Feldbahn- & Industriemuseum Wiesloch

Feldbahnmuseum Wiesloch, engine shed

Feldbahnmuseum Wiesloch, bucket chain excavator

Feldbahnmuseum Wiesloch, Deutz mine locomotive

The association Feldbahn- und Industriemuseum Wiesloch e. V. is a museum railway association in Wiesloch , Baden-Württemberg , which is dedicated to the maintenance and operation of historical field and mine railway locomotives as well as machines from the conveying and production technology of the brick industry.

history

In 1897 the Thonwaarenindustrie, GmbH Wiesloch (Baden) initially founded a brick factory for the production of roof tiles and bricks, which brought the material from the nearby clay pit 'Demel' in the Gewann Dämmel to the production facilities, which were located directly on the Karlsruhe-Heidelberg railway line west of the City of Wiesloch were promoted. The first delivery of a steam locomotive for the company's own light railroad for the transport of clay in 600 mm gauge was handed down from 1905, and the light railroad shed, which is still preserved today, was built in this year. This light railway was discontinued in February 1979. The clay pit was located about one and a half kilometers from the plant northwest of the city.

The extensive production facilities not far from today's Wiesloch-Walldorf S-Bahn stop , which stretched from the locomotive shed to the Wiesloch-Walldorf station, also had their own standard-gauge siding to the main line for loading finished products, where a Breuer shunting tractor was most recently available. The site including the pit went to the city of Wiesloch, the former pit later served as a building rubble dump, the production facilities - apart from an administration building, a canteen, the director's villa and the light rail locomotive shed - disappeared and became an industrial area. The company continued to exist as a holding company and was later taken over.

Today nothing is left of the light rail line from the factory to the clay pit. Today's light rail line of the association was partly built on part of the former siding of the neighboring food distribution center.

Nothing left of the locomotive fleet of the original narrow-gauge works railway remains today. Original vehicles remained at the Stumpfwaldbahn and in the Guldental Feldbahnmuseum, among others.

Location

The association was founded in 2001 on the site of the workshop and the now listed field railway locomotive shed of the Pottery Industry Wiesloch (TIW), which was closed in 1989. The site is located just under a kilometer north of today's Wiesloch-Walldorf S-Bahn station. The locomotive shed from 1905 with its two smoke outlets for steam locomotives is a monument to industrial history. A mechanical workshop with historic machines and an exhibition on brick production in the region can be visited here. A track system for the light rail trains has been created in the outdoor area. A small show tunnel with a mine train is reminiscent of the Wiesloch iron ore mining. In 2012 a show area "clay pit" opened, in which a working bucket chain excavator can be viewed.

Vehicles and operation

The early collector's items in the Feldbahnmuseum included vehicles from the Bott brickworks in Malsch / Rauenberg, not far from the TIW, and the Hans Vatter porphyry works in Dossenheim. In 2004 the collection already comprised 7 locomotives, ten years later there were already about twice as many. By 2016, the collection had been expanded to a good two dozen machines. Therefore, one of the most important projects is currently to build a new depot hall in which a large part of the vehicles can be safely stored.

The museum is still under construction and is open for several visitor days and special events throughout the year.