Dorndorf – Kaltennordheim railway line

Dorndorf – Kaltennordheim (standard gauge)
Route number (DB) :	6704
Course book section (DB) :	last 577
Route length:	27.7 km
Gauge :	1435 mm, until 1934: 1000 mm
Legend from Bad Salzungen 0.0 Dorndorf (Rhoen) to Unterbreizbach 0.5 Chemical factory east 1.6 ex B 285 Kalibahn Felda 2.9 Connection of mining machines Dietlas 3.0 Dietlas 5.9 Menzengraben (since World War II ) 6.9 Felda 7.2 Felda 7.1 Stadtlengsfeld 8.1 Felda 8.3 ex B 285 11.5 Weilar - Urnshausen new B 285 13.9 Hard shrinkage (since World War II) 14.5 B 285 16.3 B 285 17.3 Dermbach 19.5 B 285 21.7 Zella (Rhön) 22.1 B 285 24.1 Diedorf - Fischbach 25.3 25.9 Connection of basalt works 26.3 Felda 27.7 Kaltennordheim 436 m

The Dorndorf – Kaltennordheim railway line was a railway line in the former Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach . It was originally part of a narrow-gauge railway from Bad Salzungen to Kaltennordheim , with a branch Dorndorf - Vacha . The railway was built by the machine construction company Krauss & Comp., A predecessor of the Krauss-Maffei locomotive factory , and its entire length was passable from July 1, 1880. The name " Feldabahn " or " Feldatalbahn " stood for the entire route network during the narrow-gauge era, but was reduced to the Dorndorf-Kaltennordheim section after the Bad Salzungen – Vacha railway was rebuilt or rebuilt in 1906, as it ran along the Felda valley, which gave it its name .

history

Opening and operation

The start of operations took place in several steps:

• June 1, 1879: Salzungen - ( city ) Lengsfeld (freight traffic)
• June 22, 1879: Salzungen - Lengsfeld (passenger traffic)
• August 10, 1879: Dorndorf - Vacha (all traffic)
• October 6, 1879: Lengsfeld - Dermbach (total traffic)
• June 22, 1880: Dermbach - Kaltennordheim (freight traffic)
• July 1, 1880: Dermbach - Kaltennordheim (passenger traffic)

The Feldabahn was the first meter-gauge line for public transport in Germany. On January 1, 1891, the Localbahn Actiengesellschaft (LAG) , which had existed since February 9, 1887, took over management of the Feldabahn. The layout of the route was largely similar to that of a tram, around 60% of the tracks were laid on the existing highways and only rail joints and sleepers were attached, which meant that construction costs could be reduced considerably. The route had 175 bends and curves, there were 18 stops, and train stations were only built in the larger towns. The gradient in the Feldatal was 1:25 with a route length of almost 28 km. In 1880 three tank locomotives, 19 freight cars and seven passenger cars were available as a means of transport.

In 1896, the Augsburg machine works and bronze foundry LA Riedinger equipped a Feldabahn train with an automatic " Schmid 39 type spring-operated brake ". The test drives showed the operational suitability, so that afterwards all vehicles of the Feldabahn were converted to this system.

When extensive potash deposits were discovered in the Werra and Feldatal valleys towards the end of the 19th century , the railway provided great help in setting up the pits and transporting away the extracted products. However, it quickly reached its performance limits, which is why a conversion to the standard track was necessary. This took place in 1906 between Vacha and Salzungen as part of the construction of the Gerstungen – Salzungen Werra Valley Railway. The Prussian state had previously bought the railway, which was not located on its territory, and in 1904 took over management of the LAG.

The Dorndorf – Kaltennordheim section initially remained narrow. Plans for rebuilding were repeatedly discarded or destroyed by the First World War and its aftermath. After much back and forth, construction work began in 1928 as a job creation measure for re-gauging, which lasted six years. There were also 30 bridges to be built. The inaugural train ran on October 7, 1934, the day before the narrow-gauge railway went out of service after 54 years of operation.

The Feldabahn survived the Second World War without damage. Only at the Stadtlengsfeld and Dermbach train stations were a few side tracks expanded as reparations for the Soviet Union . During the same period of time, the Menzengraben and Hartschrecken stopping points were set up, which primarily served rush hour traffic.

State after the political change

• 

  Passenger train near Weilar (1994)

• 

  Kaltennordheim freight loading (1994)

Up until 1990 there was heavy traffic and goods traffic on the route, due to the potash works in the Werra Valley and many smaller industrial companies. When this collapsed almost completely after German reunification, the end could no longer be stopped. Freight traffic to Kaltennordheim officially ended on December 31, 1994, passenger traffic a little later on May 31, 1997. In the following years, some steam-hauled special trains ran (last on Ascension Day 2002) before the Feldabahn was finally shut down on August 31, 2003.

From the end of January to July 2008, the tracks between the entrance to Weilar and Kaltennordheim were dismantled. A cycle path is to be created here on the route or a bypass road near Diedorf. A draisine railway project existed for the remaining section of Dorndorf – Weilar, about ten kilometers long , but the plan failed. In 2011 an investor introduced himself who had old steam locomotives restored in England and was looking for a route on which he could run them. For this purpose, the three neighboring communities - Dorndorf, Stadtlengsfeld, Weilar - had jointly drawn up a license agreement for the railway line, which was presented to the investor. This project was not implemented either.

In autumn 2016, the remaining tracks were dismantled.

photos

• 

  Zug in Kaltennordheim, May 31, 1997

• 

  Viaduct in Dorndorf (2008)

• 

  Stadtlengsfeld, Feldabrücke in Stadtpark (2009)

• 

  The former train station in Dermbach (2009)

• 

  Diedorf-Fischbach stop (2009)

literature

• Günter Fromm, Harald Rockstuhl: The history of the Feldabahn 1880–1997 - The history of the old Feldabahn 1880–1934. The history of the new Feldabahn 1934–1997. The last years of the Feldabahn 1997-2004. Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza 2004, ISBN 3-929000-85-7 .
• Ulf Haußen, Waldemar Haußen: The Feldabahn - the first meter-gauge railway in Germany . Bufe-Fachverlag, Egglham 1993, ISBN 3-922138-49-7 .
• Karl H. Mühlhans: The connecting line of the VEB Kaliwerk in Dorndorf / Rhön . Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza 2005, ISBN 3-937135-86-3 .
• Markus Schmidt, Georg Thielmann: The Feldabahn . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1997, ISBN 3-88255-434-7 .
• The Feldabahn as a narrow-gauge secondary railway in the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar 1882 . Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza, Reprint 1882/2002, ISBN 3-936030-67-7 .

Web links

Commons : Feldabahn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Feldatal Cycle Route  - travel guide

• Forgotten paths
• Course book 1944

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.stz-online.de/nachrichten/regional/badsalzungen/fwstzslzlokal/art2446,1304840 ( Memento from March 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )