Erzbergbahn

Leoben Hbf – Hieflau
197.301 and 97.208 at Eisenerz station
Route number (ÖBB) :	220 01 (Eisenerz – Hieflau)
Course book route (ÖBB) :	61 (until 2001)
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	71  ‰
Minimum radius :	182 m
Top speed:	80 km / h
Legend from Bruck an der Mur -0.500 Leoben Central Station 540  m above sea level A. 2.636 Leoben-Donawitz 596  m above sea level A. 5.131 Sankt Peter-Freienstein 5.786 Sankt Peter-Freienstein place 7,047 Gmeingrube (closed June 2nd, 1996) 8,798 Trofaiach 10.186 Gladen 11.357 Hafning 13.245 Friedauwerk 14,924 19,700 Vordernberg 768  m above sea level A. 18.087 Vordernberg Market 1 846  m above sea level A. 14.700 Glass brake 1 1042  m above sea level A. 12.000 Präbichl 1204  m above sea level A. Präbichler Tunnel (591 m) 9.300 Feistawiese 1100  m above sea level A. Slab tunnel (1394 m) 6.800 Erzberg 1070  m above sea level A. Kressenberg Tunnel (154 m) Klammwald tunnel (262 m) 1.500 Krumpental 722  m above sea level A. 1.200 Connection railway Voestalpine 0.712 Layer tower tunnel (132 m) 0.000 14.480 Iron ore 692  m above sea level A. 12.000 Münichtal 5.700 Jassingau 0.847 Hieflau marshalling yard 0.173 Weigh tunnel (93 m) 0.000 Hieflau 489  m above sea level A. Rudolfsbahn

The Erzbergbahn is a railway line in Upper Styria that connects the northern part with the southern part of the Rudolfsbahn and is therefore a kind of shortcut. It leads over the Präbichl (1204 m), and until 1978 its middle section was operated as a rack railway. Today, regular transport only takes place in the form of goods traffic between Leoben and Trofaiach as well as Eisenerz-Krumpental and Hieflau, while the mountain route serves as a museum railway .

history

The 97.217 was erected as a memorial on the main square of Vordernberg.

Rail bus of the 5081 series in the Erzberg station

Ore loading system in Erzberg station

Rail bus set on the ascent near Vordernberg

As early as 1864, the line was counted among the "necessary recognized projects". The railway line was initially created in the form of two branch lines: from Leoben to Vordernberg (opened on May 18, 1872) ² and from Hieflau to Eisenerz (January 6, 1873). In 1881 the Innerberger Main Union was merged into the Austrian Alpine Mining Society and in 1888 planning and construction of the section over the Präbichl began. The concession was granted on October 10th and the construction was carried out by the Localbahn Eisenerz-Vordernberg joint stock company , which was founded on May 8th 1889 and belonged to the Austrian Alpine Montangesellschaft. The first section was a test route through Vordernberg. On May 25, 1891, the railway line from Vordernberg to the top of the pass was opened. However, it was only possible to drive up to about halfway (stop "Glaslbremse") because the water supply for the steam engine was insufficient. Only when the water crane in Glaslbremse was completed in June of the same year was it possible to continue to the Präbichl station. On August 18, the northern section to Eisenerz was also put into operation; The ceremonial opening followed on September 15, 1891, for the time being only for freight traffic. Passenger traffic began the following summer. Already during the construction the liquidation of the stock corporation had been announced due to financing problems and on October 31, 1893 the line was finally taken over into the state network.

From 1971 the gear wheel operation was gradually converted to a pure adhesion operation with rail buses and diesel locomotives. This venture suffered a setback after a class 2067 shunting locomotive got out of control on November 5, 1976, derailed and crashed over an embankment after rolling downhill unchecked about half the way from Präbichl in the direction of Vordernberg. Nevertheless, the changeover was pushed ahead and additional safety systems (rail brakes and speed monitoring) were built into the diesel locomotives of the 2043 series intended for the guidance of the ore trains (2043.5xx). On September 30, 1978, the last steam train ran on the Erzbergbahn, and on December 6, the last diesel locomotive with a cogwheel drive too. Despite protests from railroad fans, the racks were dismantled.

When in 1986 the freight train traffic (mainly ore trains from Erzberg to Leoben) over the Präbichl was stopped, the end of the entire railway line was indicated. In 1988, an avalanche that relocated the railway line was used as an opportunity to discontinue the Vordernberg Markt – Eisenerz section. This step followed in 1999 for the Eisenerz – Hieflau feeder line, only those ore trains now operate here that now bring the ore via Hieflau to Linz and via Selzthal and the Schoberpass to Leoben Donawitz . Finally, in 2001, passenger traffic in the Leoben – Vordernberg Markt section was completely discontinued; only residual goods traffic to Trofaiach remains. Transport initiatives such as the FAHRGAST Graz / Styria association are currently trying to resume passenger traffic between Trofaiach and Leoben as part of a high-speed rail network in the Mur and Mürz valleys. The Erzberg – Hieflau line has completely lost its importance and passenger traffic will most likely no longer be used on this section, as traffic on the adjoining Kronprinz-Rudolf-Bahn has also been reduced to a minimum.

The Erzbergbahn Association, founded in 1975, has been operating museum railways on the mountain route between Vordernberg Markt and Eisenerz since June 23, 1990 . The section between the Vordernberg Markt station and the Voestalpine connecting line in Krumpental has been leased to the association for this purpose since January 1st, 1990. On June 25, 2005, the section was able to be purchased by the association retroactively to January 1. The route is used on weekends from the beginning of July to mid-September; special trips are also possible from June to October. As two slopes in the Präbichl ski area cross the route, winter operation is not possible. On July 17, 2010, a section of the museum railway at the Erzberg station was buried in a mudslide . The railway line between Eisenerz and Erzberg is therefore closed until further notice.

In 2011, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary, a special post stamp was issued by the Austrian Post.

On June 1, 2013, the ÖBB terminated the contract for the use of the route from Vordernberg station to Vordernberg Markt by the Erzbergbahn association . It was then no longer possible for the association to reach its own route with its vehicles parked in the boiler house in Vordernberg station, which is why museum traffic was idle for two seasons.

Towards the end of 2014, the association was able to acquire the section Vordernberg Süd - Vordernberg Markt from ÖBB-Infrastruktur, whereby it was agreed not to disclose the purchase amounts. This means that trips can be made again from the 2015 season.

At the beginning of August 2018 it was announced that an S-Bahn route on the Leoben to Trofaiach or Vordernberg railway was not economically feasible, which is why the tracks between Trofaiach and Vordernberg are to be removed and replaced by a cycle path.

Economical meaning

The Erzbergbahn and especially the section over the Präbichl was built primarily with the aim of bringing the iron ore from the Styrian Erzberg for smelting to Leoben-Donawitz or Linz as easily as possible. Tourist interests were added later, as the area around the Präbichl established itself as a hiking and skiing area.

Due to the displacement of passenger transport to the parallel road (individual transport and bus lines) on the one hand and the technically less complex and therefore cheaper ore transport via Selzthal, the railway line increasingly lost importance from the 1980s, which led to the historical developments described.

technology

Cogwheel locomotive system Abt, 1891

• until 1978 as a rack railway with two-lamellar rack according to the Abt system over a length of 14.5 kilometers
• The railway overcomes maximum gradients of 71 per thousand, making it the steepest standard-gauge railway in Austria
• six brick viaducts (up to 32 m high and 117 m long)
• five tunnels

Locomotives

Gear operation

Steam locomotives of the series ÖBB 97 , ÖBB 197 and ÖBB 297 as well as the rack railway diesel locomotive 2085.01 were in use on the Erzbergbahn .

Adhesion operation

After cogwheel operation ended, modified diesel locomotives of the 2043.5 series were put on the Erzbergbahn.

After the successful trial run in 1971 with BVT 5081 series rail buses , four sets were initially used in the local area of ​​Vordernberg. When the Vordernberg – Eisenerz line was later served, two additional cars were bought. All rail buses were equipped with an additional engine brake and renumbered as series 5081.5 (5081.560–565). Four of these rail buses are now owned by the Erzbergbahn Association.

From 1972, several pairs of trains were not only guided over the apex route, but also from Leoben Hbf to Eisenerz, one pair of trains a day to Hieflau with two-part railbus sets.

Shortly before the end of regular operations between Vordernberg and Eisenerz, the Vordernberg – Vordernberg Markt section was electrified in order to be able to run regional trains from Leoben Hbf to there. For the time being, three railcars of the 4030 series were adapted: The intermediate car was removed and the railcars ran in two parts with a motor car and a control car. This change ended the era of passenger trains between Leoben Hbf. And Vordernberg, which until then were exclusively hauled by locomotives of the 1245 series, from Leoben to Vordernberg.

Literature, audio, video

• Johannes C. Klossek: From Vordernberg to Eisenerz. The Erzbergbahn in stereo. 10 audio scenes (...). Accompanying text with 20 photos. 1 record, 1 booklet. Franckh, Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-440-03954-4 .
• Peter Pospischil: The Styrian Erzbergbahn. This volume deals with the federal railway line Vordernberg – Eisenerz. 1st edition. Bahn im Bild, Volume 2. Pospischil, Vienna, 1978, ZDB -ID 52827-4 . (Revised edition 1996).
• Wolfgang Bleiweis: The Eisenerz – Vordernberg cog railway. 1st edition. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lokrundschau, Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-923238-00-2 .
• Carl Asmus, Johann Stockklausner, Albert Ditterich: Full steam ahead on the Erzbergbahn. New edition. Eisenbahn-Journal, Special-Ausgabe, Volume 1993,9. Hermann-Merker-Verlag, Fürstenfeldbruck 1883, ISBN 3-922404-52-9 .
• 100 years of the Erzbergbahn Eisenerz – Vordernberg. 1891-1991. (Rack railway association Erzbergbahn), Vordernberg 1991, OBV .
• Gerold Stadlober: The Vordernberg – Eisenerz railway line, taking into account its economic importance. Thesis. University of Graz, Graz 1991, OBV .
• Josef Högemann: Goodbye Erzberg. Steam up to the sky. In: Lok-Magazin. News, vehicles, history. No. 258, volume 42/2003. GeraNova Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH, Munich 2003, ZDB -ID 505096-0 , pp. 84-89.
• Manfred Hohn : Railways on the Styrian Erzberg. The history of the Styrian ore mountain with its 300 locomotives. For the 200th anniversary of the railways on the Styrian Erzberg. Verlag Leykam, Graz 2010, ISBN 978-3-7011-7724-0 .
• Arthur Meyer, Josef Pospichal: Rack railway locomotives from Floridsdorf . Verlag bahnmedien.at, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-9503304-0-3 .
• Christian Weissensteiner: ... trail station ... the revitalization of the Erzbergbahn . Thesis. Graz University of Technology, Graz 2014, OBV .

Remarks

¹In 1891 the stop (and later unloading point) Schönauhalde was at 17.07 kilometers (sea level: 896.0 m) .

²The opening (passenger and freight traffic with two mixed trains per day) had already been planned for January of that year. However, there was a delay from 19 January onwards due to a labor turmoil in Trofaiach, which resulted in the reduction of hourly wages.

From March 19, 1872, the route was driven with a machine , on April 2, five ballast wagons with 28 workers started rolling at the Friedau station , after more than seven kilometers in the St. Peter station, they stopped in a parked work car, derailed and straightened them significant damage to the route; the life of a worker (who jumped on the way) was lamented.

With the opening on May 18, 1872 of the Leoben – Vordernberg railway line run by the kk priv. Südbahn-Gesellschaft, the Leoben, Donawitz, St. Peter-Freyenstein, Gemeindegrub, Trofajoch ( sic! ) And Vordernberg stations were used for passenger and property traffic released, the Hafning stop for passenger and luggage traffic.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Austrian Railway Atlas . Verlag Schweers + Wall, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-89494-128-6 , p. 49 and 69 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Manfred Wehdorn , Ute Georgeacopol-Winischofer, Paul W. Roth, Elfriede Mejchar (photo): Architectural monuments of technology and industry in Austria. Volume 2: Styria, Carinthia. Böhlau, Wien 1991, ISBN 3-205-05202-1 , p. 22 ( limited preview in Google book search)
3. ↑ RGBl. 1888/178. In:  Reichsgesetzblatt for the kingdoms and states represented in the Reichsrathe , year 1888, pp. 777–782. (Online at ANNO ). .
4. ^ Company minutes (...) Localbahn Eisenerz-Vordernberg (...). In:  Wiener Zeitung , Official Gazette, No. 115/1889, May 18, 1889, p. 722, bottom left. (Online at ANNO ). .
5. ^ Verein Erzbergbahn: Geschichte ( Memento of the original from July 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: erzbergbahn.at , accessed on September 5, 2011. 
6. ↑ Entry on Erzbergbahn in the Austria Forum  (as a stamp representation), accessed on October 28, 2012
7. ^ Erzbergbahn Association: Is that the beginning of the end? . In: erzbergbahn.at , accessed on July 2, 2013.
8. ↑ http://www.erzbergbahn.at/2014/12/22/verein-erzbergbahn-und-%C3%B6bb-sichern-wichtiges-kulturerbe/
9. ↑ http://pkjs.de/bahn/Kursbuch1944/Teil5/452a.jpg
10. ↑ From the former railway line, the cycle path on ORF-Steiermark is accessed on August 9, 2018 on August 9, 2018
11. ↑ Twenty-five year anniversary of the System Dept. In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung. Volume 50 (1907), issue 10 (E-Periodica.ch, PDF; 0.4 MB).
12. ↑ ws: Length profile of the Hieflau – Eisenerz – Vordernberg – Leoben route (PDF; 0.3 MB). Vordernberg 2004.
13. ↑ See: Heinrich Hess : A new mountain railway: Eisenerz – Vordernberg. In: Mittheilungen des Deutschen und Oesterreichischen Alpenverein , No. 14/1901, year 1901 (Volume XVII), p. 193 f. (Online at ALO ) and pt: route topography Erzbergbahn (PDF; 55 kB), Vordernberg 2011, p. 5.
14. ^ Business and traffic newspaper. (…) Railway line Leoben – Vordernberg. In:  Neues Fremd -Blatt , morning edition, No. 18/1872, Volume VIII, January 19, 1872, p. 6, center left. (Online at ANNO ). .
15. ↑ Little Chronicle. (...) About a workers riot. In:  Die Presse , Morgenblatt, No. 21/1872, XXV. Volume, January 22, 1872, p. 4, bottom center. (Online at ANNO ).
16. ↑ Little Chronicle. (...) Railway accident. In:  Die Presse , Abendblatt, No. 91/1872, XXV. Volume, April 3, 1872, p. 3, bottom center. (Online at ANNO ).
17. ^ Opening of the Leoben – Vordernberg railway line. In:  Wiener Sonn- und Mondags-Zeitung , No. 41/1872, Volume X, May 20, 1872, p. 6, bottom left. (Online at ANNO ).

Web links

Commons : Erzbergbahn  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Erzbergbahn Association
• Historical photo documentation of the steam operation
• FAHRGAST association Graz / Styria: S-Bahn Trofaiach - Leoben
• Video documentation: Ore transport with the class 97 steam locomotives of the ÖBB (1977)
• Driver's cab ride Leoben – Vordernberg Markt - Part 1 on youtube.com (with detailed explanations of the route)
• Driver's cab ride Leoben – Vordernberg Markt - Part 2 on youtube.com (with detailed explanations of the route)
• Driver's cab ride Leoben – Vordernberg Markt - Part 3 on youtube.com (with detailed explanations of the route)
• "The Erzbergbahn" on DVD
• Early documents and newspaper articles on the Leoben-Vordernberger Railway in the 20th Century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Coordinates: 47 ° 31 ′ 11 ″  N , 14 ° 57 ′ 5 ″  E