Kleinbahn Groß Raum – Ellerkrug
| Groß Raum – Ellerkrug Kleinbahn Groß Raum – Ellerkrug GmbH |
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| Course book range : | DR 120c (1940) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 10.2 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | until 1945: 1435 mm 1520 mm |
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The Kleinbahn Groß Raum – Ellerkrug existed from 1916 to 1945 in the East Prussian Samland . It branched off from the Königsberg – Cranz railway in the north-east at the Groß Raum train station (now Rjabinowka ) and after about ten kilometers reached the town of Ellerkrug (now part of Chrabrowo ).
history
As early as 1906, the construction of a narrow-gauge small railway was considered, which should connect to the Königsberg small railway . A little later, the Königsberg-Cranzer Eisenbahngesellschaft (KCE) proposed the route from Groß Raum to Ellerkrug to the district council. In October 1910, the district council approved this project.
The Kleinbahn belonged to the Kleinbahn Groß Raum-Ellerkrug GmbH, founded on April 4, 1914 . The beginning of the First World War prevented the construction from being carried out quickly. The line was only opened on May 9, 1916. The railway was operated by the Königsberg-Cranzer Railway Company until 1928 and then by the East German Railway Company , which also provided the vehicles.
In the beginning, a two-axle locomotive and three two-axle passenger cars were sufficient for operation. The KANT locomotive built by Krauss in 1885 was used there for years and sold to Schoeller-Bleckmann Stahlwerke in Ternitz (Lower Austria), where it was in operation until 1954. Three pairs of trains ran every day. In the main area there was a connection to the KCE trains. In 1928 49,490 people and 10,972 tons of goods were carried.
From 1934 to 1936, the Powunden military airfield was laid out, which brought additional transports of building materials and supplies, and a siding from Ellerkrug to the airfield was built. The superstructure was reinforced with the funds generated in this way. In 1941 148,334 people and 104,054 tons of goods were carried. On January 27, 1945, shortly before the Red Army marched in , the last train left Ellerkrug for Kranz.
Soon after the Second World War, the line was converted to Russian broad gauge of 1524 mm. The route is still in operation for freight to supply the airport.