Uelzen – Celle field railway exercise, 1892

Field railway exercise, Uelzen – Celle, 1892

Light rail tracks in Uelzen station

Route length:

approx. 70 km

Gauge :

600 mm ( narrow gauge )

Top speed:

10 (and tentatively 15) km / h

Legend


		Uelzen
		Weesen near Hermannsburg
		Celle

The Uelzen – Celle field railway exercise, 1892, was a maneuver in which an approximately 70 km long field railway with a gauge of 600 mm was moved from Uelzen via Weesen near Hermannsburg to Celle and operated.

history

The light railway from Uelzen to Celle was planned by specialists, built with flying tracks and operated for a short time. Troops from different parts of Germany, especially Prussia, Saxony and Bavaria, took part in the realistic military exercise . The construction team consisted of four Prussian, one Bavarian and four reservist companies . Among other things, the installation team of the 4th reserve construction company was involved in the construction of the line.

The purpose of the exercise was to find out how, in the event of a war, material could be transported to the front as quickly as possible on a narrow-gauge railway . This route was chosen because it had few obstacles and the heath area was isolated. 31 photos of her have survived, showing railway depots, bridges, locomotives, trains, military camps and landscapes.

From July 28th to August 13th, 1892, regular operation on the field railroad ran at a maximum speed of 10 km / h. 14 trains with 40 to 50 tons ran in each direction every day. On July 30th, a forest fire broke out and caused a major disruption. On August 8, 1892, a total of 372 crew ranks, 48 NCOs and 20 officers arrived to dismantle the field railway. On September 22nd, 1892 the work was finished.

Rail vehicles

The approximately 70 km long route was driven by double locomotives of the Zwilling series of the Prussian Army Field Railway . To supply the steam locomotives with water, a well was drilled during the exercise at Uelzen station. The cars were built by the Krupp company. A medical test train covered with tarpaulin was also used on the route.

Twin on the Lutter Bridge
Test train with Krupp car at kilometer 30
Medical test train in ( Weesen bei) Hermannsburg

bridges

The Aller was crossed with a steel bridge built during the exercise. A wooden makeshift bridge led over the Lutter near Hermannsburg. Similar wooden bridges were built to cross the Sothrieth and Gerdau near Hansen .

Steel bridge over the Aller
Crossing the Sothrieth
Crossing over the Gerdau near Hansen

Maneuvering

The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen , inspected the work. On August 10, 1892, the officer corps met in Celle. The completed line was inspected by the Prussian infantry general Max von Bock and Polach .

The departure of the last scheduled train from Hermannsburg to Uelzen took place as a test run at 15 km / h on August 13, 1892. Shortly afterwards, the dismantling of the temporarily laid route began. Today almost nothing points to the earlier existence of this route, only a section of the road in Weesen is still called the “station” . In the vicinity of Hof Severloh, east of the Bornriethmoor , the cut of the route can still be seen as a longitudinal ditch on Citronenberg .