerden – Kusel – Lauterecken-Grumbach. The connecting curve in Altenglan was dismantled after the end of the war.

After the separation of the Saarland in 1945 and its extension to the north in 1947, through which the section Türkismühle – Schwarzerden was assigned, customs controls took place between Pfeffelbach and Schwarzerden. From then on, the Saarland Railways (SEB) and, from 1951, the Saarland Railways (EdS) were responsible for this section , while the remainder of the line was under the authority of the Association of the Southwest German Railways (SWDE), which was incorporated into the newly founded Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) in 1949. passed over, which subordinated him to the Mainz Federal Railway Directorate. A year earlier, the miners' trains from Kusel to Neunkirchen, which switched from Schwarzerden to the Ostertal Railway and then to the Nahe Valley Railway , were closed to civil traffic.

Gradual shutdown between Freisen and Kusel (1951–1992)

1951 ended the passenger traffic between Kusel and Schwarzerden. First, traffic between Freisen and Grügelborn had to be stopped on May 21, 1955 due to damage to the substructure. In 1958, after seven years, passenger traffic was reactivated on the Schwarzerden – Kusel section. After the economic connection of the Saarland a year later, customs stays in Pfeffelbach were no longer necessary. The western section of the line was henceforth part of the Federal Railway Directorate Saarbrücken, which emerged from the EdS . In the same year, the Diedelkopf and Ruthweiler stopovers were given up and the Thallichtenberg station lost its clearance rights for express and freight traffic. The affected communities defended themselves unsuccessfully against the measures.

On January 2, 1964, passenger transport between Kusel and Schwarzerden was stopped again. The rail traffic was not competitive with the bus traffic, which was partly organized by the iron and steel works in Saarland and ran parallel to this section of the route. A flood on December 5, 1965 in Altenglan meant that traffic on the connecting Landstuhl – Kusel railway between Altenglan and Kusel was idle for two days. The rail vehicles stationed in Kusel were therefore transported to Kaiserslautern via the Kusel – Schwarzerden section and then via the Ostertalbahn and Neunkirchen . Freight traffic between Kusel and Schwarzerden was also discontinued on June 1, 1966, and passenger traffic between Türkismühle and Freisen followed on June 1, 1969. In the same year, freight traffic between Schwarzerden and Grügelborn officially ended after having come to a standstill two years earlier . This was followed by the dismantling of the Schwarzerden – Freisen section and the demolition of the station buildings in Grügelborn and on Füsselberg. In 1970 the Kusel – Schwarzerden section was officially closed; On January 25, 1971, the German Federal Railroad began dismantling the line in connection with the construction of the Federal Motorway 62 . As early as August 1969, efforts were made to use the Oberkirchen viaduct as a lookout point. A year later, a "licensing agreement" was signed with the Federal Railroad , whereupon the Saarland Prime Minister Franz-Josef Röder released the building in May 1971. In addition to freight traffic, occasional special trips took place between Türkismühle and Freisen.

Development since 1993

Oberkirchen Viaduct, today part of the Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg

The route of the Freisen – Kusel section, which had since been completely dismantled, was converted into the so-called Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg in the summer of 1993 . The Schwarzerden station, which continues to serve as the end point of the branching Ostertalbahn, was an exception. The Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg is a cycling and hiking trail ; the railway line had actually been used as such since the late 1970s. It has been developed throughout and paved in parts ; a total of 17.6 kilometers are on the former railway line. The tunnels are illuminated when approaching. The path leads, among other things, over the 275 m long Oberkirchen valley bridge and is signposted from Oberkirchen to Freisen as the Saarland cycle path . In the course of the rail reform , the remaining section of Türkismühle – Freisen became the property of Deutsche Bahn .

Freight traffic on the Wolfersweiler – Freisen section ended on June 10, 2001. After the operation of a private rail siding in Freisen had been discontinued for some time, the Wolfersweiler – Freisen junction was closed on September 21, 2007 . Just one year later, the railway embankment in Freisen was partially dismantled in favor of a new development area. On August 31 of the same year, the railway adventure trail was opened on the disused railway line from Schwarzerden station to the Oberkirchen valley bridge. The Wolfersweiler commercial and industrial park has also not been served since 2012. Except for maintenance trips, there are no more official trips. The Wolfersweiler – Freisen section, which has been closed since 2007, was completely dismantled from February 20 to 25, 2014. For the section Türkismühle (km 0.642) - Wolfersweiler (km 6,000), the Federal Railway Authority issued the decommissioning permit on September 19, 2017, which can be implemented by July 31, 2018. In 2016, DB Netz AG had costs of € 96,000 for operating the route and only € 29.95 in income. Operations ceased on October 30, 2017, 12:00 p.m. In a letter dated July 31, 2019, the Federal Railway Authority of DB Netz approved the requested dismantling of the route. The section Türkismühle (km 0.642) - Wolfersweiler (km 6,000) was dismantled in December 2019.

Planned bike path

The St. Wendel district and the communities of Nohfelden, Nonnweiler and Freisen are currently planning the construction of a railway cycle path . For this purpose, ownership of the route between Türkismühle and Wolfersweiler was transferred to Ökoflächen Management GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of the Naturland Foundation Saar, as had already happened in 2014 with the Wolfersweiler - Freisen section. The purpose of this measure was the dismantling of the remaining, up to now completely existing railway systems to Wolfersweiler and the preparation of measures for the construction of the cycle path.

The plans for the cycle path include a continuous, 30 km long connection from Freisen via Türkismühle and further on the route of the former Hochwaldbahn to Hermeskeil, which will also fall victim to the construction of the cycle path. According to the St. Wendel District Administrator Udo Recktenwald, this is hoped for "a highlight with high recreational value, an important addition to our tourist offer" for the region. The project is very controversial among the population. A citizens' initiative (BI Bahn + Rad im Hochwald) was founded, which opposes the plans of the St. Wendel district and the neighboring communities and raises bitter criticism of the plans. The citizens' initiative disseminated an alternative concept that promoted a holistic transport concept, which called for the construction of a cycling infrastructure as well as the maintenance and use of parts of the still existing railway infrastructure, either for a draisine operation or for use in passenger transport using synergy effects from the nearby one Bostalsee and the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park.

As points of criticism, the citizens' initiative specifically expressed the fact that the responsible decision-makers in the St. Wendel district "categorically refused" to maintain the railway line from the outset without any objective examination and insisted on building the cycle path without any alternative. In addition, the cost increase of the cycle path is criticized: While the planning initially assumed construction costs of 5 million euros, they are now at least 9.3 million euros; In addition, it became apparent that the financing had not even been secured until recently. It is also criticized that the responsible decision-makers have pushed the cycle path planning with "false claims" and torpedoed a possible preservation of the railway line, in this regard there is talk of a "game of wrong cards". Specifically, the citizens 'initiative refers to the approximate doubling of the planned construction costs, as well as press reports in which the district of St Wendel claimed that the track of the Hochwaldbahn, which was also affected by the cycle path construction, had been swiveled, which made the alternative concept of the citizens' initiative impossible. In fact, the latter claim proves to be untrue, since the Hochwaldbahn is a former double-track line, a construction of the cycle path next to the existing route including the revitalization of the railway infrastructure would be clearly feasible. In addition, critics repeatedly point out that there is already a nearly identical cycle path from Freisen to Nonnweiler; the IG National Park Railway Association has examined and proven this in a study it has carried out itself.

In order to support their plan to prevent the demolition of the Westrich and Hochwaldbahn and to preserve the two railway lines, BI Bahn + Rad im Hochwald initiated a signature campaign that reached more than 1,300 petitioners in the region around the line within a few days. In November 2019, the citizens' initiative wrote a fire letter to the Saarland state government demanding that the planned dismantling work be stopped and the entire railway line preserved. The citizens' initiative demanded "to refrain from dismantling existing - including disused - track systems and to take the necessary measures to secure them, to develop a comprehensive, transnational transport concept for Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland with special consideration of the requirements of climate protection, [ and] to examine the recommissioning of disused railway lines in order to improve the regional rail transport connection in rural areas ". More than 30 clubs, associations, organizations, companies and a number of representatives from politics and the public joined the fire letter to the state government and the demands it contained.

course

Oberkirchen tunnel

The line began, until it was closed in 2017 and dismantled in 2019, at the Türkismühle station on the Nahe Valley Railway , which it left in a north-easterly direction. First it ran parallel to the Nahe Valley Railway in a long S-curve and then turned right. After six kilometers, the siding branched off into the Wolfersweiler industrial park; From there, the line has been closed since 2007 and has been dismantled and de-dedicated since 2014. The route between Freisen and Kusel, which was largely dismantled there in the 1970s, had to cope with a total difference in altitude of 265 meters; accordingly, the route east of Freisen sank continuously. For this reason, the railway ran between Freisen and Schwarzerden in a nine-kilometer arc around the Weiselberg to compensate for this difference in altitude. After the Oberkirchen Nord train station, she passed the Oberkirchen tunnel .

Then the line reached Schwarzerden station . The approximately 900 meter long section from the branch of the Ostertalbahn Ottweiler – Schwarzerden to the Schwarzerden station is the last remaining part of the historic Westrichbahn that is still in operation. Today it is the end point of the Ostertalbahn that is still in operation. The route then followed the Pfeffelbach and crossed the state borders of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate . Then it led along several quarries. The Niederberg tunnel followed east of Thallichtenberg , immediately afterwards Lichtenberg Castle is north of the route . From Ruthweiler it ran along the Kuselbach , which it crossed shortly before reaching the Kusel train station, where it switched to the line to Landstuhl , which is still served by local rail transport today.

From Türkismühle to Schwarzerden the district of St. Wendel was crossed, from Pfeffelbach to Kusel the route ran within today's district of Kusel . With Nohfelden, Freisen, Pfeffelbach, Thallichtenberg, Ruthweiler and Kusel, it touched the area of ​​a total of six communities.

business

passenger traffic

Summer timetable 1938

In 1936 six pairs of trains ran between Kusel and Diedelkopf and seven pairs of trains between Türkismühle and Oberkirchen Nord. Occasional trains only ran between Türkismühle and Freisen or Wolfersweiler. After completing the route, six pairs of trains drove between Türkismühle and Kusel; There were other trains on the sections Türkismühle – Freisen and Schwarzerden – Kusel. The drive from Türkismühle to Kusel took around 75 minutes. Although the line in Kusel merged directly with the one to Landstuhl, it was not until 1937 that a continuous train from Türkismühle to the Altenglan junction was used. In addition to direct trains on the Türkismühle – Kusel route, there was a scheduled connection of the passenger trains on the Ostertalbahn, which was completed in 1938, to Kusel. In the period that followed, the Kusel – Schwarzerden section had the most passenger traffic; 13 train pairs operated in 1939 and 10 train pairs in 1944. After the end of the war, the numbers halved. During this time there were 4 continuous pairs of trains from Türkismühle to Kusel. From Türkismühle some trains were restricted to the section to Schwarzerden; half of the trains there ran exclusively to Freisen. There were 6 pairs of trains between Schwarzerden and Kusel, which took the Ostertalbahn to Ottweiler and partly to Neunkirchen. The trains traveled around 20 minutes on the Schwarzerden – Freisen section. It is reported that there were travelers who wanted to get on at Oberkirchen Nord station, missed their train and caught up with them at Füsselberg station.

In 1958, two pairs of trains ran between Kusel and Schwarzerden. In the same year there was also a so-called corner connection from Schwarzerden via Kusel, Altenglan and Bad Münster to Bad Kreuznach . When passenger traffic was stopped in 1964, only one pair of trains remained. In the course book from 1960 the section of the turquoise mill - Freisen was listed with the number 271c, the section Schwarzerden - Kusel was listed together with the Ostertalbahn as 271e. According to some sources, there were express trains from Kaiserslautern to Türkismühle and Trier around 1960, but their existence is controversial, especially since the Freisen – Schwarzerden section was already closed at that time.

Freight transport

Timetable of the transfer trains Kusel – Pfeffelbach 1965

Between the stations in Ruthweiler and Pfeffelbach there were several quarries, such as that of the Decker & Sons company in Thallichtenberg. Between Kusel and Schwarzerden, they formed the most important freight customers and, especially in the early days of the route, helped to partially offset the effects of the global economic crisis within the region.

The separation of the Saarland after the Second World War prevented significant industry from settling in the catchment area of ​​the route. In the post-war period, several ammunition trains drove from the direction of Kusel to a depot of the French armed forces near Grügelborn. After the Freisen – Schwarzerden section was closed in 1955, the Schwarzerden – Grügelborn section was just a siding of the Schwarzerden station , which was served until 1967. Until the mid-1960s, there were handover trips from Kusel train station , which served Pfeffelbach and Thallichtenberg.

The Hörmann plant in Freisen had a siding in the station there and was served until 2001. The market-oriented Cargo (MORA C) service was responsible for the recruitment . The handover trips always took place in the morning. Since 1995 a siding has been branching off to a liquefied gas storage facility in Wolfersweiler, which was served for around a decade and a half. The siding was terminated in 2012.

Vehicle use

The Kaiserslautern and St. Wendel depots were responsible for using the vehicles . In the early days, steam locomotives of the Prussian T 14 and T 14.1 series were used. Between Schwarzerden and Kusel, the Prussian T 18 was used for the miners' trains to Neunkirchen and, in the 1940s, the DR class 64 . Steam locomotives of the DR class 50 were also used. The freight trains between Pfeffelbach and Kusel had last harnessed Köf II diesel locomotives . Uerdinger rail buses of the subtype VT 95 were last used for passenger transport on the sections Türkismühle – Freisen and Schwarzerden – Kusel . The freight traffic to Wolfersweiler and Freisen was last taken over by diesel locomotives of the V 90 and BR 294 series .

Operating points

Turquoise mill

Türkismühle station, starting point of the railway line

The station was put into operation as early as 1860 with the opening of the Rhein-Nahe-Bahn between Oberstein and Neunkirchen . In 1889 it became the end point of the Hochwaldbahn, which started in Trier . The line to Kusel was the last to be connected to the station.

Nohfelden South

The station was on the southern outskirts of Nohfelden. Its name came from the fact that Nohfelden had had a train station on the local line since 1860, which was renamed Nohfelden Nord after the line to Kusel was opened. Nohfelden Süd train station had no reception building.

Wolfersweiler

Wolfersweiler was the terminus from May to October 1934, before the line was initially extended to Freisen. His station building has since been demolished.

Asweiler

The breakpoint was put into operation in November 1934 with the opening of the Wolfersweiler – Freisen section. His former reception building has now been converted into a residential building and converted.

Eitzweiler

The station was located on the southern outskirts of Eitzweiler and was put into operation in November 1935 with the opening of the Wolfersweiler – Freisen section.

Freisen

The station was put into operation in November 1934 with the opening of the Wolfersweiler – Freisen section and was the terminus for two years until the gap to Kusel was closed. Freisen was always the most important train station between Türkismühle and Schwarzerden and along this stretch of the route the only crossing station. Until mid-2001 it was used in freight traffic. One of the customers was the Hörmann company, which manufactured gates and doors. Finally, he had a bypass. There used to be two sidings that were dismantled before the end of freight traffic. After the cessation of passenger traffic in 1969, the station building remained in place for several decades before it was the victim of an arson attack .

Freisen-Füsselberg

The stop was in the catchment area of ​​the neighboring Füsselberg. The station building was demolished around 1970.

Grügelborn

Despite its name, the station was already in the district of Oberkirchen . Grügelborn itself was out of sight of the station behind a mountain. For example, Reitscheid was closer to the station. Freight traffic was operated - officially since 1955 on a siding at Schwarzerden station - until 1969. Then the station building was demolished.

Oberkirchen North

The breakpoint was located immediately north of the viaduct and was once occupied. Its name comes from the fact that Oberkirchen had another stop along the Ostertalbahn with Oberkirchen Süd.

Black earths

Schwarzerden station, from 1938 a railway junction

Schwarzerden was the only crossing station between Freisen and Kusel . Just two years after its opening in 1936, Schwarzerden became a separation station with the completion of the Ostertalbahn. After the line in the Black Earth area coming from Türkismühle was gradually shut down between 1955 and 1970, Schwarzerden was the terminus of the Ostertal Line. Passenger traffic on this was discontinued in 1980 and regular freight traffic at the end of 2001. A museum railway has been operating there since 2001. Of all the train stations between Wolfersweiler and Kusel, it is the only one that still exists.

Pfeffelbach

The station was on the eastern outskirts of Pfeffelbach . Due to the separation of the Saarland after the Second World War, it functioned as a customs station from 1947 to 1959. It was used in passenger transport until 1964 and then in freight transport for two years, most recently from Kusel. Bahnhofstrasse is a reminder of its existence.

Thallichtenberg

The station was only around 300 meters from the Niederberg tunnel on the western outskirts of Thallichtenberg . In the first years of operation it was called Thallichtenberg (Lichtenberg Castle) , which indicated the nearby Lichtenberg Castle . In 1959 the station lost its authorization for express freight and freight traffic. The community resisted this. His reception building now serves as a residential building.

Ruthweiler

The station was not far from the center of Ruthweiler . The station was closed as early as 1959, against which there was resistance on site. His reception building now serves as a residential building. Bahnhofstrasse reminds of him.

Diedelkopf

The train station was in the center of Diedelkopf . As early as May 1936, six months before the continuous line was opened, the section of the line coming from the east to the station was completed. As a result, it temporarily had the function of a terminus. In 1959 the station was closed.

Kusel

The station was put into operation in 1868 with the opening of the Landstuhl – Kusel railway line . In the first 68 years of its existence it acted as their terminus. With the construction of the line to Türkismühle, the track systems had to be fundamentally redesigned, as the line coming from the west fell sharply and only reached the previous level in the eastern station area. Since the closure of the section of the route coming from Schwarzerden, Kusel has again been the terminus of the railway line coming from Landstuhl. Its station building was demolished in 2006.

literature

  • Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways on Glan and Lauter . Self-published, Waldmohr 1996, ISBN 3-9804919-0-0 , p. 29-31 .
  • Ulrich Hauth: From near to far. On the history of the railways in the Nahe-Hunsrück region . Matthias Ess, Bad Kreuznach 2011, ISBN 978-3-9813195-8-3 , p. 202-207 .
  • Kurt Hoppstädter : The origin of the Saarland railways . Saarbrücker Zeitung Verlag und Druckerei GmbH, 1961, ISSN  0018-263X .
  • Urs Kramer, Matthias Brodkorb: Farewell to the rails. Freight routes from 1994 to today . Transpress Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-613-71333-8 , p. 89 .
  • Gerd Stein: Secondary and narrow-gauge railways in Germany then and now . In: Wolf-Dietger Machel (Hrsg.): Branch and narrow-gauge railways in Germany (then & now) (from Rügen to Rosenheim, from Aachen to Zwickau) . GeraNova magazine publisher, 1998.
  • Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways (= publications of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science. Volume 53). New edition. pro MESSAGE, Ludwigshafen am Rhein 2005, ISBN 3-934845-26-6 , pp. 236-237.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b nahbahn.de: Welcome to our website of the Rhein-Nahe-Bahn Bingerbrück - / Gau-Algesheim - Bad Kreuznach - Kirn - Idar-Oberstein - Türkismühle - Neunkirchen . (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 18, 2013 ; Retrieved April 28, 2013 .
  2. ↑ DB Netze - Infrastructure Register
  3. ↑ Railway Atlas Germany . 9th edition. Schweers + Wall, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3-89494-145-1 .
  4. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 15th f .
  5. ↑ Fritz Engbarth: 150 years of the railways between Bad Kreuznach and Idar-Oberstein - the attractive regional express line along the Nahe has its birthday part 1 . 2009, p. 5 f . ( Online (PDF) [accessed November 5, 2014]).
  6. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 9 ff .
  7. ^ A b Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways . 2005, p. 236 .
  8. ↑ Kurt Hoppstädter : The origin of the Saarland railways. Saarbrücker Zeitung Verlag und Druckerei GmbH, Saarbrücken 1961 ( publications by the Institute for Regional Studies of the Saarland. Volume 2, ISSN  0018-263X p. 156)
  9. ↑ Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways . 2005, p. 236 .
  10. ↑ Ulrich Hauth: From near to far. On the history of the railways in the Nahe-Hunsrück region . 2011, p. 202 f .
  11. ↑ a b c Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways . 2005, p. 237 .
  12. ↑ a b c Ulrich Hauth: From near to far. On the history of the railways in the Nahe-Hunsrück region . 2011, p. 203 .
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways . 2005, p. 31 .
  14. ↑ a b c d Urs Kramer, Matthias Brodkorb: Farewell to the rail. Freight routes from 1994 to today . 2008, p. 89 .
  15. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 45 ff .
  16. ↑ a b Gerd Stein: Secondary and narrow-gauge railways in Germany then and now . 1998, p. 4 .
  17. ^ Map of the Mainz Railway Directorate from January 1, 1940.
  18. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 51 .
  19. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 52 .
  20. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 53 .
  21. ↑ a b c d e f g Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 55 .
  22. ^ A b Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 60 .
  23. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 60 f .
  24. ↑ a b c d Gerd Stein: secondary and narrow-gauge railways in Germany then and now . 1998, p. 5 .
  25. ↑ a b fritz-wunderlich-radwanderweg.de: Bahnlinieninfo.jpg. Retrieved January 29, 2013 .
  26. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 65 .
  27. ↑ achim-bartoschek.de: SL02 Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg: Freisen - Altenglan. Retrieved January 29, 2013 .
  28. ↑ a b c verkehrsrelektiven.uue.org: Nahetal, Pfälzer Bergland, Weinstrasse, Pfälzer Wald, Wasgau ... Accessed on July 6, 2015 .
  29. ↑ freisen.de: Railway adventure trail, Ostertalbahn. Retrieved April 28, 2013 .
  30. ↑ ostertalbahn.homepage.t-online.de: August 31, 2008 First Saarland "Railway Adventure Trail" opened - railway technical information along the hiking trail. Retrieved April 28, 2013 .
  31. ↑ a b c Julian Düll: Line 3201, section Türkismühle (excl./km 0.642) -Wolfersweiler (incl./km 6,000); Application from OB Netz AG dated August 11, 2017 with the reference I.NVR 1 SW 3201; Approval according to § 11 Paragraph 2 General Railway Act (AEG). (PDF; 1.4 MB) Ref. 2312-23bsv001-1107 # 008. Federal Railway Office, September 19, 2017, accessed on September 25, 2017 .
  32. ↑ hochwaldbahn.info: Former Museum operating on the high forest railway, 1991-2012. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 6, 2015 ; Retrieved July 6, 2015 .
  33. ↑ the rail bus. No. 5, 2019, p. 79.
  34. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  35. ↑ Thorsten Grim: National Park Railway: Different cycle path views. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  36. ^ Saarbrücker Zeitung: Hochwaldbahn: Citizens fight for the Hochwaldbahn. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  37. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  38. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  39. ↑ Thorsten Grim: National Park Railway: Different cycle path views. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  40. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  41. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  42. ^ Saarbrücker Zeitung: Revitalization of the Hochwaldbahn: "We continue to fight for our idea". Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  43. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  44. ↑ Appendix 2. PM Parallelradweg-Hochwaldbahn.pdf. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  45. ↑ Thorsten Grim: Hochwaldbahn: Zoff about lighthouse project in the high forest. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  46. ↑ IG National Park Railway Hunsrück-Hochwald. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  47. ↑ IG National Park Railway Hunsrück-Hochwald. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  48. ↑ rcmistral.de: Off to Musikantenland. Retrieved July 7, 2015 .
  49. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 31 f .
  50. ^ A b c Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 49 .
  51. ↑ pkjs.de: 271d turquoise mill - black earths. Retrieved July 6, 2015 .
  52. ↑ pkjs.de: 271f Neunkirchen (Saar) - Ottweiler (Saar) - Schwarzerden - Kusel. Retrieved July 6, 2015 .
  53. ↑ pkjs.de: 271f Neunkirchen (Saar) - Ottweiler (Saar) - Schwarzerden - Kusel. Retrieved July 6, 2015 .
  54. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 139 .
  55. ↑ Ulrich Hauth: From near to far. On the history of the railways in the Nahe-Hunsrück region . 2011, p. 204 .
  56. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 70 .
  57. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 31 .
  58. ^ A b Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 55 ff .
  59. ^ A b Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 119 .
  60. ↑ vcd.org: Public lecture series on the Birkenfeld environmental campus - VCD theme evening House of the Environment Saarbrücken . (PDF) Retrieved August 17, 2015 .
  61. ↑ a b Gerd Stein: Secondary and narrow-gauge railways in Germany then and now . 1998, p. 1 .
  62. ↑ a b c d Gerd Stein: secondary and narrow-gauge railways in Germany then and now . 1998, p. 6 .
  63. ↑ mysnip.de: ex-KBS 271c Türkismühle - Freisen - Kusel (m1B). (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on August 12, 2015 .
  64. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 130 .
  65. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 132 .
  66. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 136 .
  67. ↑ a b c hochwaldbahn.de: routes | Türkismühle - Freisen (formerly up to Kusel) ( Memento from April 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  68. ^ A b Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 61 .
  69. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 32 .
  70. ↑ Hans-Joachim Emich, Rolf Becker: The railways to Glan and Lauter . 1996, p. 33 .
  71. ↑ Martin Wenz: Type stations of the Palatinate Railways on the Southern Wine Route . In: Landkreis Südliche Weinstrasse (Ed.): Fascination Railway. Homeland yearbook . 2008, p. 16 .
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 22, 2015 .