Gera Süd – Weischlitz railway line

Gera south-Weischlitz
Section of the route map of Saxony from 1902
Route number (DB) :	6269; sä. GWz
Course book section (DB) :	541
Route length:	60.024 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	CM4
Maximum slope :	9  ‰
Minimum radius :	275 m
Top speed:	80 km / h
Legend from Leipzig-Leutzsch -0.120 Gera Süd formerly Gera (Reuss) Sächs Stb 197 m 0.979 Abzw Gera-Debschwitz according to Probstzella to Goessnitz (Re-alignment in 1892; abandoned in 2016) 1.800 Gera South Gbf 200 m Connection curve from Gößnitz 2.578 Gera Ost formerly Zwötzen Sächs Stb 203 m 4.084 Gera-Liebschwitz 206 m 4.605 Liebschwitzer Viaduct (226 m) from Leipzig-Leutzsch 5.272 Wolfsgefärth Bf according to Probstzella 6.424 Wish Village (Elster) North 207 m 6.633 Meilitzer Viaduct (130 m) Werdau – Mehltheuer from Mehltheuer Establishment of the Wünschendorf lime works 9,397 Wish Village (Elster) 213 m to Werdau 9.740 EÜ farm road (10 m) 10.200 White Elster (120 m) 12.054 Lochguttunnel (60 m) 12.200 White Magpie (70 m) 18,248 Berga (magpie) 228 m 21,913 White Magpie (60 m) 21,962 Rüßdorfer Tunnel (264 m) 24,074 Neumühle (Elster) 245 m 25.276 White Magpie (100 m) 25.945 White Magpie (50 m) 26.075 Bretmühlen Tunnel (116 m) 26.288 White Magpie (75 m) 29,951 Schloßberg Tunnel (270 m) 30.300 (20 m) 30.317 Weisse Elster, Bundesstrasse 94 (70 m) 30.664 Greiz 261 m to Neumark 31.980 White Elster (110 m) 32.200 At the Greiz paper mill 32,596 Weisse Elster, Bundesstrasse 92 (60 m) 32.749 Rothental Tunnel (138 m) 32,929 White Magpie (70 m) 33,558 Greiz-Dölau (formerly Bf) 269 ​​m 36.740 First ANFC Greiz-Dölau State border between Saxony and Thuringia 35.878 Elsterberg 275 m 36.100 White Magpie (60 m) 36.285 Elsterberg Tunnel (355 m) Instead of Enka Elsterberg 37.011 Elsterberg artificial silk factory 276 m 39,577 White Elster (43 m) 39.748 Steinigt tunnel (88 m) 39.923 White Elster (43 m) 40.277 White Elster (43 m) 40.524 White Magpie (40 m) Rentzschmühle quarry 40.710 Rentzschmühle 298 m 42.169 White Magpie (55 m) 42.928 Barthmühle 306 m Hof – Leipzig ( Elstertal Bridge ) 43.707 Shoot (30 m) 44,994 Möschwitz Tunnel (205 m) 45.230 White Magpie (40 m) 45.796 White Magpie (49 m) 47,471 White Magpie (32 m) 48.641 White Magpie (65 m) by Lottengrün 49.651 Plauen (Vogtl) -Chrieschwitz 333 m 50.180 Establishment of Plauen steel technology, Plauen district heating plant 51.133 Plauen (Vogtl) center 51.831 EÜ Bundesstrasse 173 (21 m) 52,062 EÜ Bundesstrasse 92 (15 m) 52.677 Plauen (Vogtl) und Bf 337 m 53.386 Anst Vomag 54.371 Plauen (Vogtl) rayon 347 m At the Köstner steel center 57.819 White Magpie (38 m) 58.130 Pumpkin 352 m from Plauen ob Bf 59.904 Weischlitz 354 m after Cheb formerly double-track line

The Gera Süd – Weischlitz (also: Elstertalbahn ) railway is a single-track main line in Thuringia and Saxony , which was originally built and operated by the Saxon-Thuringian Railway Company . It runs in the valley of the White Elster from Gera via Greiz and Plauen to Weischlitz .

In the network of the Royal Saxon State Railways , the Gera – Weischlitz connection, with a total of eight tunnels, was the route with the greatest number of tunnels.

history

planning

Before the construction of the Elstertal Railway, the East Thuringian-Saxon Vogtland was only accessible by railways via the Leipzig – Hof line and a short branch line from Brunn to Greiz. In particular, the Leipzig – Hof route ran over a large area over the ridges and thus far away from the developing industries in the White Elster Valley. In 1868 the "Thuringian Vogtland Railway Association" was founded in Greiz, which promoted the project of a direct connection from Gera through the Elstertal to Plauen. The line should also serve the national north-south traffic and was thus also a direct competitor to the Saxon state railway Leipzig-Hof. On the other hand, there were strategic reasons in favor of the construction, which is why the Saxon state parliament and the government finally approved the construction. At this point in time, Prussia had also planned a Gera – Schleiz – Hof railway that would not have touched Saxony in north-south traffic. In May 1870, the Principality of Reuss Older Line and the Kingdom of Saxony signed a state treaty that provided for the construction to be carried out by a private company. However, the Thuringian Vogtland Railway Association subsequently failed to raise the necessary financial resources.

In 1872, the newly founded Saxon-Thuringian Railway Company, based in Greiz, presented the plan again and received the concession from the participating states to build and operate a railway from Wolffahrzeugth via Berga, Greiz, Elsterberg and Plauen to Weischlitz. The company was obliged to establish direct connections to the Gera – Eichicht , Greiz – Brunn and Plauen – Eger routes . In addition, there was the right to acquire the Greiz-Brunner Railway , with the consent of the same it was obliged to do so.

construction

Schlossberg tunnel in Greiz, the profile is designed for double-track operation (2014)

Construction work by Plessner & Co. began on November 15, 1872. The starting point was Wolfsgefärth station on the existing Leipzig – Probstzella railway line . The route in the Elstertal required a total of eight longer tunnels and almost 30 larger bridges to cross the White Elster. After the bankruptcy of the railway construction company in January 1875 due to the economic crisis of 1873 , the Saxon-Thuringian Railway Company had to complete the construction on its own.

The section from Wolfsgefärth to Greiz went into operation on July 17, 1875. The second section, the line from Greiz to Plauen lower station, was put into operation on September 8, the last section to Weischlitz followed on September 20 of the same year, where the line joins the Plauen – Eger line .

The enormous costs for the engineering structures and the effects of the economic crisis drove the Saxon-Thuringian Railway Company into financial emergency in 1876, so that the line had to be sold to the Royal Saxon State Railways on July 1, 1877 .

Liebschwitz Viaduct (2013)

The Royal Saxon State Railways opened their own route on December 1, 1892 from the Saxon train station Gera ( Reuss ) Sächs Stsb (today Gera Süd ) via Gera Ost and Gera-Liebschwitz to Wünschendorf . The original connection to the Prussian Wolfsgefärth train station was given up at the same time. The new route made a complex new bridge construction necessary over the white Elster and its flood plains near Liebschwitz.

post war period

The Elstertalbahn is consistently laid out for double-track operation (tunnel, bridge abutment). In fact, the second track was only laid between Gera Süd and Wünschendorf (in operation from April 29, 1911) and between Plauen (Vogtl) Chrieschwitz and Plauen (Vogtl) und Bf (in operation from June 1, 1923). After the Second World War it was dismantled in 1945/46 as a reparation payment for the Soviet Union and was never rebuilt later.

On April 16, 1945, the Elstertal Bridge on the Leipzig – Hof railway line was blown up by the German Wehrmacht . The rubble also interrupted the Elstertal Railway near Barthmühle. It was not until autumn 1945 that continuous train traffic could be resumed. After the Second World War , the route was of great importance for freight traffic , as the cities on the White Elster were important industrial locations. There were also some long-distance trains to Czechoslovakia , as the Leipzig – Hof line was still single - track and poorly efficient until the 1970s after the dismantling of the post - war period . Similarly, the Werdau – Mehltheuer railway was also used as a relief route, but for connections to southern Germany. After the connection Leipzig – Plauen (Vogtl) ob Bf was completely double-tracked again from 1980, the utilization of the Elstertalbahn also decreased. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 1980s, the Ex 68 "Karola" (Leipzig-Gera-Karlsbad) was once again a high-quality long-distance connection with diesel multiple units via the Elstertalbahn. This became possible when the Vindobona (Berlin – Vienna) was switched to locomotive-hauled trains in 1979 and the express railcars previously used there were available elsewhere. From 1981/82, only freight and local trains ran on the Elstertalbahn. After the German reunification in 1990, the importance of the route continued to decline. In the 1992/93 timetable, there was only one express train pair Greiz - Erfurt (- Fulda ) or Gera - Adorf (Vogtl) . Freight traffic was soon limited to a few trains to Greiz – Dölau and a few through freight trains to the Czech Republic. The branching line Greiz – Neumark was closed and dismantled in 1999.

New developments

Situation in the south of Gera in 2017. The Gera – Weischlitz line branches off from the Leipzig – Probstzella line in Wolfsahrth , the parallel Gera Süd – Wolfsahrth line via Gera-Liebschwitz, which has existed since 1892, has been closed since 2016.

On February 24, 2014, the construction of the new Plauen (Vogtl) Mitte stop began as part of the “Public Transport / Local Transport Link Reichenbacher Straße” project. This is to provide a better link between the route and the Plauen tram. During the construction work, the route between Plauen-Chrieschwitz and Weischlitz was completely closed until November 2, so that replacement rail traffic was set up in this section. The opening took place on September 7, 2015. Plauen (Vogtl) unt Bf and the stop Plauen (Vogtl) viscose viscose are no longer served.

Due to the condition of the Liebschwitzer Viaduct in need of renovation (slow speed limit at 10 km / h), the DB examined various options for future traffic in the direction of Weischlitz. In 2016, DB Netz AG re-established the connection that existed until 1892 at the former Wolfsgefärth station (since 1953 Gera-Röppisch, not to be confused with the new Wolfsgefahrt stop, which has existed farther south since 2000), replacing the one that has since been abandoned Station only a branch was built. With the commissioning, the Saxon route over Gera Ost and Gera-Liebschwitz with the Elsterbrücke, which had existed since 1892, was shut down and the largely parallel section of the Elstertalbahn was taken out of service. The trains now run from Wolfsgefärth on the Leipzig – Probstzella line to Gera.

Today's operation

passenger traffic

Passenger train traffic has been operated partly by Vogtlandbahn and DB Regio Südost since December 9, 2012 . The Vogtlandbahn operates regional trains between Weischlitz and Gera , the Deutsche Bahn the regional express in the Greiz- Gera section .

On the entire route there is a two-hour cycle with an intersection in Barthmühle on the hour. This is compressed between Greiz and Gera on an hourly basis with the crossing in Berga / Elster shortly before half an hour. Deutsche Bahn connects some of these trains to Erfurt , Würzburg and Göttingen . With one exception, there are connections to Deutsche Bahn every four hours in Greiz on the remainder of the route to Weischlitz.

Special trips with steam locomotives usually take place on weekends and public holidays in autumn between Gera and Cheb as "Elstertalexpress". The "Halloren Express" first drove from Greiz to Halle (Saale) in spring 2018 .

Freight transport

In the northern section of the route there is daily freight traffic from Monday to Friday. Two operations in Wünschendorf and Greiz-Dölau are served on the route. From and to Wünschendorf, dolomite- laden funnel wagon block trains from Caaschwitz travel the route. Some of the products are also transported away by rail. The section to Greiz-Dölau is served on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with tank cars being used. The goods transported come from Russia, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands.

Handovers also take place between Weischlitz and Plauen-Chrieschwitz. The freight trains in question come from Zwickau and travel to Plauen . From Plauen ob Bf the trains run on the railway line to Cheb and change direction in Weischlitz .

Route description

Route

Route in Elstertal near Berga (2014)

Elsterbrücke km 40.277 in Steinicht , with Vogtlandbahn passenger train (2009)

Gera Südbahnhof was initially left on a double-track route, until the route to Saalfeld branches off to the south after crossing under the south- east bypass and the route to Gößnitz branches off to the east . The Elstertalbahn passed the Zwötzen district to the east, crossed the Weisse Elster to the west of Liebschwitz and approached the Saalfeld line again within a few meters in the area of ​​today's Wolfsgefärth junction . At the level of the Wünschendorf dolomite works, the disused Weida – Wünschendorf – Werdau railway line is crossed until the line at the Wünschendorf station meets the Elstertal line. Both routes leave the city and the Wünschendorfer basin in parallel and reach the narrowly cut and densely wooded valley of the Elster, where the Elstertalbahn switches to the western bank of the river. After passing the quartzite quarry, the Werführung route turns east into the Fuchsbachtal, while the Elstertal route leads through a tunnel for the first time and crosses the river again. In Berga the federal highway 175 is crossed and to the south of the city first crossed an agriculturally used floodplain, until the river is crossed again and the valley is shortened via the 264 meter long Rüßdorf tunnel. From the Lehnamühle, the route leads through the Greiz-Werzeit Wald nature reserve , past the Neumühle train station and, after a double crossing of the river, through the Neumühle tunnel. On the way to Greiz, the river is crossed twice, with the Schlossberg tunnel under the Upper Castle in Greiz - a popular photo motif - one of the more noteworthy engineering structures on this section .

On the second half of the route, the White Elster is crossed a total of fourteen times, and federal road 92 runs as far as possible through the Elster Valley to Elsterberg . At the exit of the Greizer train station, the disused line to Neumark branches off to the east , and at the same time the old steel bridge of Tannendorfstrasse is crossed under . Behind the confluence of the Göltzsch in the White Elster, the route crosses the Elster twice and leads through the Dölau tunnel or Rothenthaler tunnel before it reaches the Greiz-Dölau train station . Between Greiz-Dölau and Elsterberg, the route remains on the eastern bank of the Elster and crosses the state border with the Free State of Saxony, before going six times over the river and through two tunnels on the following section to Barthmühle. One of the most striking points on the route is the following passage under the Elstertal Bridge , which in turn carries the Leipzig – Hof railway line . Immediately afterwards, the route leads past the mouth of the Trieb and the Pöhl reservoir 800 meters to the east . This is followed by the Barthmühle tunnel and four other Elsterbrücken bridges, until the industrial city of Plauen with its only partially served stations Chrieschwitz, Mitte, Unterer Bahnhof and viscose wool is reached. After leaving the city, the Plauen – Cheb railway approaches from the north , which finally meets the Elstertal Railway in Kürbitz and the remaining two kilometers to Weischlitz runs parallel.

Operating points

Gera South ⊙

Gera Süd stop

The station Gera South was on 1 June 1886 as a freight station Gera-doors on the separation of railway routes Leipzig-Probstzella and Gößnitz-Gera opened. On December 1, 1892, the Royal Saxon State Railways opened their own route on the Gera South – Weischlitz line on the Gera South – Wünschendorf section .

The station in the Gera district of Pforten thus became the first station of the Royal Saxon State Railways in Gera. With the dedication to the station in 1893, the station received a red brick reception building. The station had the following names:

• until 1896: Gera – Pforten (The station name was transferred to the newly opened station on the narrow-gauge Gera-Pforten – Wuitz-Mumsdorf railway in 1901 )
• until 1911: Gera (Reuss) S. St. E.
• until 1920: Gera (Reuss) Sächs Stb
• until 1923: Gera (Reuss) South
• since 1923: Gera Süd

Since the numerous level crossings represented a hindrance to road traffic, the tracks were raised between 1906 and 1911. In 1911, today's reception building was built on “Sachsenplatz” in Gera. In 1922 the station changed from the Dresden Railway Directorate to the Erfurt Railway Directorate. From 2005 the signal boxes were gradually abandoned and demolished. Today the station only functions as a stopping point. Since 24 October 2016, the trains coming from Weischlitz from Wolfsgefärth on the Leipzig-Probstzella railway to Gera.

Abzw Gera-Debschwitz ⊙

The Gera-Debschwitz junction has existed since the Gera – Eichicht section of the Leipzig – Probstzella railway line opened in 1871. At the junction in what is now the Gera district of Debschwitz , the railway line opened in 1865 to and from Gößnitz to the east separates from Gera Hauptbahnhof in the north from the Leipzig – Probstzella railway line opened in 1871 (section south of Gera) to the south. Between 1892 and 2016, the Gera-Debschwitz junction branched off the Gera Süd – Weischlitz railway line, which ran parallel to the Leipzig – Probstzella railway line in the Gera city area and, as part of the line renovation, now uses the line of the railway line to Probstzella as far as Wolfsgefärth .

Gera Süd Gbf ⊙

Directly south of the passenger station was the Gera Süd Gbf freight yard . It was opened on July 1, 1897. Between 1906 and 1911 the tracks were raised. On June 1, 1992 Gera Süd Gbf went out of service. It was then dismantled.

Gera East ⊙

The Gera Ost stop was opened as the Zwötzen stop on December 1, 1892 and dedicated to the station in 1905. The station had the following names:

• until 1900: Zwötzen
• until 1911: Zwötzen S. St. E.
• until 1920: Zwötzen Sächs Stb
• until 1931: Zwötzen Ost
• since 1931: Gera Ost

The station has a red brick reception building and also a goods shed, farm building and railway maintenance office. 1972 was downgraded to the breakpoint. With the relocation of the Gera Süd – Wolfsgefärth section to the parallel Leipzig – Probstzella line, the Gera Ost stop was taken out of service on October 24, 2016.

Gera-Liebschwitz ⊙

→ Main article : Gera-Liebschwitz train station

Gera-Liebschwitz train station

The Gera-Liebschwitz station was opened as a stop on December 1, 1892 and dedicated to the station in 1905. The reception building and the farm buildings are made of red brick.

With the relocation of the Gera Süd – Wolfsgefärth section to the parallel Leipzig – Probstzella line, Gera-Liebschwitz station was decommissioned on October 24, 2016.

Wish village (Elster) North ⊙

The Wünschendorf (Elster) Nord stop was opened on June 1, 1909 as the Meilitz stop . After the village was incorporated into Wünschendorf / Elster , it was renamed Wünschendorf (Elster) Nord in 1953 .

Wish Village (Elster) North

Wish village (Elster) ⊙

Wünschendorf (Elster) train station

The Wünschendorf stop was opened on July 17, 1875 with the Gera Süd – Weischlitz railway line. After the opening of the Werdau – Wünschendorf – Weida section of the Werdau – Mehltheuer railway on August 29, 1876, it was upgraded to a station on August 1, 1884. It had the following names:

• until 1908: Wünschendorf
• until 1911: Wünschendorf ad Elster
• since 1911: Wünschendorf (Elster)

The current station building dates back to 1916. Other high-rise buildings include goods and locomotive sheds, farm buildings and two signal boxes.

After the Wünschendorf (Elster) –Weida section was closed on May 1, 1997 and the Werdau – Wünschendorf (Elster) section on November 15, 2000, the Wünschendorf (Elster) station is only a stop on the Gera Süd – Weischlitz line.

Berga (Elster) ⊙

Berga (Elster) train station

Reception building Neumühle (Elster), 2020

The Berga (Elster) Station was opened on 17 July 1875 as station dedicated in 1905 to the station. It had the following names:

• until 1896: Berga
• until 1911: Berga ad Elster
• since 1911: Berga (Elster)

The station building was made of red brick. Other high-rise buildings are the railway maintenance office and two signal boxes.

Neumühle (Elster) ⊙

The Neumühle (Elster) station was opened as the Neumühle stop on July 17, 1875 and was consecrated as a station in 1905. In 1922 the station was given its current name. After the original station building had been relocated to Wildenaube in 1891 , the station was given the current red brick building. The station also has a wooden waiting hall and a goods shed.

Greiz ⊙

Greiz station building

→ Main article : Greiz train station

The Greiz Station was named on July 17, 1875 Greiz unt Bf with the section Wolfsgefärth-Greiz the Elster Valley Railway opened. Until the opening of the section to the lower station in Plauen on September 8, 1875, it was a terminus station . Since Greiz was the state capital of the Principality of Reuss older line , the station was expanded to become the second largest station on the line. After the purchase of the Neumark – Greiz railway line by the Greiz-Brunner Railway Company by the Kingdom of Saxony, this line was extended in 1876 from Greiz ob Bf to Greiz und Bf , making the station a railway junction. In 1879 the station was named Greiz Bahnhof and in 1897 the name Greiz . Structural changes were made around 1880 and 1920.

After passenger traffic on the railway to Neumark was discontinued in 1997, the line was closed in 1999. Since then, the Greiz train station has only been a through station. In 2001 the goods shed was demolished. It was followed by the coal and locomotive shed in 2015.

Greiz-Dölau ⊙

Greiz-Dölau station (2018)

The Greiz-Dölau station was opened on May 1, 1893 as the Dölau stop and dedicated to the station in 1905. The station has had a small reception building since it opened. It had the following names:

• until 1898: Dölau
• until 1916: Dölau near Greiz
• until 1922: Dölau (Reuss)
• since 1922: Greiz-Dölau

In the direction of Weischlitz, Greiz-Dölau is the last stop in Thuringia.

Elsterberg ⊙

Elsterberg station, station building track side (2018)

The Elsterberg Station was opened on 8 September 1875th It is the first stop in Saxony in the direction of Weischlitz. In addition to the reception building, the station in the north of the city has a residential building, a goods shed and two signal boxes.

Elsterberg artificial silk factory ⊙

Elsterberg artificial silk factory stop (2018)

The Elsterberg Kunstseidenwerk stop was opened on December 1, 1949 as the Elsterberg Spinnfaser stop near the VEB Kunstseidenwerk Clara Zetkin in the south of the city. In 1956 it was renamed Elsterberg Kunstseidenwerk .

Rentzschmühle ⊙

Rentzschmühle station with the reception building dismantled in May 2018

The station Rentzschmühle was opened on 8 September 1875 as stop and 1905 dedicated to the station. The station of the settlement belonging to the Saxon municipality of Pöhl is located in the valley of the White Elster on the border with the Thuringian Cossengrün . The wooden reception building was surrounded by several half-timbered houses. It was dismantled in May 2018 and was supposed to be rebuilt in the same year at the foot of the Liebau castle ruins and was replaced by a much smaller modern waiting building.

Barthmühle ⊙

Barthmühle station

The Barthmühle station was opened as a bus stop on July 15, 1879 and consecrated as a station in 1905. The station is located in the Barthmühle district of the Pöhl community. South of the station, the Leipzig – Hof railway crosses the Gera – Weischlitz railway on the Elstertalbrücke . The former has a stop in the eastern neighboring town of Jocketa, just a few kilometers from Barthmühle train station. The station building is a timber-framed building.

Plauen (Vogtl) Chrieschwitz ⊙

→ Main article : Plauen (Vogtl) -Chrieschwitz train station

Entrance building of the Chrieschwitz train station

The Plauen (Vogtl) Chrieschwitz train station was opened on June 1, 1923 with the inauguration of the Lottengrün – Plauen railway line that joins here . This line, which opens in front of the station from the east, was subsequently expanded to double-track as far as the Plauen (Vogtl) station and Bf . In 1946 the second track was dismantled as a reparation payment. At the beginning of 1970 the line to Lottengrün was shut down and dismantled. A pallet station was set up on the vacated area in the course of the development of the Plauen- Chrieschwitz prefabricated building area. Furthermore, some industrial companies were connected to the station with tracks, of which only one steel construction company is regularly served today.

After the dismantling of the station, only one continuous track has been available since 2004. In this context, the station was downgraded to a stop. The bridge over the station, built in 1984, had to be closed in 2006 due to the dilapidated condition of the structure. Since the platforms of the stop can only be reached via these, the closure of the bridge was accompanied by the abandonment of the stop.

Plauen (Vogtl) center ⊙

The Plauen (Vogtl) Mitte stop was opened in the center of Plauen on September 7, 2015 as part of the “Public Transport / Local Transport Link Reichenbacher Straße” project. It serves to better link the railway line to the Plauen tram . With the opening of the station, the following stops in Plauen (Vogtl) and Bf and Plauen (Vogtl) rayon were closed.

Plauen (Vogtl) and Bf ⊙

→ Main article : Bahnhof Plauen (Vogtl) unt Bf

Opened on September 8th, 1875 Plauen (Vogtl) unt Bf was after the station Plauen (Vogtl) ob Bf the second station of the city. It became necessary because, due to the height difference within the city of Plauen, it was not possible to integrate the railway line running in the valley of the White Elster into the upper station. On July 1, 1911, the company previously known as Plauen iV unt Bf was given the current name Plauen (Vogtl) unt Bf . Between 1923 and 1972, the trains on the Lottengrün – Plauen line also ended in Plauen (Vogtl) and Bf , which already flowed into the Elstertal Railway in Plauen-Chrieschwitz.

After the station building was completely destroyed at the end of World War II on March 21, 1945, the station was only given a new building in 1967. The station was served by the hourly regional trains of the VB 6 line of the Vogtlandbahn (Weischlitz – Gera) until 6 September 2015 . With the opening of the Plauen (Vogtl) Mitte stop on September 7, 2015, the Plauen (Vogtl) train station at Bf is no longer a regular train stop.

Plauen (Vogtl) rayon ⊙

The Plauen (Vogtl) cellulose fiber stop was opened on December 1, 1949. It was equipped with a massive small reception building, which is no longer preserved. After the station was modernized, it was equipped with a modern waiting room. With the opening of the Plauen (Vogtl) stop in the middle of September 7, 2015, the Plauen (Vogtl) rayon stop is no longer a regular train stop.

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  Stop at Plauen (Vogtl) Mitte

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  Plauen (Vogtl) und Bf

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  Former stop in Plauen (Vogtl) viscose wool (2019)

Pumpkin ⊙

Kürbitz stop, waiting hall (2018)

The Kürbitz stop was put into operation in 1875 together with the Gera-Pforten-Weischlitz railway line, but there was no platform on the Plauen side. After the second track had been dismantled, a platform for the Plauen – Eger railway line was opened on the vacated planum in 1951.

Weischlitz ⊙

→ Main article : Weischlitz train station

Right from the start, Weischlitz station was designed to incorporate the Gera Süd – Weischlitz railway line operated by the private Saxon-Thuringian railway company . The private railway built its facilities east of the existing facilities. It opened its last section of the route Plauen unt Bf – Weischlitz on September 20, 1875.

Even after the Saxon State took over the Saxon-Thuringian Railway Company, the operating situation did not change. The trains to Wolfsfahrzeugth started and ended in the eastern part of the station.

Major renovations took place around 1900, after which the station remained essentially unchanged until the end of the Second World War. After the Second World War, with the dismantling of the second track as a reparation payment, the tracks inside the station were also reduced.

There are a total of eight tracks in the station today, six of them on the west side. The loading street track is also located there as the only remaining track for freight traffic.

The locomotive station set up by the Saxon-Thuringian Railway Company with the listed rectangular boiler house and a turntable built later remained in operation until the 1970s.

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  Weischlitz train station around 1910

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  Weischlitz station, reception building (2013)

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  Weischlitz train station, engine shed (2018)

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  Weischlitz station, route to Oelsnitz (Vogtl) and signal box (2018)

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  Weischlitz station, Vogtlandbahn to Elsterberg (2018)

Vehicle use

The PLAUEN of the Saxon-Thür.Eb. was at K. Sächs.Sts. Eb. listed as No. 2710 (after 1900)

In 1874, the Saxon-Thuringian Railway acquired eight type 1B n2 locomotives with a tender from Schichau in Elbing , with which all traffic was handled. At the Royal Saxon State Railways they were listed as class Schi III (later II).

In the GDR era, the locomotives of the class 112 (later class 202 ) were typical in passenger train traffic and the then class 120 (later class 220) in freight traffic. The Ext "Karola" to Karlsbad operated with VT 18.16 .

In the 1990s, in addition to the 202 series, locomotives of the 219 and 232 series were also used in passenger traffic , mostly pulling UIC-Z passenger carriages , but sometimes also UIC-X express train wagons of the former Federal Railroad. In 2000 the first Desiro appeared on the route, which has since been replaced by the Regio-Shuttle RS 1. The DB class 612 was also used for the 2012 timetable change .

The freight trains are pre-tensioned between Gera and Greiz-Dölau locomotives of the 203 , 261 or 294 series . The transfers to the connections in the Plauen city area (viscose wool, lower train station, Chrieschwitz) are carried out (as of May 2013) by class 261 locomotives.

literature

• Erich Preuß, Reiner Preuß: Saxon State Railways. transpress Verlagsgesellschaft, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70700-0 , pp. 66-67
• Wilfried Rettig: The Elstertal Railway - The history of the railway between Gera, Greiz, Plauen and Weischlitz . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2006, ISBN 3-88255-588-2 .
• Wilfried Rettig: The railways in Vogtland. Volume 1: Development, main lines, vehicles, depot and buildings. EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2001, ISBN 3-88255-686-2 .
• Georg Thielmann: The Elstertal Railway. The history of the main line from Gera to Weischlitz . 1st edition. Wachsenburgverlag, Arnstadt 2003, ISBN 3-935795-02-5 .

Web links

Commons : Gera Süd – Weischlitz railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• 125 years of the Elstertalbahn

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Route data on www.sachsenschiene.de
2. ↑ STREDA - DBAG route data, as of 2003.
3. ↑ Data on sachsenschiene.net
4. ↑ ^{a b} Stop at Plauen Mitte. ( Memento from June 27, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ) Press release Verkehrsverbund Vogtland, June 17, 2014.
5. ↑ Rail bypass at Gera put into operation. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn, October 24, 2016, archived from the original on October 29, 2016 ; Retrieved October 29, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Dolomitwerke Wünschendorf triple sales. Ostthüringer Zeitung , October 17, 2012, accessed on December 7, 2018 . 
7. ^ Rail strikes hit the Greiz chemical plant hard. Ostthüringer Zeitung , October 18, 2014, accessed on December 7, 2018 . 
8. ^ Description of the Südbahnhof on the website of the city of Gera
9. ^ The Gera Süd train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
10. ↑ The Gera Ost stop on www.sachsenschiene.net
11. ^ The Wünschendorf (Elster) train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
12. ^ The Neumühle (Elster) train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
13. ↑ The Greiz train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
14. ↑ Elsterberg train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
15. ↑ Rentzschmühle train station on www.sachsenschiene.net
16. ↑ Kathrin Beier: The historic waiting hall at Rentzschmühle is moving . Freie Presse , May 31, 2018, accessed April 4, 2019.
17. ^ The Plauen (Vogtl) Chrieschwitz stop on a private homepage
18. ↑ Data on www.sachsenschiene.net
19. ↑ The Plauen (Vogtl) cellulose stop at www.sachsenschiene.net
20. ↑ Wilfried Rettig: Plauen / V – Cheb (Eger) –The PE railway line in the Euregio-Egrensis , p. 26
21. ↑ Tracks in service facilities - as of October 1st, 2012 (PDF; 172 kB)
22. ^ Ingo Fritzsch: The Elstertalbahn from Gera to Weischlitz. ( Memento from August 15, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) In: The railway picture archive . (Pictures no longer available)