Railway Zwönitz – Scheibenberg

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Zwönitz – Scheibenberg
Route of the railway line Zwönitz – Scheibenberg
Section of the route map of Saxony from 1902
Route number : 6674; sä. ZS
Course book range : 170m (1944)
Route length: 26.239 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope : 25  ‰
Minimum radius : 200 m
Legend
   
 from Chemnitz south
   
 from Chemnitz Hbf
Stop, stop
 0.000 Zwönitz (former Inselbahnhof ) 548 m
   
 to Adorf (Vogtl)
   
 1.790 Wirtschaftsweg bridge (3.5 m)
   
 4.090 Fuchsbrunntal bridge (63 m)
   
 5.780 Kuttenbachtal Bridge (87 m)
   
 8.000 Bernsbach 660 m
   
 8.700 Bernsbach Bridge (47 m)
   
 9.795 First Frankonia
   
 10.920 Beierfeld 669 m
   
 11.192 Vertex 673 m
   
 12.430 Grünhain Viaduct (185 m)
   
 12.790 Grünhain 644 m
   
 13.330 Viaduct Göckeritztal (240 m)
   
 14.610 Viaduct Oswaldtal (136 m)
   
 18.150 Parents 629 m
   
 19.220 Schlangenbachtal Viaduct (134 m)
   
 20.890 Hermannsdorf Viaduct (119 m)
   
 21.500 Hermannsdorf 620 m
   
 from Schwarzenberg (Erzgeb)
Stop, stop
 26.240 Scheibenberg 623 m
Route - straight ahead
 to Annaberg-Buchholz Süd

The Zwönitz – Scheibenberg railway was a branch line in Saxony . The route, also known as the Ore Mountains Panorama Railway or the Upper Ore Mountains View Railway , ran from Zwönitz via Beierfeld and Elterlein to Scheibenberg . Most of the line was dismantled in 1947 as a reparation payment for the Soviet Union . The remainder of the route between Elterlein and Scheibenberg was closed in the 1960s.

history

Prehistory and construction

The then state government considered the construction of the railway line to be appropriate for the following reasons:

  • the generally not insignificant shortening of the previously existing transport routes,
  • the reduction of the distance for the coal procurement from the Lugau-Oelsnitz hard coal mining area in the Annaberg area ,
  • a reduction in the distance for the purchase of Bohemian lignite via Weipert in the Zwönitz area and
  • the removal of coal and raw materials from Bernsbach .

After the survey work was completed in November 1896, it became known, among other things, that at kilometer points 10.5 and 12.0 the water tunnel of the former Grünhain monastery leading from Grünhain to Sachsenfeld crossed the future railway line, and at kilometer point 23.25 a heap that had been impassable until then almost has to be removed. In July 1898, the construction of this link began.

The tender for the seven viaducts ended in September 1898. Participated in it u. a. the company Aug. Klönne Dortmund and offered 883,700.00 marks for the construction of all bridges, as well as the AG Königin-Marien-Hütte Cainsdorf with 917,600.00 marks. For the first section Zwönitz – Grünhain (Section I) the company Aug. Klönne Dortmund was awarded the contract (three bridges), for the four bridges of Section II (Grünhain – Scheibenberg) the company Königin Marienhütte Cainsdorf. The contracts provided for the bridges to be erected by August 31, 1899. In April 1899, a census by the Schwarzenberg administration showed that around 2,100 Croatians, Dalmatians, Czechen, Poles, Tyroleans and Italians were involved in the construction of the railway. Officially there were a total of 21 accidents, including deaths.

The highest point, at 672.86 m, was at 11.192 km. The completed route contained 37 switches, 11 buildings on stations, 4 buildings on the route, 7 viaducts, 12 underpasses and 3 overpasses, a vault lock, a moat bridge, 52 cover locks, 25 iron pipe locks, two extended deck locks and one extended pipe lock. On the corridors of Zwönitz, Kühnhaide , Dittersdorf , Lößnitz , Bernsbach, Beierfeld , Grünhain , Elterlein , Schwarzbach , Unterscheibe with Markersbach , Oberscheibe , Scheibenberg , 529,076.4 m² of the required area were expropriated.

business

Zwönitz, station keeper's house on the Scheibenberger Bahn near the Zwönitz substation (2018)

Due to construction delays, the railway could not be opened as planned in December 1899, but only on May 1, 1900. However, the first train journey on the new track took place on December 11, 1899. The first timetable provided for four passenger trains per day in both directions. Therefore, on May 3, 1900, the stagecoaches drove between Zwönitz-Grünhain and Zwönitz-Elterlein for the last time.

Most of the route was temporarily dismantled in 1947 as a reparation payment for the Soviet Union . On August 15, 1947, the SMAD “ordered” about 60 km of rails from the Dresden Rbd . As a result, several routes with suitable rail profiles were selected for dismantling. a. the Zwönitz – Scheibenberg route during a special trip by officers of the SMAD and officials of the Rbd Dresden with a class VT 137 railcar on August 17th. The dismantling order was issued on August 19th, and traffic between Zwönitz and Scheibenberg ended on August 20th. The tracks were loaded onto wagons by hand and transported to Zwönitz. Attempts to prevent dismantling only resulted in the preservation of the Elterlein – Scheibenberg section, although Elterlein had the least traffic of all stations so far. The dismantled tracks at Elterlein station had to be rebuilt.

Timetable 1950/51, the Wismut miners' trains are not listed in the timetable

At first there was still lively rush hour traffic in the direction of Schwarzenberg due to the uranium mining of the Wismut. A new siding was also built in Elterlein. From 1948 onwards, there were multiple efforts to rebuild the dismantled section of the route, but the project was not feasible due to a lack of material and unclear financing. The last time a reconstruction report was made in 1960, it was rejected.

The remaining stretch of Elterlein – Scheibenberg was operated in passenger traffic until November 21, 1965 and in freight traffic until September 24, 1966.

After the closure, the short stretch was used to park damaged cars until 1968 and then dismantled.

Route description

course

Railway line at the Hermannsdorf stop (2016)

The line began at Zwönitz station , where there was a change to the Chemnitz – Aue – Adorf and Zwönitz – Stollberg (Sachs) –Chemnitz Süd lines . It left the station in a south-westerly direction to separate itself in an arc to the south from the Chemnitz – Adorf railway line (now known as the “Zwönitztalbahn”). After the bridges in Fuchsgrund and Kuttenbachtal had been passed, the Bernsbach train station in the upper part of the village was reached at kilometer 8.00 . The section that follows up to Beierfeld train station at 10.92 km is known as the “Balcony of the Ore Mountains”, as Bernsbach offers a good view of the Schwarzwassers valley between Lauter and Schwarzenberg as far as the Ore Mountains ridge with the Auersberg . With a bridge and the Frankonia cable car connecting Frankonia AG in Beierfeld, this section also had two special features in terms of railway technology.

On the section that now follows, the apex of the route was reached at km 11.192 and the Spiegelwald was bypassed to the south. This was followed by the city bridge over the upper district of Grünhain. Grünhain station was reached at kilometer 12.79 . The railway line, which now leads further east, crossed the Göckeritztal and the Oswaldbach over two bridges .

The Elterlein train station, located at km 18.15 in the west of the city, formed the end from the direction of Scheibenberg since 1947. Then Elterlein was bypassed over two bridges to the north. In the east of the city, the Hermannsdorf stop was in an open field at a fork in the road at kilometer 21.50 . The eponymous place is located three kilometers to the east. On the last section, the railway ran south and from the west reached the Scheibenberg station on the Annaberg-Buchholz – Schwarzenberg railway .

Operating points

Zwönitz ⊙

The Zwönitz station was opened in 1875 together with the Chemnitz – Adorf railway line by the Chemnitz-Aue-Adorfer Railway Company . In the 1890s the station developed into a local railway junction when the line to Stollberg was opened in 1889 and the line to Scheibenberg eleven years later. After both railway lines were dismantled in 1947 as a reparation payment, the importance of the station declined. Although the line to Stollberg was rebuilt two years later, the transport volume remained low, so that in 1967 the line was finally closed. During the renovation of the Chemnitz – Aue section in the 2000s, most of the track systems in the former Inselbahnhof were removed.

  • Zwönitz station around 1910

  • Hp Zwönitz, behind the old reception building (2016)

Bernsbach ⊙

The Bernsbach station was opened as a stop on May 1, 1900 and elevated to a station in 1905. With the dismantling of the Zwönitz – Elterlein section, it went out of service on August 21, 1947. At the location on "(Upper) Bahnhofstrasse" in Bernsbach, the reception building, the goods shed and some farm buildings are still there.

  • Bernsbach station, reception building (2016)

  • Reception and utility building (2016)

Beierfeld ⊙

The Beierfeld station was opened as a stop on May 1, 1900, and was elevated to a station in 1905. With the dismantling of the Zwönitz – Elterlein section, it went out of service on August 21, 1947. At the location on the street “Am Bahnhof” in Beierfeld, the reception building, the goods shed and the loading ramp are still there. It was at the northern exit of the village in the direction of Grünhain. At the station exit in the direction of Scheibenberg there is a small memorial train that reminds of the time of the railway in Beierfeld.

  • Beierfeld station (2016)

  • Beierfeld Bf, Monument Train (2016)

  • Beierfeld Bf, Monument Train (2016)

Grünhain ⊙

Grünhain station was opened on May 1, 1900 and elevated to a station in 1905. With the dismantling of the Zwönitz – Elterlein section, it went out of service on August 21, 1947. At the location on the “Bahnhofstrasse” in the center of Grünhain, the renovated reception building, the goods shed and the railway maintenance office are still there.

  • Grünhain station, reception building (2016)

  • Freight shed (2016)

  • Freight shed and railway maintenance office (2016)

  • Railway maintenance department (2016)

Parent ⊙

The Elterlein train station was opened as a stop on May 1, 1900 and upgraded to a train station in 1905. The dismantling of the Zwönitz – Elterlein section had been the end point from the direction of Scheibenberg since August 21, 1947. After the cessation of passenger traffic, the station was run as a freight station on November 22, 1965. With the cessation of goods traffic on September 25, 1966, the station went out of service. At the location on "Bahnstrasse" in the west of Elterlein, the reception building, the goods shed and the railway maintenance office are still there.

  • Bf Elterlein, reception and adjoining building (2016)

  • Station building, track side (2016)

  • Reception building, street side (2016)

  • faded station name (2016)

  • Heimatecke Waschleithe , model station Elterlein

Hermannsdorf ⊙

Hermannsdorf stop (2016)

The Hermannsdorf stop was opened on May 1, 1900. After the suspension of rail traffic on the Elterlein – Scheibenberg section on September 25, 1966, the stop, which had been the only stop on the way since 1947, went out of service. At the former location east of Elterlein at the intersection “Hermannsdorfer Straße” / “Güterweg” there are no more remains. The place Hermannsdorf itself was about three kilometers to the east.

Scheibenberg ⊙

The Scheibenberg station was opened on December 1, 1889 with the Annaberg-Buchholz – Schwarzenberg railway line and dedicated to the station in 1905. Between 1900 and 1966 it was the end point of the Zwönitz – Scheibenberg railway line. In 1994, Scheibenberg was upgraded to a halt.

  • Scheibenberg station

  • Reception building (2016)

Civil engineering

Heimatecke Waschleithe , model of the Elterlein Viaduct

All viaducts were built as scaffolding pillar bridges with lattice and sheet metal girders and two brick abutments.

Fuchsbrunn Bridge ⊙
Fuchsbrunnbrücke in the direction of Scheibenberg (1999)

It was also called the Fuchsgrundbrücke or, more popularly, the Fuchsbahnbrücke . Originally the embankment of a dam was planned, but on September 5, 1898 it was decided to build a bridge, as the subsoil of the Fuchsbrunnbach did not allow the embankment of a dam with a brook and pathway. The Zwönitz freight forwarder Humann drove the bridge parts from the Zwönitz train station to the bridge. The bridge stands at kilometer 4.004, has a length of 63.1 m and a height of 16.74 m, the largest span is 16.0 m. It is the only landmark of the old Erzgebirgsbahn still preserved today on the border between Zwönitz and Lößnitz . It was built by the Aug. Klönne company, cost 77,076.70 marks and was completed in November 1899. In 1944 it was last repainted by prisoners of war . The political circumstances of 1989 prevented the removal of the bridge as the last evidence of civil engineering at that time.

Kuttenbach Bridge ⊙

It was also called the Hüttengrundbrücke or, in the vernacular, the “second Fuchsbahnbrücke” . The Zwönitz freight forwarder Humann drove the bridge parts from the Zwönitz train station to the bridge. It stood at the route kilometer 5.722, had a length of 87.1 m and a height of 8.58 m, the largest span is 16.0 m. It was built by the Aug. Klönne company , cost 147,264.43 marks and was completed in October 1899. The bridge was removed by helicopter as part of the FDJ initiative “ Max needs scrap”, today only a pillar and a large pile of rubble can be seen.

City bridge ⊙

This was the bridge over the upper town of Grünhain. It stood at route kilometer 12.369, had a length of 185.50 m and a height of 15.80 m, the largest span was 19.0 m. It was built by the Aug. Klönne company, cost 175,841.55 marks and was completed in November 1899.

Göckeritztalbrücke ⊙

It was also called Göckeritzbach- or Göckeritzbrücke. It stood at kilometer 13.275, had a length of 240.00 m and a height of 27.00 m, the largest span was 19.0 m. It was built by the company Königin-Marien-Hütte Cainsdorf, cost 283,964.94 marks and was completed in November 1899. In 1900 it was considered the fifth largest bridge structure in Saxony.

Oswaldtalbrücke ⊙

It was also called the Flössel Bridge. It stood at the route kilometer 14.626, had a length of 136.00 m and a height of 34.60 m, the largest span was 26.0 m. It was built by the company Königin-Marien-Hütte Cainsdorf, cost 202,830.63 marks and was completed in February 1900.

Schlangenbach Bridge ⊙

It was called the Schlangenbachtalbrücke or Stadtbadbrücke. It stood at the route kilometer 19.240, had a length of 134.00 m and a height of 21.20 m, the largest span was 15.0 m. It was built by the company Königin-Marien-Hütte Cainsdorf, cost 154,929.21 marks and was completed in October 1899. At the bridge there was a mobile platform for maintenance and measurement work.

Long block bridge ⊙

It was also called the Hermannsdorf Bridge . It stood at kilometer 20.910, had a length of 119.00 m and a height of 13.00 m, the largest span was 15.0 m. It was built by the company Königin-Marien-Hütte Cainsdorf, cost 128,937.75 marks and was completed in June 1899. At the bridge there was a mobile platform for maintenance and measurement work.

additional

The location of the Beierfeld train station was extremely unfavorable for Frankonia AG. Due to the great gradient of the access road to the village, shipping of goods in particular was difficult. The Frankonia cable car was therefore built in 1917. which connected the factory premises directly with the junction at km 9.795 on the route.

literature

  • Eberhard Schramm: The Upper Ore Mountains Lookout Railway. The Stollberg – Zwönitz – Scheibenberg route . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1996, ISBN 3-88255-427-4 ( Regional traffic history 14 Eisenbahn-Kurier ).
  • Erich Preuß , Reiner Preuß : Saxon State Railways. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 .
  • Stefan Schneider: The Zwönitz station and its three railway lines. Development and advancement to the transport hub . Self-published, Zwönitz 1996, pp. 69-108.

Web links

Commons : Zwönitz – Scheibenberg railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eberhard Schramm: The Upper Erzgebirge Lookout Railway. The Stollberg – Zwönitz – Scheibenberg route , p. 48
  2. ↑ Eberhard Schramm: The Upper Erzgebirge Lookout Railway. The Stollberg – Zwönitz – Scheibenberg route , p. 98
  3. ↑ Bernsbach train station at www.sachsenschiene.net
  4. ^ The Beierfeld train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
  5. ^ The Grünhain train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
  6. ↑ Elterlein train station on www.sachsenschiene.net