Cuckoo horse

Lambrecht (Palatinate) -Elmstein
Route number :	3432
Course book section (DB) :	279c (1949–1960) 12670 (since 1984)
Route length:	12,970 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope :	14  ‰
Legend from Mannheim 0.0 Lambrecht (Palatinate) 173 m Sommerbergstrasse 0.4 Mountain road to Saarbrücken 1.2 Bundesstrasse 39 1.8 Frankeneck 173 m 2.0 Siding 2.2 Siding 2.5 Operating limit DB Netz / Kuckucksbähnel Bahnbetriebs GmbH Mühlbach 3.3 Esthal (formerly saddle mill) 180 m 3.4 Dirt road 3.8 Speyerbach 5.6 Spangenbergstrasse 5.6 Speyerbach 5.6 Erfenstein 185 m 5.7 Speyerbach 7.4 Breitenstein (Palatinate) 195 m 7.5 Skull Street 7.6 Breitenstein (Palatinate) 7.6 Argenbach 7.9 Forest path 8.7 Speyerbach 8.8 8.8 Speyerbach 9.1 Speyerbach 9.2 Helmbach 220 m 7.9 District road 51 9.4 Speyerbach 11.0 Speyerbach 11.5 Speyerbach 11.6 Forest path 11.7 Speyerbach 11.9 Forest path 12.0 Speyerbach 12.3 Mühlstrasse 12.6 Bahnhofstrasse 13.0 Elmstein 225 m

The Kuckucksbähnel - in the beginning called the Elmsteiner Talbahn - is a 12.97 kilometer long branch line in the central Palatinate Forest , which leads from Lambrecht to Elmstein in the Neustadt / Kaiserslautern area. It was created primarily at the instigation of the local forest industry .

In 1902, the section to the Sattelmühle was initially opened as an industrial track. In 1909 it was extended to Elmstein and turned into a complete branch line. Scheduled passenger transport, which always played a subordinate role due to the poor population in the region, was discontinued in 1960; Freight traffic between Frankeneck and Elmstein was discontinued in 1977. Since 1984 the line has been operated as a museum railway. Freight traffic continues to Frankeneck.

history

Prehistory (1874–1890)

The Elmstein Valley, which is always densely wooded and therefore sparsely populated, suffered in earlier times - especially away from the direct connection between Neustadt and Kaiserslautern - from its poor road development. It follows the upper reaches of the Speyerbach , the most important Palatinate tributary to the Rhine . The wealth of the Speyerbach source area has always been wood. For centuries it was transported as sawn timber or split logs by drift in streams, i.e. by drifting in the water, and was sold in the almost forest-free Vorderpfalz .

As early as March 1874, entrepreneurs from the towns of Frankeneck and Neidenfels complained that the transport of goods to Lambrecht station was very complex. For this reason, they sent a petition to the administration of the Palatinate Railways to create a loading and stopping point for the Palatinate Ludwig Railway between the Weidenthal and Lambrecht stations for freight traffic only . It should arise in Frankeneck directly at the confluence of the Hochspeyerbach in the Speyerbach. It was hoped that such an operation would save transport costs. The efforts were initially unsuccessful. However, the Ludwig Railway Company - part of the Palatinate Railways since 1870 - set up a corresponding storage area at the Lambrecht train station at the end of 1881.

On May 28, 1888, 67 entrepreneurs sent a declaration to the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior - the Palatinate was then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria - with the aim of building a tram from Neustadt via Lambrecht and Frankeneck to Elmstein. However, the entry was not successful; the administration of the Palatinate Railways came to the conclusion that the situation of the traffic routes was satisfactory and the distance to the existing operating points of the Ludwigsbahn was too short to justify such a connection. The forest authorities complained about a tram connection that, among other things, it required additional reloading of the wood. The Bavarian government saw it as pointless to create a parallel service to the Ludwigsbahn between Neustadt and Lambrecht.

Planning and opening of the Lambrecht – Sattelmühle section (1890–1902)

After the Bavarian government had received a draft law on April 5, 1892, which concerned the construction of branch lines in the Palatinate , it was supposed to issue interest guarantees on certain routes according to the bill. During this time the construction of a branch line from Lambrecht to Elmstein was under discussion, for which MP Andreas Deinhard campaigned in the Chamber of Deputies.

With the gradual abandonment of the Trift at the end of the 19th century, the Elmstein Valley threatened to lose its main source of income; therefore the residents tried to improve. In their eyes, the solution to the problem lay in a rail link that was supposed to replace timber transport by Trift. In addition, the planned connection was seen as a stimulating element for the economy in the Elmsteiner Tal.

Memorandum "The need for an Elmstein = Neustadter = Thalbahn"

In August 1895, a committee was formed under the leadership of the Mayor of Lambrecht, which again petitioned the Bavarian government. At the same time it occupied the committees of the respective communities with a memorandum entitled “The necessity of an Elmstein = Neustadter = Thalbahn”. A year later, Vering & Waechter was awarded the contract for the project. It was completed by January 1897. The cost of building the stretch between Sattelmühle and Elmstein was estimated at 692,000 marks.

First of all, an industrial track was built from Lambrecht train station, which led via Frankeneck to the hamlet of Sattelmühle and was opened in 1902. It was used to transport wood from the Palatinate Forest, and a timber factory based in Frankeneck could use the track; at the same time, the industrial track formed the nucleus for the planned branch line.

Planning the railway line (1902–1904)

In 1902 and 1903 there was a project that promoted a railway line from Neustadt to Saargemünd including the industrial track and from there on over the Mückenwiese , Münchweiler an der Rodalb , Pirmasens , Stürzelbronn , Wingen and Tieffenbach , but this did not prevail. The said committee continued to work to extend the industrial track to Elmstein and, in this context, to develop it into a regular railway line. The government in Bavaria was planning to have it built on a state basis, especially since it was already becoming apparent that the Palatinate Railways would soon become the property of the Royal Bavarian State Railways .

It should serve less for passenger traffic than for timber transport, which made up the majority of freight traffic . However, because a total of 130 workers from Elmstein and its suburbs Appenthal and Iggelbach were employed externally, there was also a certain passenger potential in passenger transport.

At the beginning of 1904 a meeting of the Palatinate Forest Railway Committee took place. Because the route touched the demarcation of different villages whose centers were far from the route - such as Hambach , Kirrweiler and Lachen - the acquisition of land for the route was difficult. The communities of Elmstein and Kirrweiler were willing to cede the required land free of charge. The former also sought to raise the share of Esthal , Hambach and Lachen. In the further course of the negotiations it turned out that an amount of money in the five-digit range had to be raised for this. Elmstein wanted to raise 35,000 marks of the land acquisition costs, but only 30,000 marks were granted to her because of the objection of the royal army . In addition, private individuals such as Albert Bürklin and Count D'Arlon provided both money and land. Road engineers also found that the railway line would mean that the maintenance costs of the local roads would be significantly lower.

After long efforts to establish a rail link into the Elmsteiner Valley, the Bavarian State Parliament granted approval for the construction of the branch line on August 10, 1904.

Construction and opening (1905–1909)

In March 1905, construction work began, for which 800,000 cubic meters of earth were moved and the cost of which was a total of 692,000 marks. The Neustadt Railway Inspection was responsible for defining the route and the site work.

Workers with the light railroad train building the cuckoo track

The 9.55 kilometer section Sattelmühle – Elmstein was built by German and Italian workers. In 1907 the Lambrecht train station was expanded. The local construction industry also benefited from the construction of the line. It was mainly built by hand, only a field railway with a small steam locomotive served as support. The track bed was laid on sandstone, and a total of eleven bridges were built over the Speyerbach.

On January 18, 1909, a test drive took place on the route, which served as a technical check. The test train reached Elmstein station at eleven in the morning. The official opening ceremony was five days later. The first train should leave Elmstein at 6:20 a.m. Here, however, an accident occurred which, according to all archival documents, remained without injuries, even if it is often reported that a human life was to be lamented. The maiden voyage was already over after a few meters when the train drove into the new locomotive shed at full speed due to an incorrectly set switch . The locomotive had only a few scratches, but the engine shed had suffered major damage that had to be repaired. As a replacement, a train from Lambrecht arrived at the end of the line at 8:15 am; At 10 o'clock the first train finally left Elmstein for Lambrecht.

The operator was initially the Bavarian State Railways , which had owned the entire Palatinate railway network since January 1, 1909; thus the opening of the railway line was one of their first official acts in the region.

Further development (1909–1977)

While the route was initially referred to as the Elmsteiner Talbahn , over time the name Kuckucksbähnel established itself . In the past, the call of the cuckoo was often heard in the Elmsteiner Tal , which is why the residents of Elmstein were nicknamed "cuckoos". The term Kuckucksbähnel was probably coined by the host of the “Lokschuppen” restaurant at Elmstein station. The regional press picked up the term, so that over time it developed into the common route name.

On April 1, 1920, the line became the property of the Deutsche Reichsbahn . In 1922 the station was incorporated into the newly established Ludwigshafen Reich Railway Directorate . A year later employed at the station railway workers were the carried out in the course of France, to 1924 permanent director operation reported. Then they returned. In the course of the dissolution of the Ludwigshafen management, he changed to the area of ​​responsibility of the Mainz management on April 1, 1937; At that time he was subordinate to the operations office (RBA) Neustadt and the Lambrecht railway maintenance office.

After the Second World War, the railway line came under the control of the Association of the Southwest German Railways (SWDE) , which became part of the newly founded Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) in 1949 . The latter incorporated the Kuckucksbähnel into the Mainz Federal Railway Directorate , which allocated all the railway lines within the newly created federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate . At the same time the profitability of the route was questioned. In addition to the sharp increase in car traffic at the time, DB made a significant contribution by setting up a parallel bus line. This had the advantage that it also took over the operation of the Elmsteiner district Iggelbach , which was off the railway line and the journeys - unlike the trains - always led to Neustadt.

On May 28, 1960, regular passenger traffic was finally stopped. After the Mainz directorate was dissolved, its counterpart in Karlsruhe was responsible for the railway line from June 1, 1971 . Freight traffic was stopped in 1977 after forestry became less and less profitable, the volume of transport had fallen sharply and the last scheduled freight train was already running on June 30, 1976. In the last few years of operation, the railway line officially only had the status of a siding.

Plans for a museum railway (since 1977)

In the Bad Dürkheim district , which has existed since 1969, and in whose area the line has been located since then, politicians made attempts as early as 1971 to maintain the railway line as a museum railway. However, this initially prevented the DB. Even so, efforts to maintain the route did not come to a standstill. In the following years, the then Rhineland-Palatinate Transport Minister Heinrich Holkenbrink took part in a tour. Initially, it was possible to persuade DB to postpone the planned closure of the line and the associated dismantling to a later date, even though the track system already had structural defects. In addition, the Karlsruhe Federal Railway Directorate agreed to sell the entire site to the Lambrecht Association, which has also existed since 1969 .

Since a revitalization of the route initially seemed unrealistic, plans were already underway to convert the route into a cycle path or to use it on stagecoach rides. Meanwhile, the Südwestfunk planned the television series The Soldier of Fortune - The Adventures of Robert Curwich . The broadcaster considered Breitenstein and the route to be a suitable location, which is why the partially overgrown route between Lambrecht and Breitenstein had to be cut open. In addition, the embankment had to be secured and the tracks repaired in places. The shooting itself took place in May 1983.

At the same time, long negotiations were in progress with DB, which then sold the line to the district. The corresponding contract was signed in the spring of 1984. The plans provided for the museum to be run in cooperation with the DGEG-Eisenbahnmuseum Neustadt / Weinstrasse , which had existed since 1981 . On February 14, 1984, Eisenbahnfreunde founded the Kuckucksbähnel-Betriebs-GmbH (KKB) , which initially included the city of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse , the Lambrecht community, three associations from the region and a few private individuals.

Museum railway (since 1984)

Locomotive 89 7159 in Elmstein station

On June 2, 1984, the museum was finally able to start operating. The opening train started at 9:45 a.m. from Neustadt main station and carried 350 passengers. The diesel locomotive V 36 127 had to be harnessed to Lambrecht due to requirements imposed by the Federal Railroad . In the same year, the Kuckucksbähnel development association was established in Neustadt , and Werner Schreiner became its chairman .

Since then, the railway has been used primarily by day trippers. Because of the large number of passengers, the trains had to be extended. In the years that followed, special trains were often used, for example the Glass Train twice . In June 2004 the Kuckucksbähnel celebrated its 20th anniversary as a museum railway.

Route

Kuckucksbähnel with the Speyerbach locomotive at the entrance to Elmstein

After exiting the Lambrecht station, the railway line uses the southern track of the Mannheim – Saarbrücken railway line to turn south-west into the Elmsteiner Tal after about one kilometer . Immediately afterwards, it spans federal highway 39 . It passes the former Lambrecht freight yard and the Frankeneck community and follows the Speyerbach, which is crossed several times in the further course of the route, which is characterized by several S-curves. She only passes very small settlements such as Sattelmühle, Erfenstein and Breitenstein and passes several castles , such as the ruins of Erfenstein and Spangenberg, which are linked by a local legend . It leads very close to untouched nature. After Helmbach there is a section with a gradient of 1:69 (14 ‰), as a gorge is crossed there. The route ends at the entrance to Elmstein, where the center of operations is located.

The Lambrecht – Elmstein railway runs entirely in the Bad Dürkheim district and there in turn within the Lambrecht community . In addition to the city of Lambrecht, it touches the communities Frankeneck, Esthal (from the abandoned stop Esthal to Breitenstein) and Elmstein (from Helmbach to the end of the route). Between Breitenstein and Helmbach, it also drives in two places the area of ​​an exclave of the local community of Kirrweiler (Palatinate), which is part of the southern Weinstrasse district . From Iptestal to shortly before Breitenstein, the area of ​​the urban district of Neustadt borders the line immediately to the south of the railway line.

traffic

passenger traffic

1953 timetable

In the first few months, a total of three pairs of trains ran between Lambrecht and Elmstein. As early as May 1909, a new timetable appeared, according to which there were four trains on weekdays and five trains on Sundays in each direction. Cars drove in second, third and, until October 28, 1928, fourth class. The Palatinate Forest Association , founded in 1902 , also arranged for the timetable to be adapted to the excursion traffic.

The travel time between Lambrecht and Elmstein was initially between 45 and 51 minutes, but has been reduced to around 30 minutes over the years. In the post-war period three pairs of trains ran on weekdays, two on Sundays and public holidays. The trains were tied through to Neustadt. From January to April 1954 there was no traffic on Sundays and public holidays.

Freight transport

Book timetable for freight traffic between Frankeneck and Elmstein in 1971

Freight traffic, which was always more important than passenger traffic on the route, was mainly carried by the region's timber industry. Flat and open freight wagons were used accordingly . From 1902 to 1909, the Sattelmühle goods loading point was the transshipment point for goods from the Elmstein Valley.

In the last few years of operating freight traffic between Frankeneck and Elmstein, journeys took place exclusively on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The last scheduled freight train of the DB on June 30, 1976 carried two empty cars and one loaded with wood. The freight traffic in this section, which had consequently been degraded to a siding, was officially stopped on May 29, 1977. Nevertheless, the Federal Railroad agreed to deliver the freight to the storage areas at the stations.

At Frankeneck station, which was now part of the Lambrecht station, wood was loaded until 1996; a year later the freight tracks were dismantled. By the end of 2004 there was a siding of the Julius Glatz GmbH paper mill from the direction of Lambrecht. Corresponding track remains are on the company premises. Five years later the factory received a new siding, this time from the direction of Elmstein. The goods are loaded with a truck equipped with additional wheel sets for rail .

Museum traffic

The trains of the Kuckucksbähnel usually run from platform 5 of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse main station. Over a length of almost seven kilometers, the trains travel the double-track electrified Mannheim – Saarbrücken railway line and pass the Wolfsberg tunnel . At Lambrecht train station, the trains of the cuckoo chain usually stop on platform 1.

From April to October, two pairs of trains run on the route on Sundays and public holidays. The first trip of the day begins between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Neustadt, where the last trip from Elmstein ends between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. The other two trips start and end in Lambrecht. The journey between Lambrecht and Elmstein takes about an hour.

The fares are between 5 and 25 euros; Children, families and groups receive a discount. The tickets for the Kuckucksbähnel are also valid on the connecting S-Bahn between Lambrecht and Neustadt. The tickets are sold in the Kuckucksbähnel counter on platform 5 at Neustadt station and at the counter in Elmstein station. If the counters are closed or are missing at the stops en route, tickets can be purchased from the conductor.

If necessary, special trips take place on the route.

Vehicle use

In use from 1909 to 1977

The closest workshop in Neustadt was primarily responsible for vehicle use . The steam locomotives that were used in the first years of operation were of the types T 4.I and T 4.II of the Pfalzbahn . They could be found on the cuckoo track until the late 1930s. From 1927 the Prussian T 9 - registered with the Deutsche Reichsbahn as class 91 - was also to be found on the route and later mainly its substructure T 9.3. A few years later, the DR class 64 locomotives, which had also been stationed in Neustadt since 1928, also made their way to the branch line. In the first half of the 1950s, the series 57.10 (formerly Prussian G 10 ) and 74 (formerly Prussian T 12 ) could be found. The latter was mainly used in shunting services. On August 22, 1954, 91 593 pulled the last scheduled passenger train that ran on steam. On this day it was marked with the inscription "Cuckoo's last voyage".

From the beginning of the 1960s, goods transport also switched to diesel operation. Since the Neustadt depot had already been gradually dissolved at this point, the railway line was now mainly the responsibility of its counterpart in Ludwigshafen . The latter used class V 22 locomotives for freight trains up to 1973 , which were originally built for the Wehrmacht . From then on, the Köf III locomotive 333 170-9 was responsible for the sporadic transports until the cessation of goods traffic to Elmstein .

Passenger transport was continued with Uerdinger rail buses until regular passenger transport was discontinued in 1960 . These were stationed in the Landau depot ; from there they were used throughout the Palatinate.

Museum vehicles

The locomotives and wagons of the Kuckucksbähnel are maintained on behalf of the KKB in the Railway Museum in Neustadt of the German Society for Railway History (DGEG) . This railway museum is housed in the historic locomotive shed at Neustadt an der Weinstrasse main station.

Locomotives

The Speyerbach tender locomotive (a three-axle former industrial locomotive from 1904) and the 89 7159, a Prussian type T 3 locomotive from 1910, are used on the line. The latter had previously been stationed on the Achertalbahn . You pull different historical carriages through the Elmsteiner Tal. The diesel locomotive V 36 127 , which was built in 1941, is also available.

dare

DGEG 102, wagon with "museum tavern"

dare	Construction year	Previous use	Remarks
Bathing 12 240	1898	Baden State Railways
Stuttgart 11 150	1909	Royal Württemberg State Railways
CCi 4918	1902	Royal Württemberg State Railways	third grade
BCCi 2455	1901	Royal Württemberg State Railways
Car 53	1945	Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway
Car 92	1945	Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway
Conversion four-axle "Cologne 2288"		Post-war conversion program of the former German Federal Railroad, formerly Prussian branch line passenger cars
Tuesday 4th	1891	Iron Siegen Railway
DGEG 102	1902	former branch line van	was converted into a bar car, currently houses the "museum tavern"

Operating points

Lambrecht (Palatinate)

Lambrecht Railway Station (Pfalz)

→ Main article : Lambrecht railway station (Pfalz)

The station was opened on August 25, 1849, when the previously existing gap in the Palatinate Ludwig Railway between Frankenstein and Neustadt, which had previously been in the way of the complicated topography of the Neustadt Valley , was closed. Lambrecht was one of two stops along this section.

The architectural style of the original station building corresponded to that which was common at train stations in the Palatinate, especially in the second half of the 19th century. It fell victim to fighting during World War II. The current station building was completed in 1957. Since March 12, 1964, the station has also been part of the fully electrified main line from Mannheim to Saarbrücken. In the 1980s it also received a switchboard and in 2003 it was integrated into the network of the RheinNeckar S-Bahn .

The building of the former goods handling , which last served as a private house, was demolished in 1999 to create parking spaces. On May 16 of the same year, an electronic signal box was put into operation in Neustadt , which meant that Lambrecht station lost its last job. In addition, Deutsche Bahn dismantled the existing tracks in the station, so that the station has only had three tracks since then.

Frankeneck and Lambrecht freight yard

Frankeneck stop

The stop and former station Frankeneck is located in the district of Lambrecht not far from the north-eastern edge of the settlement of the local community Frankeneck. During the time of the Bavarian State Railways it was run as a type 2 station. Since the space in the Lambrecht train station was cramped and it had reached the limits of its capabilities, it also functioned as the Lambrecht freight yard for decades . A few years after it was closed, it was converted into the "Frankeneck station section of the Lambrecht Bf (Pfalz)".

With the regular opening of the railway line, the station received a reception building as the only intermediate station along the route, which was comparatively small due to its rather minor importance. It was demolished in the mid-1970s and rebuilt 200 meters away not far from the local valley road. By the turn of the millennium, however, it was no longer inhabited and dilapidated.

In 1926 the station received an additional building that was used for goods handling. At the same time, the station was expanded, and a locomotive shed, which has since been demolished, was also built nearby.

Esthal

Sattelmühle goods loading station at the beginning of the 20th century

From 1902 to 1909, the so-called Sattelmühle goods loading point was the end point of the industrial track that began in Lambrecht. With the opening of the rest of the section in 1909, it was also used as a means of stopping for passenger trains and was henceforth called Sattelmühle-Esthal in view of its importance for the settlement area of Esthal, which is around four kilometers away . During the time of the Bavarian State Railways it was run as a type 2 station.

The platform, which has since been demolished, was located between the two remaining tracks. A goods shed was also part of the equipment. During the Second World War there were plans on the part of the Reichsbahn to expand the operations center into a full-fledged station, but these were not implemented. At last she was called Esthal . A reactivation of the train stop did not take place in the course of the start of museum rail traffic.

Erfenstein

Erfenstein train station

Originally the Erfenstein platform was located between the bridge over the Speyerbach from the direction of Lambrecht and the 101 turnout in the northern area of ​​the station. During the time of the Bavarian State Railways, it was run as type 2 station. The points originally had a rod drive, which has since been abandoned; however, its remains are still present.

The train station, which is located at the same level as the hamlet and not far from the castle of the same name , is today the only operating point of all the stops where train crossings are still possible. However, these rarely take place, for example when special trains travel. Accordingly, Erfenstein currently has an island platform. The western track acts as a crossing or overtaking track. Originally it served exclusively as a loading siding and was only accessible from the direction of Lambrecht. After the conversion to a junction station, the station received another turnout with the number 102. These are rail profiles from regional railways, which were mounted on steel sleepers.

Breitenstein

Passenger exchange in Breitenstein

Today's depot is located at 7.44 km. It has a siding that is connected from the direction of Lambrecht and which used to be accessible from Elmstein. To the north of the main line there was a 50-meter-long platform, the terrain of which is now used as a track storage facility. There was also a loading track, which was dismantled after the regular cessation of passenger traffic in 1960. At that time, all three tracks crossed nearby Totenkopfstrasse .

During the time of the Bavarian State Railways, the station was run as station type 2. As early as December 25, 1913, ticket sales at the train station ceased.

Today's stop in the course of the museum railway operation is 130 meters further west not far from the forester's house in Breitenstein . It is separated from the train station by Totenkopfstrasse. The Argenbach, a right tributary of the Speyerbach, flows under it.

Helmbach (train station and stop)

Helmbach stop

Today's Helmbach depot is located at 9.18 km. It has a siding that is connected from the direction of Lambrecht. During the time of the Bavarian State Railways it was called Helmbacher Sägemühle and was run as a type 2 station. The platform at that time was located between the level crossing of Kreisstraße 51 leading to Iggelbach and the 104 switch, which is still in place today. Wood loading played a major role in freight traffic, which is why the station was equipped with five switches, two side ramps and a head ramp. In addition, he had two loading tracks, one of which was connected to the main track from both directions. The current platform is at the level of the siding.

Elmstein

Elmstein train station

The station is located on the south-eastern outskirts of Elmstein. Of all the stops along the route, it was the most important in passenger traffic. Annual ticket sales on site were always in the five-digit range. During the time of the Bavarian State Railways it was run as station type 1. In addition, it temporarily formed a locomotive station for the Neustadt depot. The reception building is still there today. Originally the waiting hall was open, it was only later that walls were added. It consists of half-timbering and has been rebuilt several times over the decades. It is now used to sell tickets for museum railroad operations; It also houses a toilet and a room for the friends' association. A restaurant is located in the former engine shed - also a half-timbered building. In an annex there were rooms for the staff to stay overnight.

literature

• Werner Schreiner: cuckoo-train . Festschrift for the restart of the Neustadt (Weinstrasse) –Lambrecht – Elmstein railway as a museum railway. Edeldruck Verlag, Lambrecht June 2, 1984.
• Edeldruck (ed.): Kuckucks-Bähnel . Festschrift for the anniversary of the first Rhineland-Palatinate museum railway. Edeldruck Verlag, Lambrecht 1989.
• Reiner Frank: Elmsteinertal then and now . German Society for Railway History, Karlsruhe 1986, ISBN 3-921700-51-5 .
• Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . German Society for Railway History, Werl 2001, ISBN 3-921700-90-6 .
• Klaus D. Holzborn : Railway areas Palatinate . transpress, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-344-70790-6 , pp. 47-54 .
• Werner Schreiner: Kuckucks-Bähnel and Elmsteiner Tal . Museum train and landscape. Edeldruck Verlag, Lambrecht 1985.
• Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways (=  publications of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science . Volume 53 ). pro MESSAGE, Ludwigshafen am Rhein 2005, ISBN 3-934845-26-6 , p. 241 .

Web links

Commons : Kuckucksbähnel  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Community of Elmstein: Kuckucksbähnel
• Neustadt Railway Museum (Weinstrasse)
• Driver's cab ride along the route from a historic rail bus (2014)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 15 .
2. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 9 f .
3. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 10 ff .
4. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 12 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 13 .
6. ↑ Werner Schreiner: Railway history , issue 33, April / May 2009, p. 29 ff.
7. ^ ^{A b c} Klaus Detlef Holzborn: Railway Reviere Pfalz . 1993, p. 48 .
8. ↑ Werner Schreiner: Paul Camille von Denis. European transport pioneer and builder of the Palatinate railways . 2010, p. 121 .
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Heinz Sturm: The Palatinate Railways . 2005, p. 241 .
10. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 15 f .
11. ^ ^{A b} Klaus Detlef Holzborn: Railway Reviere Pfalz . 1993, p. 47 .
12. ↑ Werner Schreiner, Railway History, Issue 33, April / May 2009, from p. 29 ff.
13. ↑ ^{a b} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 18 .
14. ^ Albert Mühl: The Pfalzbahn . 1982, p. 38 f .
15. ↑ bahnstatistik.de: Royal Bavarian Railway Directorate Ludwigshafen a. Rhine - Timeline: Establishments - Designations - Dissolutions . Retrieved September 27, 2015 . 
16. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 55 ff .
17. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz - Timetable: Establishments - Designations - Resolutions . bahnstatistik.de, accessed on January 6, 2014 . 
18. ↑ ^{a b} The Kuckucksbähnel - Once upon ^a time until now. eisenbahnmuseum-neustadt.de, accessed on September 13, 2013 . 
19. ↑ ^{a b c} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 56 .
20. ↑ ^{a b} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 67 .
21. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 68 .
22. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 68 f .
23. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 69 ff .
24. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 75 .
25. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 41 .
26. ↑ Anniversary Kuckucksbähnel 2004 . (No longer available online.) Fotogalerie-neustadt.de, archived from the original on January 8, 2014 ; accessed on January 7, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
27. ^ ^{A b c} Klaus Detlef Holzborn: Railway Reviere Pfalz . 1993, p. 52 .
28. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 56 ff .
29. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 60 .
30. ↑ Werner Schreiner: Paul Camille von Denis. European transport pioneer and builder of the Palatinate railways . 2010, p. 137 .
31. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 59 .
32. ↑ ^{a b} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 58 .
33. ^ Klaus Detlef Holzborn: Railway Reviere Pfalz . 1993, p. 50 .
34. ↑ Former factory connection in Frankeneck. forget-bahnen.de, accessed on January 7, 2014 . 
35. ↑ The train does it! - 10 clever examples of shifting from truck to rail. (PDF) allianz-pro-schiene.de, accessed on January 7, 2014 . 
36. ^ Factory connection in Frankeneck. forget-bahnen.de, accessed on January 7, 2014 . 
37. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 52 ff .
38. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 55 .
39. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 72 .
40. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 22 ff .
41. ^ Klaus Detlef Holzborn: Railway Reviere Pfalz . 1993, p. 90 .
42. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 26 f .
43. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Station type 2 showed “passenger, baggage and express goods traffic”.
44. ↑ ^{a b c} The railway stations of the Royal Bavarian State Railways - left bank of the Rhine (Bavarian Palatinate) - Contwig to Friesenheim i. d. Pf. Kbaystb.de, accessed on January 6, 2013 . 
45. ^ Lambrecht freight yard. forgotten-bahnen.de, accessed on January 6, 2014 . 
46. ↑ ^{a b c} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 31 .
47. ↑ ^{a b} Lambrecht-Erfenstein. forgotten-bahnen.de, accessed on January 6, 2014 . 
48. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 28 .
49. ↑ Pirmasens to Steinwendel. kbaystb.de, accessed on January 6, 2013 . 
50. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 33 .
51. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 35 .
52. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 35 ff .
53. ↑ ^{a b} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 38 .
54. ↑ Albersweiler-St. Johann to Burgalben. kbaystb.de, accessed on January 6, 2013 . 
55. ↑ ^{a b} Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 63 .
56. ↑ ^{a b} Erfenstein-Elmstein. forgotten-bahnen.de, accessed on January 6, 2014 . 
57. ↑ Gallows Hill to Jockgrim. kbaystb.de, accessed on January 6, 2013 . 
58. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 38 f .
59. ↑ Station type 1 showed "passenger, possibly also luggage traffic".
60. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz - Timetable: Establishments - Designations - Resolutions. bahnstatistik.de, accessed on January 6, 2014 . 
61. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 48 .
62. ↑ Reiner Frank: Railway in the Elmsteiner Valley then and now . 2001, p. 39 .

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on February 28, 2006 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 21 '57.2 "  N , 8 ° 2' 8.6"  E