Light railway in the Laboe naval ammunition depot
The field railway in the marine ammunition depot in Laboe was operated from 1958 to 1996 and was a naval railway of the German Navy.
Task and route network
The task of the light railroad was to transport ammunition from the depot near Laboe to a pier on the Kiel Fjord . A network of 28 kilometers in length with a gauge of 600 mm was available.
There is still a 300-meter-long pier on the Kiel Fjord for loading ammunition onto the naval ships, where three tracks with six switches were laid in the subgrade. Between the ammunition pier and the storage area, the train had to overcome a considerable incline.
Another route led to a loading station, where the ammunition was reloaded onto NATO or Bundeswehr trucks. All bunkers, workhouses and workshops were connected to the narrow-gauge railway. At the ammunition bunkers there was a loading track and a continuous track that could be driven at 18 km / h. The ammunition was transported from the flat cars to the workhouses with a forklift. Tracks lay partly along the outer fence so that the locomotive could control the fence. There was a workshop for the repair of the locomotives and cars. A large four-track storage hall was available for the locomotives.
A pedestrian bridge was built for commuters from Laboe to Heikendorf in 1963 so that the narrow-gauge railway could drive unhindered onto the pier at any time. A little to the side in the direction of Laboe is another smaller pier that was used by the pioneers. A route that crossed the Fördewanderweg at ground level led here.
When building the track, rail profiles of type S 14 were installed, which were later exchanged for S-20 rails.
vehicles
Eleven locomotives of the types DS 90 and DS 60 were available for operation. The 18 km / h fast and ten-ton locomotives were delivered by Diepholzer Maschinenfabrik (DIEMA). A draisine was available for route control.
300 flat wagons (manufactured by Krupp-Dolberg from 1960) with and without throwing lever brakes were available for transporting ammunition or equipment. There were benches, crane or tank superstructures for the flat cars, and the four wooden side walls could be removed. In the early days of the depot, there were also covered two- and four-axle wagons for transporting sensitive equipment such as compasses or echo sounders .
Special wagons had folding side ramps and supports on the front sides. Tilting lorries were available for transporting gravel and green waste, and a crane truck for track work. There were also three so-called samba wagons with benches for special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries . A snow blower mounted on a flat car was available for winter service .
business
Transports were carried out both between bunkers and workhouses and from the bunkers to the ships of the Navy. The trains were composed of a seat car for the shunter, a locomotive and nine flat cars or tipping trucks. To avoid explosion accidents, rockets, grenades, sea mines, depth charges and torpedo heads were stored and transported separately. In order to be able to transport torpedoes, the flat wagons were connected with very long coupling bars.
Because of the risk of explosion, the conveyor route from Laboe to Heikendorf was closed with gates before the ammunition was transported. The duration of the closure was announced a few days in advance with notice boards. Normally, two trains came in a row to the pier and were loaded. When the trains reached the bunker area, a security guard came and unlocked the gates for pedestrians and cyclists. The tram was only visible to strollers when they drove along the fence or to the small pier for inspection drives.
So that the bunkers or workhouses could be reached in the event of a fire, there was a fire extinguishing train, consisting of two cars for hoses, extinguishing equipment and the motorized water pump. When the train was not in use, it could be parked in a hall on the Fördewanderweg.
If the train drivers wanted to inquire about new driving orders in the field , a field telephone had to be connected to the telephone network.
Shutdown
In the early 1990s, roads to the bunkers in the restricted area were built, the narrow-gauge railway lines were taken out of service, the tracks dismantled and sold. Today there are only short remnants left in the depot in the concrete or in level crossings. The last trips were made in 1995; Narrow-gauge operation was finally discontinued in December 1996. Part of the tracks in the Tolk-Schau amusement park was relocated to expand the park railway .
The locomotives were handed over, partly to the Diepholzer machine factory and also to leisure facilities. 90 freight cars were sold to light rail enthusiasts and museums. Since the summer of 1996, a locomotive with two cars has not been open to the public as a monument in the area of the ammunition depot.
Web links
- Bundeswehr naval ammunition depot Laboe at Bahn-Express
Coordinates: 54 ° 23 ′ 39 ″ N , 10 ° 13 ′ 4 ″ E